Reproductive Healthcare and Abortion Services in Ohio: Clinic Status and Legal Challenges
Preterm Cleveland, Ohio is a licensed ambulatory surgery facility and independent, nonprofit abortion clinic. Preterm has provided safe, high-quality abortion care and sexual health services in a respectful environment since 1974. Currently, Preterm is still open and providing abortions up to 21 weeks. For over 50 years, Preterm has been an innovative healthcare leader, providing essential abortion and reproductive healthcare. We take pride in keeping high-quality healthcare accessible to every body, regardless of income.
Comprehensive Patient Services
Preterm remains committed to safety and patient trust. The facility provides the following services:
- ABORTION CARE
- SURGICAL ABORTION
- MEDICATION ABORTION
- OPTIONS COUNSELING
- MISCARRIAGE MANAGEMENT
- FETAL ANOMALY
"We support your choices. We respect your privacy. We're committed to your safety. We trust our patients. Our patients trust Preterm."
Legal Context and Regulatory Restrictions in Ohio
The number of abortion clinics in Ohio has dwindled in recent years as the Republican-led legislature and Gov. John Kasich approved more restrictions on access to abortions. State law requires that all abortion clinics must have a transfer agreement with a local, private hospital. Under the deadline passed by state lawmakers, the Health Department has only 60 days to make a decision on variance requests. If the department doesn’t give an answer within 60 days, or denies the request for an exception, the abortion clinics automatically lose their licenses.
Still, legal advocates argue that the restrictions, such as requiring a transfer agreement with local hospitals and prohibiting public hospitals from working with abortion clinics, are unconstitutional because they place “an undue burden on women seeking safe and legal abortion.”
Status of Southwest Ohio Clinics
The following information details the current status of abortion providers in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas:
- Mount Auburn Planned Parenthood (Cincinnati): Cincinnati’s sole abortion clinic will remain open through at least May 2016 following last-minute approval from Ohio Department of Health. State Health Department Director Richard Hodges approved the request for an exception to state law, called a variance, which now expires May 31.
- Women’s Med (Dayton): This clinic is appealing the Department of Health’s effort to close the Dayton clinic after its variance was denied. It will have a hearing on the proposed closure.
Attorneys will continue to fight the automatic denial after 60 days and the requirement that clinics partner with local hospitals. As attorney Jennifer Branch stated regarding the ongoing litigation, “Everything is still in play.”
Summary of Clinic Operational Status
- Preterm (Cleveland): Open (Up to 21 weeks).
- Mount Auburn Planned Parenthood (Cincinnati): Open (Variance approved through May 2016).
- Women’s Med (Dayton): Operational (Currently appealing denial of variance).
- Sharonville Facility: Closed (License revoked last year).