Abortion in Cincinnati

A non-profit legal organization known as Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit Monday on behalf of a student prohibited from distributing pro-life fliers anywhere on campus except a small “speech zone.” Columbus State Community College limits student speech to two small speech zones that occupy less than one percent of the college’s main campus and requires students to get permission to use the zones 48 hours in advance.
 
“Colleges should be the marketplace of ideas,” said Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker. “Free speech should not be censored or limited to a ridiculously small area on campus, nor should students need permission to hand out fliers. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech for all students in the outdoor areas of campus, regardless of their religious or political beliefs.”
 
In June, Spencer Anderson, a Christian student at Columbus State Community College was required by college officials to get a permit 48 hours in advance to distribute fliers about his new pro-life student group. Officials assigned him to one of the two speech zones and forbade him from exiting the zone to speak with people or hand out his fliers. According to the complaint, the speech zones comprise less than 1 percent of the college’s 80 acre campus. In April, Anderson was involved in another pro-life display on campus subjected to similar restrictions.
 
College officials have approved other groups, such as students associated with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, to distribute fliers and speak to students outside the speech zones.
 
The lawsuit explains that the college’s speech policy prohibits students from speaking spontaneously in reaction to news and current events on the public sidewalks and open spaces of the campus. According to the complaint, the policy violates the First Amendment and grants “college officials unbridled discretion to discriminate against speech based on its content or viewpoint.”
 
“Free, spontaneous discourse on college campuses is supposed to be a hallmark of higher education rather than the exception to the rule,” added Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot. “We hope that Columbus State Community College will revise its policy so that its students can exercise their constitutionally protected freedoms.”

Ohio Right to Life has asked Attorney General Mike DeWine to expedite the litigation against Planned Parenthood and its practice of off-label prescribing abortion pill RU-486 (mifepristone) in Ohio. This request comes in light of 42 reports of failed uses of the drug in the state.

The Food and Drug Administration recommends that RU-486 (commonly referred to as a chemical abortion) be administered in two doses orally and in the presence of a physician.  The FDA approved RU-486 only through 49 days of pregnancy. However, contrary to FDA protocol, Planned Parenthood prescribes chemical abortions through 63 days (9 weeks) of pregnancy. Furthermore, the organization sends women home to complete the chemical abortion themselves without a physician present. 

Recently, Ohio Right to Life, via a public records request, obtained 42 reports of botched RU-486 attempts in Ohio. Several involved moderate to severe bleeding and included incidences of hematometra (an accumulation of blood in the uterus). Thirty-five total cases involved incomplete abortions in which women were required to return to the abortion clinic to have the abortions completed surgically. 

"Planned Parenthood's reckless, off-label prescribing of RU-486 is no better than the 'back alleys' that the abortion industry references to scare women into supporting abortions on demand," said Laura Beth Kirsop, Director of Communications at Ohio Right to Life. "These reports sadly showcase the hazards that at-home and unsupervised, chemical abortions pose to women's health. Yet Planned Parenthood remains in direct and reckless conflict with the FDA, carelessly sending women home for unsafe, 'do-it-yourself' abortions."

In the case that RU-486 fails, Planned Parenthood informs women that they will need to undergo a surgical abortion. This is because the chemical abortion can cause serious birth defects if the pregnancy continues. 

One of the public documents noted that one woman never returned to Planned Parenthood for a follow-up to confirm that the abortion was completed. Regarding this report, Kirsop said, "I have to ask the frightening question of where that child is today. Was she born? Maybe not, but maybe. And if she was born, what kind of birth defects would she have sustained because of Planned Parenthood's recklessness? The point is, according to public documents, Planned Parenthood doesn't know, and thanks to their scandalous fight against the enforcement of FDA protocol in Ohio, they don't have to know."

In 2004, the Ohio Legislature passed a law requiring that physicians comply with FDA guidelines for RU-486. The law remains embroiled in the courts because of challenges brought by Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio. In October 2012, a panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 2004 Ohio law. Planned Parenthood of Ohio has since challenged the decision, asking for reconsideration.
 
"RU-486 has already killed fourteen women and injured more than 2,000 women in the U.S.," said Kirsop. "The longer Planned Parenthood dodges the enforcement of FDA protocol, the more women's lives and health are put at risk. Ohio Right to Life urges Attorney General Mike DeWine to put an end to Planned Parenthood's game and expedite the litigation of the chemical abortion case."

Botched Abortions in Ohio Using the Abortion Pill RU-486

Citing negative impacts on the community by an abortion clinic operated by the notorious late-term abortionist Martin Haskell, the Sharonville, Ohio, Zoning Board of Appeals has denied a request made by Women’s Med Center for permission to place a sign advertising the abortion business in an area where signs are not allowed.

Valerie Haskell, wife of the abortionist and co-owner of the abortion business, appeared at a meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals to request a variance, which would have would have given the abortion business permission to erect an 8-foot-tall sign closer to the street to replace a smaller sign that had been blown down by a wind storm.

“We operate a business at this address, and it is impossible to place a visible sign on our lot without a variance,” Mrs. Haskell told the Board. She indicated that a lack of signage has hurt her abortion business.

You can read the entire story from LifeNews.com here.