Toledo’s last abortion clinic has stopped performing surgical procedures.
The Ohio Department of Health confirmed that Capital Care Network operator Terrie Hubbard had “surrendered” the clinic’s ambulatory surgical facility license for its facility at 1160 W. Sylvania Ave. effective Sept. 10.
ODH spokesman Russ Kennedy said the department conducted its annual relicensing inspection of Capital Care in June, and the clinic submitted a plan to correct the deficiencies that were cited.
“ODH made a follow-up phone call to CCN to clarify some information in the plan of correction at which time staff reported that CCN was under new ownership who did not wish to renew its ASF license and was performing non-surgical (medical) abortions only,” Mr. Kennedy said in an email.
A follow-up inspection on Sept. 10 confirmed the facility was no longer performing surgical abortions.
Jennifer Branch, a Cincinnati attorney who has represented the clinic in its legal fights, could not be reached for comment. An individual who answered the phone at the clinic declined to comment but said the facility remains open to provide medication abortions up to nine weeks and six days of gestation.
The fight over Capital Care’s ambulatory surgical facility license began in 2013 when the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio hospital, opted not to renew its written agreement with the clinic for the transfer of patients in the event of medical complications.
Subsequently, state lawmakers amended the law to prohibit publicly funded hospitals and their affiliated doctors from entering into such agreements. Capital Care operated for some time without an agreement in hand as it struggled to find another hospital to take UTMC’s place.
It eventually reached a deal with the University of Michigan Health Center in Ann Arbor. The Department of Health rejected the deal, determining that a hospital more than 50 miles away did not qualify as “local.” State lawmakers then amended the law to define a local hospital as one within 30 miles.
Capital Care lost its license for about a month after exhausting its court appeals. During that time the clinic only offered medication-induced abortions. It regained its surgical license in May, 2018, after ProMedica Toledo Hospital stepped in.
Tausha Moore, spokesman for ProMedica, could not be reached for comment.
“While we are fighting for reproductive justice — and largely winning — in the federal courts, what we see today in Toledo is how Ohio’s years and years of repressive legislation continues to take its toll on clinics across the state,” said Fred Levenson, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. “In the meantime, the clinic is still open for patients seeking medical abortions.”
Ohio’s anti-abortion groups celebrated the end of the clinic’s surgical license.
“No more babies will be torn apart within their mother's womb here in Toledo,” said Ed Sitter, executive director of Greater Toledo Right to Life. He noted about two-thirds of the abortions performed at the clinic were surgical.
Ohio Right to Life Vice President Stephanie Ranade Krider, said, “While this facility will undoubtedly continue to profit off of women seeking chemical abortions, with over 1,300 abortions in Lucas County in 2017, the loss of their surgical license will save many lives.”
NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland said Capital Care is the latest clinic to switch to medication abortions only. Six of the state’s remaining nine abortion clinics offer surgical abortions.
“These changes are happening as a natural part of running a health-care facility and unrelated to any politically motivated actions from the state legislature or administration,” she said.
First Published September 18, 2019, 8:15 p.m.
