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The Ohio Department of Health has granted a license to Women’s Med Center of Dayton, the last abortion clinic in the Dayton area.
For weeks now, the clinic has not been able to offer surgical abortions because it was not licensed by the state, according to ACLU Staff Attorney Elizabeth Bonham.
A transfer agreement has been at the center of the issue. Ohio law requires abortion clinics to have a written agreement with a nearby hospital to transfer patients for care in the event of an emergency before it can be issued a license to operate as a full-service abortion clinic.
Women’s Med Center was able to present an acceptable agreement with the Ohio Department of Health, Bonham said.
Courts across the country have recently ruled laws like Ohio’s transfer agreement requirement restrict abortion access, are unconstitutional and designed to make it difficult, if not impossible, for abortion clinics to operate, Bonham said.
The Ohio Supreme Court has repeatedly refused to hear the clinic’s appeal. Women’s Med Center has been considering taking its case to a federal court.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.
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