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Watch Ohio Local News Debunk Allegations About Planned Parenthood

This is amazing: A local news team in Ohio *completely dismantles* the Ohio attorney general's smear on Planned Parenthood that spurred a bill now awaiting signature by Gov. John Kasich to strip Planned Parenthood of state funding. Watch this:

Posted by Media Matters for America on Thursday, February 11, 2016

In a February 5 report, Nathan Baca, an investigative reporter for WBNS-10 TV in Columbus, OH, completely debunked faulty allegations that Planned Parenthood clinics in the state were improperly disposing of fetal tissue.

Baca calls the allegations “misinformation” and “wrong.” 

On December 11, Ohio attorney general Mike DeWine held a press conference on the state's investigation of Planned Parenthood, prompted by the release of deceptively edited videos from Media Matters' 2015 Misinformer of the Year, the Center for Medical Progress (CMP). Although DeWine admitted that the investigation had cleared Planned Parenthood -- joining a growing list of states that who have similarly found no evidence of wrongdoing by the organization -- he also alleged clinics had failed to dispose of the fetal tissue in a "humane manner." According to DeWine, the investigation found that “fetuses were steam cooked and then were taken to a Kentucky landfill” rather than being properly disposed of according to Ohio law.

These allegations spurred a bill now awaiting signature by Gov. John Kasich to strip Planned Parenthood of state funding. This bill additionally threatens the funding for any group contracting with or referring patients to an abortion provider.

According to WBNS-10 TV, however, “experts and Kentucky state inspectors” reject DeWine's claims and cast doubt on the integrity of the original investigation. Summarizing the misinformation uncovered during his investigation in an accompanying article, Baca wrote:

Autoclaving experts and Kentucky state inspectors, though, say DeWine was wrong. The misinformation includes:

• No fetuses were buried intact in Kentucky, said Lanny Brannock, Executive Staff Advisor for the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection.

• Neither Accu Medical Waste Services Inc., the company used by Planned Parenthood, nor the Green Valley Landfill have been cited for any law violations or inhumane activities by the state of Kentucky.

• In fact, no one from Ohio spoke or visited Kentucky facilities to see what occurred,  Brannock said.

“It is illegal to landfill any human tissue in Kentucky, and by law it's required to be incinerated. We have no knowledge of any human tissue going into Kentucky landfills,” Brannock said.

10 Investigates also discovered Planned Parenthood wasn't alone in using this process. The state of Ohio had a contract with the same disposal company that was used by Planned Parenthood, state records show.

And though, the state of Ohio does not handle abortions, miscarriages do occur at state prisons and medical facilities.

State Rep. Greta Johnson of Akron condemned the attorney general for his reckless statements to the media that led to the anti-choice bill awaiting Kasich's approval, telling WBNS-10 TV, “it's evidence of putting political headlines over common sense, putting political headlines over access to health care. This was a political witch hunt that was destined to have some sort of outcome to grab a headline.”