COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A hearing officer says the state’s
decision to revoke the license of Toledo’s last abortion clinic was
valid.
Capital Care Network has been fighting a state order that
it close because it lacks a required patient-transfer agreement with a
local hospital.
The clinic operator contends its agreement with the
University of Michigan Health System hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan,
qualifies as a "local" facility.
The hospital is more than 50 miles
away.
The state’s former health director had turned down the
agreement because of concerns about the proximity of the hospital to the
clinic. Capital Care had then sought a hearing.
The Ohio
Department of Health released the hearing officer’s recommendations
Monday. The department’s interim director will review them before making
a final decision on the fate of the clinic.