Toledo’s last remaining abortion clinic, which regained its license after battling the state for years, says it could be forced to close anyway if it's ordered to pay a $40,000 state fine.
The owners Capital Card of Toledo are contesting the fine issued after a Department of Health inspection last year.
The Blade in Toledo reports that the fine was over whether a clinic employee should have called an ambulance instead of driving a patient to a hospital after an abortion.
Capital Care says the patient wasn't facing an emergency and driving her didn't violate its policies. It has since instituted policies around non-emergency situations and referrals to health care providers.
Ohio revoked the clinic's license in 2014, leading to a lengthy court fight. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the state was within its rights to revoke the license.
Ohio lawmakers passed abortion restrictions in 2013 that required the transfer agreements be with local hospitals and barred public hospitals from providing them. The University of Toledo Hospital ended its transfer arrangement with Capital Care two months before the law was enacted.
The clinic got its license back in May after receiving a state-mandated patient-transfer agreement from a Toledo hospital. It has since resumed both surgical and medication-induced abortions.
