The investigation has dragged on for months because the state is doing a thorough review of Ohio Planned Parenthood clinics’ financial documents, according to Dan Tierney, a spokesman with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
Tierney confirmed this week that the investigation is “ongoing.”
“It’s going to take as long as it needs to take,” Tierney said. He said results of the investigation will “very likely” be released to the public.
Meanwhile, other states have wrapped up their investigation into Planned Parenthood facilities in the wake of the undercover videos. Missouri's attorney general announced this week that an investigation into a Planned Parenthood clinic found no wrongdoing.
In total, 11 states have launched investigations and seven have been closed. None have found issues involving the sale of fetal parts.
Indiana wrapped up a July investigation into Planned Parenthood abortion facilities within weeks. The state’s investigation only included on-site visits to the facilities.
“This was not a really drawn out process on our end,” said Jennifer O’Malley, a spokeswoman for the Indiana State Department of Health.
Tierney said other states have conducted their investigations differently. Ohio, for example, is able to review financial records for Planned Parenthood since it’s a nonprofit.
The Ohio Department of Health conducted a two-and-a-half day inspection in August of the Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio’s Elizabeth Campbell Surgical Center in Cincinnati, said Danielle Craig, a spokeswoman for the facility.
The facility, along with the two other surgical centers in Ohio, do not participate in the sale or donation of tissue.
The latest health department inspection didn’t turn up any issues with how the facility handles fetal tissue, Craig said.
“We kind of wonder why the attorney general is taking so long to come to the same conclusion,” she said.
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