COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A technical glitch on a local Planned Parenthood website claiming Ohio clinics no longer offer abortions is false, representatives from the clinic said Thursday.
The Planned Parenthood North Columbus Health Center, located on 17th Avenue near Ohio State University’s campus, is experiencing a technical difficulty on its website that inaccurately purports the clinic is “not currently providing abortions at” its health centers across Ohio, according to Planned Parenthoods of Greater and Southwest Ohio.
“Our websites are currently experiencing technical difficulties and we apologize to our patients who received the wrong information,” the clinic branches wrote. “Nevertheless, abortions are still legal in Ohio. All Planned Parenthoods are providing the procedure up to 6 weeks where no fetal cardiac tone is found, within the current law.”
Created Equal, an anti-abortion advocacy group in Ohio, previously posted a screenshot of the Planned Parenthood website glitch, which gave a message that clinic locations throughout the state were no longer providing abortions.
The organization’s president Mark Harrington said he had not yet received Planned Parenthood’s recent statement, adding that the clarification from the abortion provider “doesn’t even pass the smell test.” Harrington said Created Equal would work to independently confirm the clinic is experiencing technical difficulties. NBC4 also sent Harrington the clarification statement about the glitch from Planned Parenthood.
“If they are, we will release a statement to be as factual as possible to clarify their confusing messaging and misinformation,” Harrington said. “We don’t want to take them at face value.”
Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday in its decision Dobbs v. Jackson, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost successfully petitioned a federal court to dissolve a three-year injunction against Ohio’s heartbeat bill. It effectively outlawed abortion once fetal cardiac activity can be detected, usually at about six weeks’ gestation.
While the clinic works to remedy its technical issues, Planned Parenthood said that Ohioans needing abortion care should contact the clinic’s customer service number at 1-800-230-7526. The clinic said it hopes to have the websites fixed within 24 hours.
On Wednesday, attorneys representing several abortion clinics in Ohio, including Planned Parenthood, filed a lawsuit before the Ohio Supreme Court seeking to challenge the constitutionality of the state’s six-week abortion ban.
“All of our services are within the law of the current ban and will remain so, even as we challenge the law in court,” the news release said.
