Another surgical abortion clinic in Ohio is closed. As of late Thursday, the doors were locked and phones shut off at Akron Women’s Medical Groupon East Market Street.
There's no word on why the surgical abortion facility closed. The state Health Departmentsays its license is in good standing.
Kellie Copeland leads the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action Leaguein Ohio. She thinks abortion regulations passed during the administration of Gov. John Kasich have been driving clinics out.
“It has been kind of a slow motion tragedy for Ohio women in terms of access, because it has happened one clinic at a time since 2011."
Katie Franklin, of the anti-abortion group Right to Life, agrees that new laws have had an effect, but says abortion requests have also dropped.
“So we believe that this is the consequence of a variety of factors that are building toward a culture of life.”
Since 2010 the number of surgical abortion clinics in Ohio has gone from 16 to eight.
Several weeks ago, Cleveland Women's Medical Group, an affiliate of the Akron clinic, also closed.
However, it had been removed from the count of 16 surgical abortion clinics in the state already. The owners had voluntarily reduced the practice in Cleveland to non-surgical status in 2014.