Ohio’s Oldest Abortion Clinic Closes After 47-Years, Abortionist and Entire Staff Retires

The first abortion clinic to open in Ohio after the landmark Roe v. Wade decision will permanently close this week due to the pending retirement of the abortionist and most of the clinic’s staff members. This decision will bring the number of Ohio’s abortion clinics down to eight.

Abortion can be a profitable business, but it’s one few have the stomach to pursue. Many former abortionists report that the practice of ending the lives of preborn babies on a day-to-day basis can become soul-crushing work. The vast majority of medical school graduates in the fields of OB/GYN are not interested in even pursuing training in abortion procedures.

“The closure of Ohio’s first abortion clinic is a testimony to the perseverance of the pro-life community in Ohio, and God’s faithfulness to hear our prayers,” Aaron Baer, President of Citizens for Community Values of Ohio, said in a statement to The Daily Citizen. “For decades, men and women have been praying outside this clinic and reaching out to women. By God’s grace, our prayers have been answered!”

But the closing of the Founder’s Women’s Health Center is more than that. It’s a very public example of how the number of abortionists operating in the United States continues to dwindle year after year.

“The owners are retiring, and they have sold the building and the doctor and the staff there are all retiring,” Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said.

The Columbus Dispatch implies that the growing abortion restrictions in Ohio are the reason why no one was willing to buy the abortion business and keep it open, but that’s not it. There was just no physician in the area with a desire to run an abortion business and fewer women seeking an abortion overall.

Over the last 20 years, the number of abortions completed in the United States has been on a steady decline. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Abortion Surveillance report, there were 857,475 abortions in 2000 (with California, Alaska, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma not reporting) and the latest report shows a decline of 27% to 623,471 (with California, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia not reporting).

Why would someone want to invest in a business where fewer and fewer people are opting for their services?

There is also the reality that fewer physicians know or want to know how to perform abortions.

The average age of the country’s late-term abortionists is probably about 65 or so. Warren Hern, who operates what could be considered the nation’s most infamous late-term abortion clinic, is 82.

Overall, the number of abortionists has been on a steady decline since peaking in 1982 with approximately 2,900 facilities. Now, the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute reports only 808 clinics, with most of those being Planned Parenthood.

In addition to the steep decline in the number of abortion clinics, there are also fewer independent abortion clinics. Over the years, Planned Parenthood has been slowly devouring and expanding the number of its clinics, specifically by taking over other abortion clinics or driving them out of business. At this point, Planned Parenthood has more than 600 abortion clinics in the states.

“Slowly but surely, the pro-life movement is winning,” Baer said. “Since 2010, Ohio’s gone from 16 abortion clinics to 8. Our work is far from over, but we will not rest until every mother and child is safe from the dangerous and deadly practices of the abortion industry.”

Abortion is a losing business, which is why Founder’s Women’s Health Center closed with little fanfare and no physician willing to take over the operation.

Photo from Shutterstock

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