SHARONVILLE, Ohio – A judge has ordered a notorious late-term abortionist in Ohio to close his facility once and for all, following months of legal disputes over the abortionist’s controversial abortion procedures and inadequate health standards.

Martin Haskell is the owner of the Lebanon Road Surgery Center in Sharonville, Ohio. The facility, according to reports, is one of the few centers in the greater Cincinnati area that offers late-term abortions up to 22 weeks gestation.

As previously reported, the Ohio Health Department ordered the Lebanon Road Surgery Center to close its doors late last year because the center failed to comply with new state health regulations. At the time, pro-life advocates commended the order to close the facility, citing Haskell’s long history of using controversial abortion methods.

“We are gratified to see yet another late-term abortionist shutting down,” Mike Gonidakis, Ohio Right to Life president and member of the state medical board, told reporters late last year. “As a result of this Health Department order, Martin Haskell, a strong proponent and former practitioner of the controversial and deadly partial-birth abortion procedure, will no longer be able to abort children and jeopardize women’s health in Hamilton County.”

However, as a result of legal appeals and court-ordered stays of execution, Haskell has managed to keep his Sharonville facility open for business until this month. Finally, last Friday, Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jerry Metz upheld previous orders to close Haskell’s abortion center. Unless Haskell appeals Metz’s ruling, the Lebanon Road Surgery Center will soon close once and for all.

“Shutting down Haskell’s facility is a long-sought victory for the pro-life movement,” said Ohio Right to Life executive director Stephanie Ranade Krider in a statement. “As the self-proclaimed ‘poster child’ of partial birth abortion, Martin Haskell has endangered southwest Ohio children for the last 30 years. We are hopeful that this will be the final order that puts Haskell out of business in Sharonville.”

Last week’s decision to close the abortion center was not based on politics, but rather common sense, Krider said.

“This decision is about common-sense, as evidenced by the non-partisan nature of this ruling,” she stated. “We are grateful to the Ohio Department of Health and the office of Attorney General Mike DeWine, but we are also grateful to Judge Metz, a Democrat, for ensuring that abortionists aren’t skirting basic health and safety regulations.”

Following last week’s court decision, pro-life demonstrators reached out to Haskell’s wife in the courtroom and urged her to change her mind on abortion. YouTube footage released on Friday shows Haskell’s wife claiming the Bible condones abortion.

“Ma’am, your business is ripping innocent children limb from limb,” one of the demonstrators told her. “How is that okay? How is that okay with God in any way whatsoever?”

“Read the Bible,” she responded. “You’ll see.”

Meanwhile, pro-life supporters remain optimistic about the latest turn of events.

“Judge Metz has now protected women’s health and safety by enforcing lawful medical safety requirements,” said Paula Westwood, executive director of Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati. “We are cautiously optimistic, as we do not know whether Martin Haskell will appeal to the next court.”

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