DeWine’s health director pick withdraws hours after selection

HEALTH

By Ohio Capital Journal Staff

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine named his choice for a new health director Thursday afternoon in a release at 3:30 p.m. By 8:30 p.m., DeWine had announced she had withdrawn from consideration.

“This evening, Dr. Joan Duwve withdrew her name from consideration for the position of Director of the Ohio Department of Health, citing personal reasons,” a news release Thursday evening announced. “The Governor’s administration will continue its search for a full-time Director of the Ohio Department of Health.”

Dr. Joan Duwve

DeWine had selected Duwve to fill the position after the resignation of Dr. Amy Acton in June. Acton became a household name in Ohio this past spring, appearing regularly with DeWine during his press conferences. While Acton enjoyed significant support and popularity, she was also the focus of intense criticism, including from Statehouse lawmakers. Protesters of coronavirus-related Ohio Department of Health orders repeatedly demonstrated outside her Bexley home.

Other news reports indicate that Duwve, an Ohio native and graduate of North Olmsted HS and The Ohio State University, was once a volunteer coordinator for Planned Parenthood. This tenuous connection to women’s choice, dating to 1984, was enough to galvanize the mobilization of abortion foes, making it questionable whether the appointment would have received confirmation from the Ohio Senate.

A spokesman for the Governor said that he was aware of the Planned Parenthood connection at the time of the appointment and that Duwve’s withdrawal  was for unrelated “personal reasons”.

Since Acton’s resignation, the department has been helmed in the interim by Lance Himes.

• • •• • •

This story is provided by Ohio Capital Journal, a part of States Newsroom, a national 501 (c)(3) nonprofit. Additional reporting by The Real Deal Press.See the original story here.