Unsafe conditions and the death of a 38 year-old woman have caused the closure of four abortion clinics in the state of Maryland and the suspension of the licenses of three doctors.
The Daily Mail is reporting that the clinics, run by Associates of OB/GYN Care, were closed by state regulators last month after a woman died and complaints were received about patients receiving abortion-inducing drugs with no doctor present.
The clinics are affiliated with American Women’s Services, a company run by Dr. Steven Brigham, an abortionist whose medical license has been suspended or revoked in five states. Brigham once faced murder charges for conducting late-term abortions but the charges were dropped.
The most serious violation occurring in the Maryland clinics concerned the death of Maria Santiago, 38, who underwent an abortion procedure on February 13 in Baltimore. Santiago was 12.5 weeks pregnant at the time. Her doctor, Iris Dominy, told Maryland Department of Health inspectors that Santiago slept through her abortion.
Instead of continuing to monitor her patient, Dr. Dominy left her in the care of an unqualified worker who filled out paperwork as Santiago continued to lay on the table. She eventually called for a second worker to help her move Santiago to the recovery room.
It was this second worker who noticed that Santiago was very pale and not breathing. She notified Dr. Dominy, but no one at the clinic had current CPR certification and there was no attempt to use a defibrillator, which was later found to be broken.
Santiago never woke up. Her death certificate shows that she died from Severe Pulminary Edema, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, and Hypoxia Brain Injury. It is unknown how long she went without breathing.
Inspectors say the staff failed to provide proper post-anesthesia care and observation.
Two more, Drs. Michael Basco and Mansour Panah, have also had their licenses suspended.
Panah, who serves as the medical director of the clinics, had his license suspended in 1988 for sexual contact with three patients and again in 1995 for sexual conduct with another patient. His attorney claims the sexual contact cases only involved “kisses.”
In 2011, Panah received two years of probation for failing to meet appropriate standards for the delivery of quality medical and surgical care.
In spite of claims by pro-abortion groups that legal abortion is “safe”, violations such as these have become much too commonplace. For this reason, Americans United for Life Action organized a strategic Capitol Hill briefing at the U.S. Senate to discuss the health risks of abortion for women and girls.
“Should abortion come with a warning label? It is medically irresponsible for the abortion industry to push a product as vital to women’s interests while at the same time fighting any requirement to tell women about the serious health risks that follow an abortion,” said AUL president Dr. Charmaine Yoest.
“Consider this: A woman seeking an abortion at 20 weeks is 35 times more likely to die from abortion than she was in the first trimester. At 21 weeks or more, she is 91 times more likely to die from abortion than she was in the first trimester.
“We should show women respect by informing their choices. It’s time to be honest with women about the mental and physical impacts of abortion and let them decide.”
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