One of the three abortion facilities in Sarasota, Florida has closed and it was the only one where 2nd-trimester abortions were done.
Local pro-life advocate Jim Styer informed LifeNews.com.
“Up to 450 2nd-trimester abortions a year were done in the county, according to recent years’ figures from the state. Last year, it was down to 129,” he explained.
Potential clients might go elsewhere, but the nearest second-trimester abortion center is at least an hour’s drive from Sarasota, with Sarasota Memorial Hospital reporting it does second trimester abortions for “medical” reasons.
The closed facility is Premier Institute for Women’s Health, in the Gulf Gate Medical Center on South Tamiami Trail, north of Stickney Point Road.
Styer says the abortion practitioner there, Matthew Kachinas, said in July that he is “on assignment” in various locations around the state for up to three weeks at a time.
“This is the second time a Sarasota facility where Kachinas worked has closed and he reportedly had left or been dismissed from three other abortion facilities in Florida,” Styer said.
“Premiere has been closed for at least a few months. But it couldn’t be determined for several weeks whether the closure might be temporary. An answering service continued to forward messages. Eventually, the web site was taken down, the phone number ceased service, the property was listed for sale or lease, and web searches didn’t find any current information on the business or any references to Kachinas doing abortions elsewhere in the area.”
[24Aug09, Sarasota, FL, www.LifeNews.com, #4688]