Planned Parenthood likes to portray itself as a respected health care facility, but more and more evidence is emerging on the harm it does to women and to their babies.
Some of the incidents that have come to light in recent years are:
- In 2000, a Missouri woman went into a coma after she allegedly went without oxygen for a period of time during tubal ligation surgery at Planned Parenthood. Afterward she entered a persistent vegetative state.
- In 2001, Planned Parenthood Mohawk-Hudson agreed to pay a New York woman $1 million because it had repeatedly insisted she did not have breast cancer when she did.
- In 2001, a San Francisco court decision awarded $672,610 in damages to a Yugoslav immigrant whose preborn child suffered the loss of two limbs during a botched abortion at Planned Parenthood Golden Gate.
- In 2003, the California Department of Health Services cited a Los Angeles Planned Parenthood facility for numerous deficiencies following the death of Diana Lopez. She bled to death in 2002 after her cervix was allegedly punctured during an abortion. The Sacramento Bee reported that the state found the following deficiencies:
- Failure to contact the state within 24 hours after Lopez was taken to a hospital, as required by the state. The state was notified six days after Lopez died.
- Failure to implement a policy that would have advised against an abortion for Lopez because her hemoglobin (a substance in the blood) was too low.
- Inappropriate use of misoprostol, a drug used to promote contractions. Surgical abortion policy dictates that the drug may be given 90 minutes before an abortion. Records show Lopez was given the drug a day earlier.
- Failure by the clinic’s board of directors to “exercise oversight responsibility for ensuring the operation of the clinic.” Minutes from board meetings, for example, did not document “any adverse outcome related to patient care within the facility.”
- Failure to keep a detailed health record on Lopez including her diagnoses, type of anesthesia used during the procedure, surgical findings and the procedure performed.
- According to the newspaper, the state also said the clinic failed to obtain a valid informed consent from the patient prior to surgery. A “reproductive health specialist, instead of the physician performing the procedure, had obtained the signed consent, which does not meet state requirements.
- In September 2003, Holly Patterson died after receiving a medical abortion at Planned Parenthood in Hayward, California.
- In December, 2003, Hoa Thay Tran died after receiving a medical abortion at Planned Parenthood in Costa Mesa, California.
It should be noted that such cases at Planned Parenthood facilities are not new. In his 1997 book, The Scarlet Survey, researcher Kevin Sherlock documented over 140 lawsuits filed against Planned Parenthood facilities all across the country, including claims of medical malpractice, violations of health codes, medical record and patient care deficiencies, unsanitary conditions, altered lab reports, fraudulent billing, equipment and utility deficiencies, sex offenses, and so on.
Such tragedies show that Planned Parenthood is a dangerous place, not only for babies, but also for grown women.
It is time for those opposed to Planned Parenthood to investigate lawsuits against their local PP affiliates and then publicize those lawsuits in their communities.
If you care to have this research done, or if you would like to have a website created or improved for you, send an e-mail to [email protected]. [Wednesday STOPP Report, 12Oct05, Ryan Report]
Editor’s Note: Several women have died in the last 5 years from severe infection seemingly related to their medical abortion (Mifeprex, RU 486).
What of the women who may have only mild infection from the medical abortion? Recent medical research acknowledges that infection from medical abortion may be a major factor in the Preterm Delivery/Birth of future children. Preterm Birth is a major factor in the development of disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy.