A Virginia Abortion Clinic’s Misconduct Is Part of National Scandal

[Valin]

National Review:

Denise M. Burke

May 5, 2016

 

The Virginia State health commissioner received a letter recently decrying “a clear pattern of repeated and serious misconduct” at a Fairfax abortion clinic “that poses a significant threat to patient safety” that “cannot be allowed to go unchecked.” This latest affirmation of the growing national scandal of dangerous and medically substandard abortion clinics came from an unexpected source: the National Abortion Federation (NAF), an abortion trade and advocacy group.

 

In response to a 52-page deficiency report issued by state health inspectors against the American Women’s Services abortion clinic — a report that recommended suspending the facility’s license — NAF joined with pro-life advocates in calling for the closure of the Fairfax clinic and other clinics in the state with ties to notorious abortionist Steven Brigham.

 

While it might be tempting to applaud this surprising turn of events, we must strongly resist that urge. NAF and the exploitive industry it represents are not the guardians of maternal health that they so publicly hold themselves out to be. Instead, the abortion industry has a long and shameful history of stridently opposing state laws that require the regulation, licensure, and inspection of abortion clinics. It also speciously argues that substandard abortion providers are “aberrations” rather than the norm in an industry more interested in keeping profits high than in protecting women.

 

Ironically, the abortion industry recently sought the elimination of the very Virginia laws that exposed egregious health and safety violations at the Fairfax clinic. In one incident at the clinic, described in the inspectors’ report, a staff member assisted in an abortion after unclogging a toilet but before changing scrubs or properly cleaning her hands. In another, an abortionist saved a blood-smeared surgical gown for future use rather than putting it into the laundry.

 

(Snip)