Warminster Planned Parenthood Violations: This is Why Statistics on Abortion Complications are Hopelessly Unreliable

Planned Parenthood, Warminster, PA 

By John Jansen
Pro-Life Action League

Recently I came across the report of an inspection of the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Warminster, Pennsylvania carried out on August 22 by the state’s Department of Health. 

One finding in particular jumped out at me: on May 5, a woman undergoing an abortion at this Planned Parenthood facility had her uterus perforated—and Planned Parenthood did not report the injury to the Department as a “serious event,” as required by state law. Instead, Planned Parenthood merely reported it as an “incident.” 

The Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDOH) defines an “incident” as: an event, occurrence or situation involving the clinical care of an Abortion Services client that could have injured the client but did not either cause an unanticipated injury or require the delivery of additional health care services to the client. 

Contrast that with a “serious event,” which the PDOH defines as: an event, occurrence or situation involving the clinical care of a client in the abortion facility that results in death or compromises client safety and results in an unanticipated injury requiring the delivery of additional health services to the client. 

PA Gov. Tom Wolf and Cecille Richards, President Planned

Parenthood visit Warminster Planned  Parenthood in April 2017

(Photo: Bucks County Courier Times)  

What’s more, the inspection revealed that the woman whose uterus was perforated refused transfer to a hospital, although she did present to a nearby hospital’s ER after she left Planned Parenthood. 

This raises some questions: Did Planned Parenthood staffers urge her to be transferred to a hospital immediately? Or did they downplay the problem and make her think that it was probably unnecessary? Was the woman afraid that she would have to pay the bill for the injury Planned Parenthood caused her?

In any case, if the woman were to not go to the hospital, Planned Parenthood could try to sweep the matter under the rug—which, it appears, is exactly what they did by failing to report it as a “serious event.” 

Statistics on Abortion Complications: Garbage In, Garbage Out If you’ve been around the abortion debate for any length of time, you’ve surely heard a self-styled pro-choice advocate trot out the “Abortion is safer than childbirth” talking point. Oh? The data on abortion complications depend largely on self-reporting. 

Self-reporting invariably means under-reporting, and that invariably means the data on abortion complications are hopelessly unreliable. (In other words: “Garbage in, garbage out.”) The uterine perforation brought to light at the Planned Parenthood in Warminster therefore provides an interesting case study. 

If it weren’t for state inspectors diligently doing their job, this “serious event” never would have been reported as such. And when you consider that there are hundreds of abortion facilities nationwide that haven’t been inspected in years—and some that have never been inspected—you can’t help but wonder how many other complications get swept under the rug.

View more at: https://prolifeaction.org/2017/ppwarminster/

Blogger's note: Warminster PP was also cited for health violations in April 2017 and July 2016.  Below are excerpts from the three inspection reports citing the violations.


August 22, 2017
"Facility failed to ensure a patient with a confirmed uterine perforation following a surgical abortion was reported to the Department of Health as a serious event for one of one applicable medical records reviewed and the facility failed to ensure a patient was provided written notification of a serious event."

April 14, 2017
"Facility failed to ensure all required emergency equipment was available in procedure rooms 3 and 4 for resuscitation measures when abortions were performed." (Corrective action was slated to be completed by May 15, 2017 - which begs the question, why the delay?)

July 7, 2016
"Facility failed to ensure the maximum recommended dose of Lidocaine (an anesthetic) was not exceeded when administered as a para-cervical block (regulated anesthetic causing a loss of sensation in a region of the body which results from the injection of a local anesthetic on each side of the cervix) for 8 of 10 medical records reviewed."

View PA Dept. of Health complete inspection report on Warminster PP violations

PA Abortion Clinics Inspection Reports Online

When Kermit Gosnell’s Philadelphia “House of Horrors” abortion facility was closed in 2010 it was not because of vigilant oversight by the Pennsylvania Department of Health -- it was the indirect result of an investigation into illegal prescription drug activity at the clinic.  Up to that point, inspections at the Gosnell clinic were irregular in the early years of his practice which opened in 1979 and then non-existent for the last 17 years.  In response to the horrific conditions found at the clinic during an FBI raid, Pennsylvania lawmakers in 2011 passed regulations that abortion centers must be licensed as outpatient surgical centers with routine inspections. These inspection surveys (for all healthcare facilities) are posted online on the Pennsylvania Department of Health website. 

The website states:
“The information posted on the Department of Health's website is posted in accordance with requirements imposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). These healthcare facility search pages contain information regarding healthcare facility compliance with regulatory requirements for licensure and for certification. Licensure permits the facility to operate in Pennsylvania. Certification permits the facility to claim and receive payment for services rendered from the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The Department of Health, as state licensing agency and State Survey Agency for CMS, conducts both routine and special inspections of health care facilities to determine ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements which is a condition of licensure and certification. If, during an inspection, the Department determines a facility does not meet regulatory requirements for licensure and certification, the Department notifies the facility in a Statement of Deficiencies. Health care facilities are required to submit a Plan of Correction in response to the Statement of Deficiencies. The Plan of Correction is mandatory, regardless whether the facility agrees with Department findings or not, and is the means by which the Department monitors and ensures correction of deficiencies. As long as the facility submits a Plan of Correction, the facility may continue to operate and receive Medicare and Medicaid payment, while deficiencies are being corrected. A Plan of Correction, for purposes of licensure and certification, is not an admission of wrongdoing on the part of the facility.”

As an example, during its most recent inspection in August 2016, The Planned Parenthood of Northeast Philadelphia was recorded with approximately seven non-compliance issues involving medication storage, medical records, fire safety and procedural issues. Plans of correction were completed by October 2016.

Below are links for a few Pennsylvania abortion center inspection surveys.  If you are interested in locating the same type of data for abortion centers in other states, you can start with the Department of Health in your state but it may take some digging to locate the information and is dependent upon your state’s registration and licensing requirements for abortion clinics.

PPSP – Far Northeast Health Center
Philadelphia Women’s Center
Hillcrest Women’s Medical Center-Harrisburg

Inspection Uncovers Numerous Safety Violations at Harrisburg Abortion Center

By Maria Gallagher
PA Pro-Life Federaton

In the shadow of the state Capitol, a Harrisburg abortion center which has operated for decades has accumulated a myriad of health and safety violations.

The revelations can be found in an inspection report for the “Hillcrest Women’s Medical Center” posted on the Pennsylvania Department of Health website here.

The number and breadth of violations are truly alarming. 

No full-time person was in charge of operating the facility. No registered nurse was on duty to assist patients before and after at least 55 abortions had been performed. The facility failed to document the name and dosage of anesthesia used on a number of patients.

In addition, Hillcrest failed to secure drug samples—a dangerous situation. A February tour of the facility revealed a number of outdated medication and supplies.

The procedure room had swabs for sexually transmitted diseases that had expired 13 years before. Inspectors found needles and syringes in paper wrapping that had deteriorated and were yellow with age.

Investigators also determined that Hillcrest violated the state Child Protective Services law. That law requires that employees who have “significant likelihood of regular contact with children in the form of care, guidance, supervision or training” must obtain three background checks: one from the Pennsylvania State Police, one from the Department of Human Services, and one from the FBI.

Inspectors reviewed medical records, personnel files, and conducted staff interviews. They found that, even though Hillcrest saw patients under the age of 18, “background checks were not completed for employees.”

The egregious safety violations at Hillcrest show the importance of Pennsylvania’s abortion center regulation law, which ensures regular inspections of abortion facilities. Pennsylvania simply cannot depend on abortion facilities to police themselves.

Website: blogger.com

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