{"id":89218,"date":"2016-03-02T17:24:32","date_gmt":"2016-03-02T22:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=89218"},"modified":"2016-03-02T16:04:51","modified_gmt":"2016-03-02T21:04:51","slug":"abortion-chain-arguing-supreme-court-known-for-dirty-equipment-untrained-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-chain-arguing-supreme-court-known-for-dirty-equipment-untrained-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"Abortion chain arguing at Supreme Court known for dirty equipment, untrained staff"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The case Whole Woman\u2019s Health v. Hellerstedt,<\/em> being heard by the Supreme Court, will determine whether the clinic regulations signed into effect by Texas Governor Rick Perry will stand or be struck down as unconstitutional. These regulations require abortionists to have admitting privileges and require abortion facilities\u00a0to meet the same safety standards as\u00a0other outpatient facilities, such as those that perform eye surgery and colonoscopies.<\/p>\n

Texas Alliance for Life\u00a0reported yesterday<\/a>\u00a0that this same abortion chain that is currently fighting before the Supreme Court to strike down a law on abortion safety regulations has a\u00a0history of failed\u00a0inspections, dirty equipment, untrained staff and other health violations. (Earlier this month, Live Action News reported on this discovery\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0here<\/a>.) These repeated health violations among the Whole Woman’s Health chain show that there\u00a0is a pattern of serious\u00a0mismanagement among these Texas facilities.<\/p>\n

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Whole Woman\u2019s Health’s\u00a0CEO claims they have “40 years of safe abortion on record in Texas” and offer “high-quality” care, but reports of serious health violations dating back as far as 2007 have been uncovered<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Texas Alliance for Life shares their findings from as early as\u00a02011…<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Whole Woman’s Health<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A March 2011 inspection<\/a> found:<\/p>\n

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… employees in Fort Worth were not properly sterilizing equipment<\/strong>, and they had expired medications and equipment available for use in patient rooms. Further, drugs used to cause medical abortions were being store in an unlocked and unsecured cabinet.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Some of the equipment listed in the report are\u00a0“tenaculums” – grasping forceps used to hold the cervix and uterus in place during an abortion. \u00a0The report indicates that these were not sterilized in the proper position for killing pathogens, which would have put future patients at great risk, and\u00a0could have led to severe and life threatening infections. Among the expired medications were antibiotics\u00a0for preventing and fighting infection, such as Gentamicin and Ampicillin. Along with this, it was noted that staff, and even the clinical director, were untrained in\u00a0providing basic life support to patients. Abortion drugs weren’t just found in unlocked cabinets – they were\u00a0even found in an\u00a0unlocked file<\/em> cabinet with employees unable to explain why they were there. While policies and procedures were documented, they were clearly not being followed at the Fort Worth Whole Woman’s Health facility.<\/p>\n

In 2014, another inspection<\/a> at the same facility\u00a0again<\/em>\u00a0found that surgical instruments were not being properly sterilized or\u00a0stored.<\/p>\n

Beaumont Whole Woman’s Health<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Similar problems<\/a> were found in 2011\u00a0at WWH’s Beaumont facility, which is currently closed.\u00a0According to\u00a0Texas Alliance for Life:<\/p>\n

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… staff were not trained in the sterilization process<\/strong>, the facility failed to staff a trained nurse, the suction machines had rusty spots<\/strong>, the floors were stained and discolored, the staff were not properly trained in CPR<\/strong>, and the facility failed to provide proper emergency equipment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

These deficiencies could have meant death for a woman injured in an abortion.<\/p>\n

A\u00a02013\u00a0inspection<\/a>\u00a0at the Beaumont\u00a0facility found similar issues:<\/p>\n

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\u201cnumerous\u00a0rusty spots on the suction machines<\/strong>\u00a0used on the patient,\u201d \u201cexpired drugs,\u201d unlabeled \u201cpre-filled medication cups,\u201d \u201ca large hole in the cabinet flooring \u2026 [that] had the likelihood to allow rodents to enter the facility,\u201d as well as numerous other health and safety violations.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The suction machine is the mechanism behind the suction aspiration technique, used most commonly in first-trimester abortions. Watch a description of the suction aspiration abortion below:<\/p>\n