Category: Provider Hall of Shame

Family Planning Associates Medical Group is an abortion provider that operates a chain of abortion clinics. (FPA) was founded in California by Edward Campbell Allred. It’s slick and attractive website states that:

“In keeping with our commitment to provide the finest quality medical service available, all FPA physicians practice exclusively for Family Planning Associates Medical Group, Inc. Patients are given complete information about what to expect when they leave the facility. Any post-operative questions and problems are evaluated and resolved promptly and appropriately at no additional fee.”

FPA has grown to be the largest chain of for-profit abortion facilities in the world. The chain has grown due to Allred’s business acumen and his excellent choice of attorneys to keep him from being shut down. That I personally know of, a dozen women and girls have died from complications of abortions performed at FPA facilities.

The first FPA death that I know of took place in 1970. Denise Holmes, a 24-year-old Australian woman living in Texas, decided to undergo an abortion at Avalon Hospital in Los Angeles, California, on her way home for Christmas. Denise checked into Allred’s Avalon Hospital on December 21. During the abortion, Denise suffered an amniotic fluid embolism that carried pieces of fetal bone marrow into her lungs. She was pronounced dead by Allred at Avalon at 5pm.

In 1984, FPA bought out the already-troubled San Vicente Hospital, where Sara Lint, Natalie Meyers, Joyce Ortenzio, and Laniece Dorsey had already died. Clearly the quality of the management didn’t improve under the FPA umbrella, because Mary Pena underwent her fatal abortion at San Vicente shortly after Allred took over. Allred managed to slip Mary’s body through the morgue without an autopsy, but an alert records clerk in Mary’s home county noticed something fishy about the death certificate, and she was exhumed and the real cause of her death determined.

Meanwhile back at one of the more established FPA facilities, Patricia Chacon, age 16, died after an abortion that same year. FPA held that Patricial died of an unforseen embolism during a second abortion procedure. Her parents say she bled to death while left unattended.

In 1985, Josefina Garcia, age 37 and a mother of two, was left unattended in the recovery room after her D&C abortion on May 23. She bled to death.

The next year Lanice Dorsey, age 17, lapsed into a coma and died after an abortion at an Orange County FPA.

In 1988, Tami Suematsu, age 19, underwent an abortion by Vern Wagner at Riverside Family Planning, an FPA facility. After the surgery, Tami had an asthma attack causing respiratory failure, resulting in cardiac arrest. She was transported to a local hospital where she died shortly after arrival.

That same year, Joyce Ortenzio, age 32, went to San Vicente for laminaria insertion by Ruben Marmet on June 7. Later, Marmet performed an abortion, but did not remove all of the fetal parts from Joyce’s uterus. The next day, June 8, Joyce was found dead in her home from abortion complications. She left three children without a mother.

In 1992, Susan Levy, age 30, a homeless woman, was found dead in the car she’d been living in. An autopsy and review of papers found in her possession revealed that she’d undergone a safe, legal abortion at an FPA facility. Fetal tissue was left in her uterus, causing the infection that killed her.

That same year, Deanna Bell, age 13, was brought to Allred’s Albany clinic in Chicago. She was given a massive overdose of brevitol, then inadequately resuscitated. Her abortionist, Steve Lichtenberg, never had staff call an ambulance. Nobody was contacted until he notified the coroner was notified that the child was dead.

In 1994, Christina Mora, age 18, left an 18-month old child motherless when her FPA abortion ended her life. She suffered cervical lacerations and infection.

In 2000, the family of Kimberly Neil filed suit, alleging that FPA staff failed to properly monitor Kimberly, and failed to treat her properly when she stopped breathing during the abortion. Kimberly died May 22.

In 2004, Chanelle Bryant, age 22, was given the drugs for a chemical abortion at a FPA facility in California. She was instructed to use the prostaglandin as a suppository, rather than take an oral prostaglandin. This off-label use was investigated by the CDC and FDA after Chanelle and four other US women died infection after taking RU-486.

Here are a handful of the many lawsuits against Family Planning Associates:

L.V., alleged: abortion by Allred and/or Kenneth Wright and/or Morton Sacks and/or Soon G. Sohn and/or D. Cannon October 28, 1989 at FPA facility; transported Linda to San Vicente for treatment October 28 – November 6; subsequent cramps, hemorrhage, emergency surgery, hospitalization, due to incomplete abortion. (LA County Superior Court Case No. BC008189)

J.V., alleged: abortion at FPA by Edward Allred and/or Wright and/or and/or J. Terrell Crad and/or Soon Sohn July 19, 1983; patient “rendered sick, lame, disabled and suffered injuries which caused and continue to cause pain, suffering, intense anxiety, emotional distress, insecurity, and apprehension;” loss of earnings. (LA County Superior Court Case No. C505315)

A.A., alleged: abortion by Edward Allred and/or Wright October 28, 1980; admitted to hospital November 1 for gynecological infection; A. suffered “severe and permanent injury, disability and damages.” (Orange County Superior Court Case No. 370730)

C.W., alleged: abortion by Edward Allred and/or Leslie Orleans and/or Wright at FPA May 10. 1978; incomplete abortion, “massive uterine bleeding necessitating further medical care.” (Orange County Superior Court Case No. 31-79-68)

P.T., alleged abortion by Edward Allred and/or Wright at Pregnancy Control Medical Group August 6, 1976; failure to diagnose ectopic pregnancy; Penny “suffered severe, acute pain, a ruptured tubal pregnancy, hemoperitoneum, shock, and a resulting total abdominal hysterectomy” August 20. (Orange County Superior Court Case No. 32-02-40)

P.C., alleged abortion performed October 5, 1982, when she was not actually pregnant. Suit names as co defendants Edward Allred, Soon Sohn, Wright, and Ruben Marmet. (LA County Superior Court Case No. NCC238673)

V.P., alleged: abortion March 2, 1980; failure to warn of risks; negligence resulting in “disabling injuries to her body and to her small bowel and uterus, requiring surgical repair.” Wright was named as co-defendant. (LA County Superior Court Case No. C347394)

D.B., alleged: abortion at Avalon by Edward Allred and/or Wright June 19, 1976; incomplete abortion; inadequate follow-up instruction and care; hemorrhage several days later necessitating hospitalization to prevent death and repair damage. (LA County Superior Court Case No. C188819)

Other suits include:

P.S., alleged: 1977 surgery by Wright at FPA’s Avalon Hospital; displaced IUD that was in place at time of surgery; patient required hospital and medical treatment. (LA County Superior Court Case No. C483647)

S.V., alleged improperly attended coming out of anesthesia following October 21, 1985 tubal ligation by Edward Allred and/or Wright; fell, struck by gurney, injured; post-op infection. (Orange County Superior Court Case No. 50-39-14)

P.B., alleged in 1976 suit failure to diagnose and treat, resulting in damages. (LA County Superior Court Case No. C148914)

L.G., alleged in 1974 suture of left ureter during hysterectomy; patient subsequently required cystouethroscopy, left retrograde pyelogram, and left uretero-neocystotomy, with reimplantation of the left ureter to the bladder, also continuing pain and suffering and need for medical care. (LA County Superior Court Case No. C 109353)

Note that these suits were uncovered in searches in Orange and Los Angeles counties; to my knowledge, nobody has yet done a search for suits against Wright or FPA in Fresno County.

Two quotes from Dr. Edward Allred, founder of Family Planning Associates:

“Very commonly, we hear patients say that they feel like they’re on an assembly line. We tell them they’re right. It is an assembly line…We’re trying to be as cost-effective as possible and speed is important…We try to use the physician for his technical skill and reduce the one-to-one relationship with the patient. We usually see the patient for the first time on the operation table and then not again. More contact is just not efficient.”

and also:

“Population control is too important to be stopped by some right wing pro-life types. Take the new influx of Hispanic immigrants. Their lack of respect for democracy and social order is frightening. I hope I can do something to stem that tide; I’d set up a clinic in Mexico for free if I could … When a sullen black woman of 17 or 18 can decide to have a baby and get welfare and food stamps and become a burden to all of us, it’s time to stop. In parts of South Los Angeles, having babies for welfare is the only industry these people have.”

both quoted in The San Diego Union, October 12, 1980. Also quoted in Anthony Perry. First quote also found in “Doctor’s Abortion Business Is Lucrative.” ALL About Issues December 1980, pages 10, 14, and 15

 

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The East Tennessee Women’s Clinic in Knoxville was shut down by health officials due to numerous health violations including filthy operating rooms and improper storage of instruments.

An investigation found filthy toilet facilities needing repair, a receptionist assisting between patients, a receptionist bringing dirty supplies to instrument room and bringing out clean supplies with the same gloves still on, medical records stored in upstairs closet with no filing or retrieval system, no evidence of physical examination prior to abortion procedures, alcohol-soaked sponges stored in a plastic ice cream container, intravenous needles and packages of curettage tips found on the floor in a box containing dead bugs, a brownish-red residue [probably human blood] on the floor of the first treatment room, dirt on the floors of the waiting room and the second treatment room, an instrument cleaning room floor described as “blackened,” cobwebs and dead insects on the floor of the recovery room, no soap or towels in lavatories, no paper towels in the treatment room, beds in the recovery room with soiled sheets and blankets, two beds in the recovery room unmade, with large reddish-brown stains on their mattresses, a microwave oven in the kitchen area which contained “a fast-food bag which emitted a foul odor and contained a gray and green, fur-covered object,” an instrument cleaning room containing blood-stained rubber gloves, two blackened sponges, a dozen suction curettage tips behind the faucet, a vaginal speculum that shed pieces of brownish-red tissue when handled, and two open boxes of needles.

A news report stated that inspectors found on a Friday individually bagged abortion tissue specimens from the previous Monday “in a garbage bag sitting on boxes of formaldehyde,” and the state’s report said that “functions cannot be and were not adequately performed with part-time nurses hired from a personnel pool and directed by an out-of state physician available one day each week.”

The abortion mill also failed to carry the required $2 million malpractice insurance.

References: Knoxville News-Sentinel, February 17, 1985 and May 27, 1987; Associated Press, September 19, 1989.

Credit: Abortionviolence.com

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A news article in the San Antonio Express revealed that the Alamo Women’s Clinic abortion clinic was investigated by the State of Texas after an employee said at least seven women had their abortions performed by “a marketing specialist and an associate” posing as doctors.

Seven women suffered injuries, including a lacerated colon and a perforated uterus.

Reference: San Antonio Express, June 14, 1991.

Credit: Abortionviolence.com

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According to medical board documents, abortionist Lawrence Alozie Akpulonu allegedly raped patient “A.A,” who was under anesthesia for an abortion by Akpulonu at Midland Medical Center on January 28, 1995. A complaint to the California Medical Board states that

“A.A. awoke to find respondent raping her; he had penetrated her vagina with his penis. Respondent gave patient A.A. a shot and she went back to sleep. When patient A.A. woke up a second time, she saw respondent next to her. She saw his erect penis out of his pants. She tried to push him away … Respondent then gave her another shot and she went back to sleep. When patient A.A. awoke for a third time, she found her sweater had been removed and her bra partially pulled down exposing her right breast. Respondent was caressing patient A.A.’s body … when patient A.A. tried to scream, respondent placed his hand over her mouth. Respondent told patient A.A. she had a beautiful body. He said she was a very nice girl and a very sexy girl while he continued rubbing her inside her blouse and bra. He kissed her right breast. He then placed his business card inside her bra and said she could call him anytime.”

He was found guilty of negligence and gross deviation from standard of care in this behavior and in the excessive injections given to A.A.

In other incidents, Akpulonu was arrested for committing perjury on government documents. He was also given probation for brandishing a loaded handgun in front of pro-lifers and threatening their lives. Akpulonu also pleaded guilty to medical insurance fraud. On November 19, 1991, Akpulonu threatened a parking garage attendant with a loaded .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol, which he had been carrying concealed in his vehicle, when the attendant asked him to remove his improperly parked car from a restricted area. Original charges of exhibiting a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle, and carrying a loaded firearm in a public place were amended to add a charge of disturbing the peace; Akpulonu pleaded nolo contendere to the added charge February 20, 1992, and the remaining charges were dismissed.

Medical board documents alleged that Akpulonu billed Medi-cal for x-rays on patients S.T. (October 22, 1986), C.C. (November 11, 1986), D.C. (December 16, 1985), and E.D. (December 13, 1986); false or fraudulent Medi-Cal claims totaling $9300 on 62 additional patients in 1989 and 1990, such as billing once as an abortion D&C and once for a non-obstetrical D&C for the same abortion; billing $5970.40 fraudulently as new patient visits for 98 previously billed patients; submitted fraudulent pathology bills on 43 patients when pathology services were included in other billed procedures; 15-count felony complaint filed against respondent and Shirley Akpulonu September 9, 1987; on August 9, 1988, 16 counts were dismissed in a hearing and 10-count Felony Information was filed August 15; March 13, 1991, he pled guilty to a misdemeanor offense.

There were many official inspections of Akpulonu’s Midland Medical Center abortion clinic, and every one of them revealed recurring threats to patient health that were not corrected;

Akpulonu, who is a podiatrist by training, ran his filthy Midland Medical Center abortion mill for years, and kept his clinic open despite at least seven health inspections that found numerous threats to the lives and health of his patients. Akpulonu’s case is a perfect example of how states are perfectly willing to let bad abortionists continue to threaten the lives of women, just because they want abortion to stay fully available. When reading this list of inspection failures, consider what the authorities would do to a pro-life crisis pregnancy center if it had such a lousy inspection record it would be shut down after it failed the first inspection!

A July 17, 1991 inspection found

– A filthy rest room with no toilet paper;

– Reports of unsterile instruments being used in the operating room;

– Fumes persevering after anesthesia;

– No registered nurse at the facility;

– Akpulonu performing abortions alone, with no assistant;

– No scrub room and inadequate supply of gowns and gloves;

– Blood on floor and curtains of the operating room;

– Facility operating with an expired license; and

– Blood specimens discarded rather than sent to a lab for testing.

August and September 1991 inspections found

– Employees were trained to clean hoses used in medical procedures in running cold water by working the hoses manually to flush out all blood and tissue;

– Surgical gloves not worn;

– Employees trained to dump tissue jars into the sink and run the contents through the garbage disposal;

– Medical instruments were in cold water in the sink and put in the autoclave, which was rusty and too small to permit closing of the lid when the instruments were in it;

– No pathology reports on abortion tissues;

– Disposable plastic syringes being re-used;

– Clinic smelled of rotting tissues, surgery room splattered with blood, and some other rooms were extremely dusty; and

– Rat droppings found in the surgery room and in the hall.

A May 1993 inspection found

– Respondent did not use gloves during medical procedures and advised his medical assistants that they did not need to use gloves unless they had a cut on their finger or hand;

– Respondent brought his entire staff into the examination room to observe a patient who had a severe case of genital warts;

– No pathology reports done on abortion tissues;

– No refrigeration for blood and tissue samples or for medications;

– No on-site equipment for handling emergencies;

– Fetuses less than 18 to 24 weeks were flushed down the garbage disposal;

– Equipment not properly sterilized between procedures;

A July/August 1993 inspection found

– Staff were now flushing fetuses of less than five months down the toilet;

– Staff were not trained in infection control;

– Equipment was still not being sterilized between procedures;

– Employees were assisting in medical procedures were not provided aprons, masks or hair covers; and

– Staff were re-using single use equipment such as plastic equipment inserted in patients’ vaginas, and tubing that transported products of conception.

A September, 1993 inspection found

– A foul odor in exam rooms;

– A dirty autoclave containing rusty, dirty, tissue-encrusted instruments;

– An employee containing dirty equipment without wearing gloves because the employee had been instructed by Akpulonu that, if the employee desired to work at respondent’s clinic, the employee would not wear gloves when dealing with bodily fluids; and

– When the employee indicated intent to report this to health authorities, Akpulonu told the employee he would see to it that the employee never got another job in the health care field;

A February 1994 inspection found

– Blood products improperly stored in improperly labeled, leaking containers;

– No soap, antiseptic, or towels at handwashing facilities;

– Improper storage of hazardous waste;

– Inadequate personal protective equipment for staff;

– Missing emergency equipment;

– Poor housekeeping;

– Improper record keeping; and

– Training was inappropriately given by an employee with only one week of employment and did not include information on the handling of an exposure incident;

A March 1994 inspection found:

– IV needles were not disposed of properly;

– There were improperly labeled blood products stored in open cupboards;

– There were still no towels at the handwashing site;

– The emergency exit was blocked;

– There were no gowns, face shields, or goggles for staff;

– The emergency equipment was still missing;

– The housekeeping was still poor;

– The record keeping was still inadequate;

– Biohazardous waste was improperly stored in paper boxes; and

– Maintenance room contained an unlabeled and blocked electrical panel as well as a floor covered with large wires creating a hazard.

On January 14, 1995, Akpulonu hired a nurse on the spot, but she quit after only four hours of working in his filthy abortion clinic. Among other health hazards, she observed in a complaint to the California Medical Board;

– rusty metal speculums;

– rusty forceps;

– instruments cleaned with dishwashing liquid;

– a lack of lifesaving equipment;

– no apparatus for administering anesthesia;

– cockroaches in the operating room;

– no medical swabs in the operating room;

– no alcohol in examining or operating rooms;

– a ‘rancid blood smell’ in procedure rooms;

– no refrigerator to store pathology tissues;

– no containers for biohazardous materials;

– no needle disposal units in examining room or operating room;

– used needles left on tables in the operating room; and

– improper handling of fetal materials.

The nurse’s complaint to the California Medical Board stated that

“Akpulonu performed five abortion procedures. … I saw old specimens, apparently from earlier abortions performed the day before, in urine sample glasses stored in the medicine cabinet. … When Akpulonu began the abortion procedures, he did not allow anyone else in the room with him. There was no nurse or assistant with him. … After the procedures, Akpulonu asked me to empty the products of conception from the gauze bag attached to the vacuum aspirator into containers. … he referred me to the medicine cabinet. The only containers in that cabinet that could have held the specimens were the plastic urine sample glasses. I followed instructions and then asked an intern if that was the standard procedure at the clinic. She said it was. The specimens sat on the counter for several hours. … Based upon what I saw in the short time that I was there, it does not appear that Akpulonu is sending any specimens to a pathology lab. … I truly believe that someone will become seriously injured if something is not done immediately.”

References: Los Angeles Times, January 31, 1993; News Notes. “A Gentle Touch.” The Wanderer, March 2, 1995, page 3; California Medical Board Accusation Number 17-95-46707 dated March 21, 1995.

Credit: Abortionviolence.com

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