By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director, gallagher@paprolife.org
An abortion facility touted by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards has failed inspection—again.
You may recall that the Governor—who prides himself as a former Planned Parenthood clinic escort–and the Planned Parenthood chief—who opposes any restrictions on abortion—held an event in Warminster in April to discuss the “devastating effects federal budget cuts to Planned Parenthood would have” for Pennsylvanians.
At the time, Richards stated, “For many, Planned Parenthood is their only health care provider and they would have nowhere else to go.”
But the Governor and the abortion center chain operator failed to mention an annual registration survey the Department of Health conducted at Planned Parenthood Keystone-Warminster eight days before. The inspection showed that the Planned Parenthood facility was not in compliance with state health department regulations.
Now comes a new inspection—and more violations.
An unannounced inspection on August 22nd found the facility “failed to conform to all applicable State Laws.”
This facility—praised by Governor Wolf—failed to report the fact that a woman’s uterus was perforated during an abortion—a serious incident requiring notification to the state. According to the report, (which can be found at https://sais.health.pa.gov/CommonPOC/content/publiccommonpoc/QAsurvey.asp?FACID=00188701&PAGE=1&NAME=PLANNED+PARENTHOOD+KEYSTONE+%2D+WARMINSTER&SurveyType=H%20&COUNTY=) , after the patient was discharged, she ended up in a hospital emergency room. She was hemorrhaging, and required additional care at the ER.
The fact that this serious incident was not reported to the state leads one to wonder how many times Planned Parenthood fails to report complications from abortion. It also leads one to question the accuracy of the complication totals reported each year by the state health department.
The previous inspection found that the Warminster Planned Parenthood failed to ensure that “all required emergency equipment was available” for resuscitation when abortions were performed.”
The troubles at Warminster are just one more reason why federal health care dollars should be redirected away from embattled Planned Parenthood and given to federally qualified community health centers which can provide comprehensive, competent care.
But the situation also brings up the question: Why does Pennsylvania’s Governor continue to defend an organization that routinely fails to follow basic health and safety requirements?
It would appear that, once again in Pennsylvania, politics is interfering with women’s health.