Op-Ed

Any Woman Considering Abortion Should Be Able To See If The Clinic Has FILTHY Instruments Or Rusty Equipment

old hospital Shutterstock/Lynn Y

Abby Johnson Former Planned Parenthood Clinic Director
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When the late-term abortion clinic of Dr. Kermit Gosnell was raided by the FBI in 2010 on suspicions of illegally distributing pills, both the government agency and the media were astounded by what they found. Not only was the abortionist indicted on murder charges of killing babies after they were born alive following botched abortions and women who came to him for care, but the clinic was filthy – rusty equipment, blood splattered everywhere. Not someplace any women would go for quality healthcare.

Yet the abortion industry had their public line: Gosnell’s clinic was an anomaly. There is no way that any other abortion facility would stoop to such low standards. After Gosnell was sentenced to jail, Planned Parenthood publicly stated that “This verdict will ensure that no woman is victimized by Kermit Gosnell ever again.”

And by the way, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016 ruled abortion clinics don’t have to adhere to basic medical standards in Whole Woman’s Health vs. Hellerstedt because it places an “undue burden” on woman who want an abortion.

Ironically, Whole Woman’s Health abortion facilities have been cited for an array of health violations, putting women in precarious situations as they seek out abortions.  We were able to obtain records of health citations and they are numerous and disgusting. These are just a sampling of what was cited in their abortion clinics from 2011-2017:

  • Failed to properly disinfect and sterilize instruments that were used from woman to woman
  • Failed to provide a safe and sanitary environment – products of conception were being examined and contaminated instruments were being washed in the same room
  • Emergency cart contained expired supplies and medications
  • Cracks, rips and tears on the vinyl covers of exam tables
  • There was a hole in the cabinet flooring that had “the likelihood to allow rodents to enter the facility”
  • Suction machines had numerous rusty spots having the “likelihood to cause infection”

Filthy abortion clinics are not uncommon but finding out about health violations at each clinic is no easy task. As someone who used to work in an abortion clinic and who now has helped over 425 people get out of the abortion industry, I have hundreds of first-hand accounts of what abortion clinics do to cut corners on cleanliness and health. Truly disgusting tales.

But even those stories would be hard to verify from an outside source.

One new website is aiming to become the Yelp of abortion clinics, but with actual evidence of reviews. Through public records and requests using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), CheckMyClinic has compiled a searchable database of abortion clinics so women seeking abortions — and workers inside the industry — can see if a certain abortion clinic has been cited for healthcare violations and what the citations were.

The abortion industry is interested in nothing but the bottom line. We had abortion quotas at Planned Parenthood to meet. My story is confirmed with many other public comments from former abortion workers. Women and their unborn babies are dollar signs, nothing else. It makes total sense that the abortion industry trades basic medical standards for a fatter bank account.

An informed woman is an empowered woman, even Planned Parenthood could agree to that, right? Not when it comes to abortion. Anything but knowing about the trashy abortion clinics that are propped up to be havens of safety for women.

Women — and those who love them — need to know the truth about abortion facilities. They would Google anything else for reviews so why not abortion clinics? If a restaurant was cited for multiple health violations and rats running through the kitchen, it’s likely they would be shut down, if not by inspectors but because customers would refuse to patronize the place.

Abortion clinics deal with life and death every single day. The least that patients should know is if they are walking into a place that has knowingly cut corners and compromised the health of women.

Abby Johnson is president of And Then There Were None and author of Unplanned.


The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.