Conflict Makers

MBA.502 - Conflict makers: How to 

screw up team productivity. 

    

1.  Focus on your division’s tasks and needs only.

2.  Remember, yours is the key part of the organization!   

2.1. It’s a power play, and the superior position is yours.

3.  Stick with your solutions!

3.1. If you don’t, you’ll never get what you want.

3.2. Remember if you compromise, you lose.

4.  No mediator!

4.1. Unless they side with you, you're screwed. 

5.  Stand firm! 

5.1. Don’t admit you're wrong.  It’s a sign of weakness.

5.2. Don’t acknowledge any of their position.  Same reason.

6.  Keep your distance!

6.1. They're hose-heads; not worth talking to anyway.

Easy Alternative:

1.  Engage.

1.1. Talk it through graciously.

1.2. Define the business problem.  This is, after all, a business.

1.3. Find the conflicting priorities.

2.  Work out a deal.

2.1. Converge on goals.  Insist on a win-win way through. 

2.2. Identify, clarify, and commit.

2.3. Follow through with quick meetings as needed to keep it on track.

3.  If that didn't work, engage with an impartial mediator.

3.1. Do (1) & (2) again with a senior staffer to mediate.

3.1.1.  Sides might meet just with the mediator first.

3.1.2.  The mediator can perhaps whittle things down to the core issues from a business perspective.

3.2. The mediation's focus will be on workplace performance (appropriately), not about how sides ‘feel’ about each other (a shrink’s task for somebody else). See MBA.501

4.  Affirm and Commit.

4.1. Identify, clarify, and commit.

4.2. Follow-up to see that the resolution worked.

4.3. Meet again, and regularly if needed, to support the changes.

By the way, where do you think all these quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen?  Think again. They come about because deep inside ourselves we want our own way, and we fight for it. We want what we don't have and are willing to do harm to get it.  Truth.  Deal with it.

Communication Killers

MBA.501 - Communication Killers: How to 
screw up  progress in the workplace.

1.  Listen just long enough to form a counter-strategy; then:      

2.  Invalidate! 

2.1. Challenge each premise as it emerges. 

2.2. Don’t wait to hear it all.  “Now, be reasonable …”

3.  Attack! 

3.1. Criticize!  “You always…,” is a good approach.

3.2. Attack their motives and accuracy.

4.  Defend! 

4.1. Adjust what you hear to fit your position. 

4.2. Deny their perspective. “No, you don't understand...”

5.  Escalate! 

5.1. Restate the offeror’s content in exaggerated and extreme form.

5.2. Then insert reasons why ‘it’ is impossible.  “The contract doesn't allow…”

6.  Withdraw! 

6.1. They're the problem, not you; make a strategic exit.

6.2. “I'll get somebody else to handle it,” is a great play.

7.  Play the ‘!#@*% you’ card!   Always a good cut-off. 

Easy Alternative:

1.  Give ‘understanding’ a try.

1.1. Listen to the subject matter and offered rationale.

1.2. Evaluate the non-verbal (the other 85%) content.

2.  Make sure you get it. 

2.1. Ask for insight. Why? What? How?

2.2. Feed it back for clarity. "If I understand, then ...."

3.  Keep it easy. 

3.1. Dial down each escalation.

3.2. Acknowledge each criticism according to its relevance and accuracy. 

4.  Brainstorm together.  Not why we can’t but how we can succeed.

5.  Affirm and Commit. 

5.1. Affirm the validity.  “Yes, you're right on that point.”

5.2. Affirm the value.  “Thanks.  I needed to know that.”

5.3. Affirm the individual.  “Keep it up.  I need your perspective.”

5.4. Commit.  “I understand and I’ll back you up on that.”

6.  Rinse; repeat. 

The principles illustrated here are applicable to pretty much any relationship whether it's between coworkers, friends, or marriage partners.  Or between parents and children, for that matter; especially teens.  :)  

The two authors of this particular short list spent 35 years in research, development, and screwing up.  Thanks and a hat tip to Russ whom I've known since the 70's and for whom I've worked since the early 90's.  Hard to believe he didn't fire me when I told him to. 

Letter to Peter Collinson

The entire letter from  Benjamin Franklin is rich and enlightening, but this excerpt says more worth laughing about than a weekend of comedy shows.

May 09, 1753

"...  The little value Indians set on what we prize so highly under the name of learning appears from a pleasant passage that happened some years since at a treaty between one of our colonies and the Six Nations; when every thing had been settled to the satisfaction of both sides, and nothing remained but a mutual exchange of civilities, the English commissioners told the Indians, they had in their country a college for the instruction of youth who were there taught various languages, arts, and sciences; that there was a particular foundation in favour of the Indians to defray the expense of the education of any of their sons who should desire to take the benefit of it.   And now if the Indians would accept of the offer, the English would take half a dozen of their brightest lads and bring them up in the best manner.  

The Indians after consulting on the proposal replied that it was remembered some of their youths had formerly been educated in that college, but it had been observed that for a long time after they returned to their friends, they were absolutely good for nothing being neither acquainted with the true methods of killing deer, catching beaver or surprising an enemy. The proposition however, they looked on as a mark of the kindness and good will of the English to the Indian Nations which merited a grateful return; and therefore if the English gentlemen would send a dozen or two of their children to Onondago the great Council would take care of their education, bring them up in really what was the best manner and make men of them.  ...."

America in a Box

Beauty in art, beauty in culture; one is wide open and free, the other is perhaps bounded by fairly rigid rules.

America's norms, created by tradition, formalized by law and policy, America is the land of the carefully constrained.  Citizens are expected to color inside the lines.  True?  Ask the occupiers how the police treated them.

... a game in a box.
A short list of places to stand.
Those are the rules.

Change 'in favor of all' is often resisted by power players in favor of their own interests.

Today's America  seems constrained by monied interests purchasing government backing and by government playing along with such special interests.  Our financial industry now touches virtually everyone in the the world, and as yet does so without  accountability.  The six billion or so who bear the burden of being so manhandled didn't give their permission, but Wall Street now controls the world price of corn, the staple for many of them, along with most other commodities.  Monsanto dictates their crops.  The U.S. Congress backs it all.

Here at home, debate is limited to the confines of left or right.  Nothing outside the box.  The public forum tolerates the narrow debate of liberal and conservative issues, but the resulting polarization cripples our progress.  Pro-life folks find themselves faced with a candidate who thinks the poor are lazy welfare-ites.  Pro-choice folks have to vote for a big-government/big-debt fellow.  Voting for the more 'Christian' candidates in Congress means backing big business, especially Wall Street, to the detriment of the nations poor and the developing world.  The media play along.  We're boxed, and without a venue for a real public forum.

Americans and the world are scrambling for an exit strategy.  'Occupy' has dozens of focal points and now spans the developed world.  'Green' is tackling resource issues.  'Revival' is in the wings in a brand new form.  'Globalization' is rewriting policy, trade, and finance. Worldwide protest in 436 cities targets Monsanto and GMOs (just 17 hours ago), and Ag-Gag is tackling farm animal abuse.  ....

The next decades will be a blast.  Only figuratively, we hope.

You've noticed.  Picked a path yet for your part in it all?

The Ninety and Nine

This poem from 1931 shows a bit of the history of the issue in America.  Now with globalization, the question remains but on a much larger scale.  Rich and poor, white collar and blue collar, haves and have nots ...

by
Rose Elizabeth Smith

There are ninety and nine that work and die,
In hunger and want and cold,
That one may revel in luxury,
And be lapped in the silken fold;
And ninety and nine in the hovels bare,
And one in a palace of riches rare.
From the sweat of their brow the desert blooms
And the forest before them falls;
Their labor has builded humble homes,
And the cities with lofty halls;
And the one owns the cities and houses and lands,
And the ninety and nine have empty hands.
But the night so dreary and dark and long
At last shall the morning bring;
And over the land the victor’s song
Of the ninety and nine shall ring,
And echo afar, from zone to zone:
“Rejoice, for labor shall have its own.”

From the
Machinist Monthly Journal
November 1931

In the developing world, it's common for folks to work harder, longer, and with less reward than we do. It's common to launch several 'small business' efforts in a year, hoping for something that works. Urban unemployment above 50% is typical as is rural unemployment around 80%. The common lament isn't "I'm poor," it's "I have no voice, I can't change anything, I can't even help my own children."

The rich in the developing world have everything they need, of course.

If all the world were like us ... would that solve the problem? What are the pieces that matter?

The Emperor's Toilet

Wealth that could be used for the benefit of many is spent gilding the emperor's toilet.  Why is that? 

Interestingly, Western nations see themselves as bastions of justice, of progress, of equality, liberty and brotherhood.  They believe themselves to be noble and above the injustice of discrimination against a lineage or class or race.

Recent years, however, have unveiled governments whose policies are purchased by the rich and whose initiatives are chosen for political advantage rather than the good of the citizens.

Today's government in action bears little resemblance to the original.  Folks are distrustful, and the nation's international reputation has declined sharply in the last twenty-five years.  There are reasonable alternatives, are there not?

Soweto children's Gospel Choir

And how about the church; is the church infected by our bent culture?  Is there a gracious path outward for a genuine Christian heart?  Yes, and yes.

The exodus is already underway, you've probably noticed.  The next generation is neither willing nor able to be 'building and meeting' conformists.  We perhaps would be well advised to listen to the emerging youth who've legitimately encountered God.  They're what's in the queue for the church and perhaps for Godly purpose as well.

Nigerian youth in worship

From a culture that generates a widening gap between the rich and poor, from a worldview that seeks profit rather than good, from a culture whose claim to noble purpose is in their history and not their actions, the exodus is begun.  How might we be part of the change and not be left behind among the rubble?

So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish

"It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see...."
"You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?""No," said Ford..., "nothing so simple. Nothing anything like so straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people."
"Odd," said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy."
"I did," said Ford. "It is."
"So," said Arthur..., "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?"
"It honestly doesn't occur to them," said Ford. "They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates to the government they want."
"You mean they actually vote for the lizards?"
"Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course."
"But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?"
"Because if they didn't vote for a lizard," said Ford, "the wrong lizard might get in."

• Douglas Adams, in So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish (1984) Ch. 36.

Adams?  No, the other Adams!

"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty. When clear prospects are opened before vanity, pride, avarice, or ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate philosophers and the most conscientious moralists to resist the temptation. Individuals have conquered themselves. Nations and large bodies of men, never."

• John Adams, letter to John Taylor (15 April 1814).

Democracy or a Republic

Democracy or Republic?

The Founding Fathers Intended for the United States to Be a Republic

JUNE 01, 2007 by WALTER E. WILLIAMS

Walter Williams is the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University.

How often do we hear the claim that our nation is a democracy? Was a democratic form of government the vision of the Founders? As it turns out, the word democracy appears nowhere in the two most fundamental founding documents of our nation—the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Instead of a democracy, the Constitution’s Article IV, Section 4, declares “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.” Our pledge of allegiance to the flag says not to “the democracy for which it stands,” but to “the republic for which it stands.” Is the song that emerged during the War of 1861 “The Battle Hymn of the Democracy” or “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”?

So what is the difference between republican and democratic forms of government? John Adams captured the essence of the difference when he said, “You have rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe.” Nothing in our Constitution suggests that government is a grantor of rights. Instead, government is envisioned as a protector of rights.

In recognition that it is government that poses the gravest threat to our liberties, the framers used negative phrases in reference to Congress throughout the first ten amendments to the Constitution, such as shall not abridge, infringe, deny, disparage, and shall not be violated, nor be denied. In a republican form of government, there is rule of law. All citizens, including government officials, are accountable to the same laws. Government power is limited and decentralized through a system of checks and balances. Government intervenes in civil society to protect its citizens against force and fraud, but does not intervene in the cases of peaceable, voluntary exchange.

Contrast the framers’ vision of a republic with that of a democracy. According to Webster’s dictionary, a democracy is defined as “government by the people; especially: rule of the majority.” In a democracy the majority rules either directly or through its elected representatives. As in a monarchy, the law is whatever the government determines it to be. Laws do not represent reason. They represent power. The restraint is upon the individual instead of government. Unlike the rights envisioned under a republican form of government, rights in a democracy are seen as privileges and permissions that are granted by government and can be rescinded by government.

There is considerable evidence that demonstrates the disdain held by our founders for a democracy. James Madison, in Federalist No. 10, said that in a pure democracy, “there is nothing to check the inducement to sacrifice the weaker party or the obnoxious individual.” At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Edmund Randolph said, “that in tracing these evils to their origin every man had found it in the turbulence and follies of democracy.” John Adams said, “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” Later on, Chief Justice John Marshall observed, “Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos.” In a word or two, the Founders knew that a democracy would lead to the same kind of tyranny the colonies suffered under King George III.

The framers gave us a Constitution that is replete with anti-majority-rule, undemocratic mechanisms. One that has come in for frequent criticism and calls for elimination is the Electoral College. In their wisdom, the framers gave us the Electoral College so that in presidential elections large, heavily populated states could not use their majority to run roughshod over small, sparsely populated states. Amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress, or two-thirds of state legislatures, to propose an amendment and three-fourths of state legislatures to ratify it. Part of the reason for having a bicameral Congress is that it places another obstacle to majority rule. Fifty-one senators can block the wishes of 435 representatives and 49 senators. The Constitution gives the president a veto to thwart the power of all 535 members of Congress. It takes two-thirds of both houses of Congress to override the president’s veto.

There is even a simpler way to expose the tyranny of majority rule. Ask yourself how many of your day-to-day choices would you like to have settled through the democratic process of majority rule. Would you want the kind of car you own to be decided through a democratic process, or would you prefer purchasing any car you please? Would like your choice of where to live, what clothes to purchase, what foods you eat, or what entertainment you enjoy to be decided through a democratic process? I am sure that at the mere suggestion that these choices should be subject to a democratic vote, most of us would deem it a tyrannical attack on our liberties.

Most Americans see our liberties as protected by the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, but that vision was not fully shared by its framers. In Federalist No. 84, Alexander Hamilton argued, “[B]ills of rights . . . are not only unnecessary in the proposed Constitution, but would even be dangerous. For why declare that things shall not be done [by Congress] which there is no power to do? Why, for instance, should it be said that the liberty of the press shall not be restrained, when no power is given [to Congress] by which restrictions may be imposed?” James Madison agreed: “This is one of the most plausible arguments I have ever heard urged against the admission of a bill of rights into this system . . . [because] by enumerating particular exceptions to the grant of power, it would disparage those rights which were not placed in that enumeration, and it might follow by implication, that those rights which were not singled out, were intended to be assigned into the hands of the general government, and were consequently insecure.”

Madison thought this danger could be guarded against by the Ninth Amendment, which declares “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” Of course, the Ninth Amendment has little or no meaning in today’s courts.

Transformed into a Democracy?

Do today’s Americans have contempt for the republican values laid out by our Founders, or is it simply a matter of our being unschooled about the differences between a republic and a democracy? It appears that most Americans, as well as their political leaders, believe that Congress should do anything it can muster a majority vote to do. Thus we have been transformed into a democracy. The most dangerous and insidious effect of majority rule is that it confers an aura of legitimacy, decency, and respectability on acts that would otherwise be deemed tyrannical. Liberty and democracy are not synonymous and could actually be opposites.

If we have become a democracy, I guarantee you that the Founders would be deeply disappointed by our betrayal of their vision. They intended, and laid out the ground rules for, a limited republican form of government that saw the protections of personal liberties as its primary function.

Read more: http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/democracy-or-republic#ixzz2V0hFTbhc

Freedom; denied.

"I did not mislead Congress or the American people." Stephen Miller, IRS director.

Abuse usually has a history.  By the time such actions are public, there's often a trail of abuse.  The IRS has such a history.

This week's scandal, "'The inappropriate and intimidating investigation tactics included probing questions about organizations’ board members, officers, employees, and their families.  There were also demands for extraordinary detail on employee training, vending, and advertising.  Among other IRS demands, they required lists of “all issues important to your organization" with requests to "indicate your position regarding each issue.”  Tea Party organizations reported requests for complete lists of all the books their staffs had read in the prior 12 months with book reports on each.'"  ~From the office of congressman Jim Bridenstine

Coalition for Life of Iowa found itself in the IRS’s cross-hairs when the group applied for tax exempt status in October 2008. Nearly ten months of interrogation about the group’s opposition to Planned Parenthood included a demand by a Ms. Richards from the IRS which unlawfully insisted that all board members sign a sworn declaration promising not to picket/protest Planned Parenthood. Further inquiry by the IRS requested detailed information about the content of the group’s prayer meetings, educational seminars, and signs their members hold outside Planned Parenthood.

Early admissions by the IRS this time around suggest perhaps 75 such inappropriate events.  Subsequent claims suggest more than 500 specifically targeted and harassed organizations.  The IRS levied impossible and inappropriate reporting requirements, and withheld approval for years without legal reason or recourse.  IRS tactics included audits that lasted as much as 20 months with the associated legal and administrative burden.

The IRS has been the attack dog for various political interests since the 60's.  Nixon's impeachment documented such abuses.  NAACP officials claim the IRS unfairly targeted the group for an audit in the 2004 election cycle to discourage political activity. In the 1990s, conservative non-profits alleged similar targeting by the Clinton Administration.  This time, conservative organizations were the target during the run-up to the 2012 election cycle.

The IRS is not the problem.  The IRS, however criminal their behavior, is a tool.  The IRS has neither virtue nor nobility, neither commitment to serve nor the power to try.  It's a mechanical process; an adding machine.  Put things in, crunch, shovel results out.  There are fine folks who work for the IRS; we've actually met a few along the way.  The agency itself is just a tool with a soiled history. 

To keep things in perspective, left and right or liberal and conservative viewpoints are not in question here.  The author and this article do not endorse either stance and certainly not any of the parties involved.  The IRS has been illegally used by power players from across the spectrum.

UPDATE:  Even as the president was assuring the American people, more revelations were coming out about the extent of the targeting of organizations that could be broadly categorized as opposing the Obama agenda. Among the organizations the IRS investigated and audited were the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and the 180-year-old Baptist newspaper the Biblical Recorder, published by the North Carolina Baptist State Convention. The IRS reportedly also targeted the humanitarian relief group Samaritan's Purse. Both it and the BGEA are run by Franklin Graham, son of famed evangelical preacher Billy Graham.

In the run-up to last year's presidential election, the BGEA took out ads in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other newspapers encouraging Christians to vote in line with biblical values. Shortly after the ads were published, both the BGEA and Samaritan's Purse were notified that they were being audited by the IRS.

Mark DeMoss, a spokesman for the BGEA, says it is the first time the ministry had been audited in its then 62-year history. “These certainly appear to be politically motivated since the ministry had run some newspaper ads — not mentioning any candidates — simply urging people to vote for candidates with biblical values,” DeMoss said.

The Baptist Biblical Recorder appears to have been targeted because of a now-famous interview it ran with with the Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy in which Cathy boldly spoke out in favor of traditional marriage and families.

Shortly after the interview was published, the paper's editor, Allan Blume, began getting phone calls from the IRS. He reported that the calls definitely “raised some red flags and made me wonder why we were being targeted for an audit when we have been around since 1833 and have never been audited before. Putting it all together made me wonder.”

Blume said the timing of the investigation, right after the Cathy interview as well as the paper's running of the BGEA ads, appeared to be more than just coincidence. “There seems to be a very anti-Christian bias that has flowed into a lot of government agencies,” which he described as, “oppression literally against Christian organizations and groups. It makes you wonder what's going on.”

He added that while the paper was eventually given a clean bill by the IRS, the whole investigation represented “a lot of time and energy that we didn't have. It took some of our staff literally several weeks of doing nothing but that [audit].”

Similarly, both the BGEA and Samaritan's Purse were cleared by the tax bureaucracy, but, as Franklin Graham pointedly explained in a letter to President Obama, the cost was great to both organizations. “Unfortunately, while these audits not only wasted taxpayer money, they wasted money contributed by donors for ministry purposes,” wrote Graham, “as we had to spend precious resources servicing the IRS agents in our offices.”

According to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report, senior IRS officials in Washington knew about the bullying of conservative-leaning organizations as early as the summer of 2011. This was roughly nine months before the IRS commissioner testified before a House subcommittee in March 2012 and categorically denied that any improper targeting was taking place. He lied.  By then, it was rampant.

This week, we also learned that the IRS released some of these conservative groups’ confidential information to a news organization. That's a felony. Earlier this year, the EPA illegally released personal information on 80,000 farmers and ranchers, including 500 farms and ranches in South Dakota, to left-leaning environmental groups. Curious what's going on in your government?   Think our partisan/polarized Congress can bring the truth to light?

Steven T. Miller, acting director, had spent 25 years inside the IRS.  From IRS.gov:

As Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement, Miller provides direction and oversight for all major decisions affecting the four taxpayer-focused IRS Divisions: Wage and Investment, Large Business and International, Small Business/Self-Employed, and Tax Exempt and Government Entities. He also provides the executive direction and leadership for the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, which investigates income tax evasion and related financial crimes; the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, which administers the laws and regulations governing the practice of tax professionals before the IRS; and the IRS Whistleblower Office, which receives information on tax cheating and provides appropriate rewards to whistleblowers.
Prior to his appointment as the Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement, Steve served as the Commissioner of the Large Business and International Division. In this position, he had oversight for federal tax administration for domestic and foreign corporations and partnerships with assets of $10 million or more that have a United States tax filing requirement. Previously, as the Commissioner of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division, Steve oversaw the administration of tax law relating to employee plans, tax-exempt organizations and various government entities. Steve also served as the Director of Exempt Organizations and as the acting Assistant Commissioner and Special Assistant to the Assistant Commissioner, Employee Plans/Exempt Organizations. Other prior service includes several years in Chief Counsel, serving as a Congressional staff member for the Joint Committee on Taxation and work in private practice.

What are the chances he wasn't fully aware of and complicit in what was going on?
 

A Living Wage

For a more detailed look, see the National Low Income Housing Coalition Report

Only Eight Counts

Gosnell ran an abortion clinic in Philadelphia and was a prolific prescriber of Oxycontin.[1]  His behavior is not uncommon.

In 2011, he was reported to be well known in Philadelphia for providing abortions to poor minority and immigrant women.^[16] It was also claimed that Gosnell charged $1,600–$3,000 for each late-term abortion.^[18] Dr. Gosnell was also associated with clinics in Delaware and Louisiana. Atlantic Women’s Services in Wilmington, Delaware, was Dr. Gosnell's place of work one day a week. The owner of Atlantic Women's Services, Leroy Brinkley, also owned Delta Clinic of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and facilitated the hiring of staff from there for Gosnell's operation in Philadelphia.^[19]

In 2011, Gosnell, along with his employees, was charged with eight counts of murder resulting in part from gross medical malpractice in treatment of patients at his clinic, as well as 24 felony counts of illegal abortions beyond the 24 week limit, and charged with 227 misdemeanor counts of violating the 24-hour informed consent law. The murder charges related to a patient who died while under his care and seven newborns said to have been killed after being born alive during attempted abortions. In May 2013, he was convicted on three of the murder charges, 21 felony counts of illegal late-term abortion, and 211 counts of violating the 24-hour informed consent law.

Gosnell has been described as a serial killer, with ABC's Terry Moran saying "Kermit Gosnell is probably the most successful serial killer in the history of the world."^[3][4][5][6]

“Janice Staloski of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, who personally participated in the 1992 site visit, but decided to let Gosnell slide on the violations that were already evident then. She eventually rose to become director of the division that was supposed to regulate abortion providers, but never looked at Gosnell despite specific complaints from lawyers, a doctor, and a medical examiner. After she was nonetheless promoted, her successor as division director, Cynthia Boyne, failed to order an investigation of the clinic even when Karnamaya Mongar died there. Senior legal counsel Kenneth Brody insisted that the department had no legal obligation to monitor abortion clinics, even though it exercised such a duty until the Ridge administration, and exercised it again as soon as Gosnell became big news. The agency’s head lawyer, chief counsel Christine Dutton, defended the department’s indifference: 'People die,' she said.”

“Lawyers at the Pennsylvania Department of State behaved in the same fashion. Attorneys Mark Greenwald, Charles Hartwell, David Grubb, Andrew Kramer, William Newport, Juan Ruiz, and Kerry Maloney were confronted with a growing pile of disquieting facts about Gosnell, including a detailed, inside account from a former employee (Marcella Choung, 2001^[24]), and a 22-year-old dead woman. Every time, though, they managed to dismiss the evidence as immaterial... until the facts hit the fan.” 

In part as a result of the grand jury report on Gosnell, in late 2011, Pennsylvania passed a law, SB 732, that places abortion clinics under the same health and safety regulations as other outpatient surgical centers. Among those who supported the bill was Democrat Margo L. Davidson, whose cousin Semika Shaw died as a result of procedures done by Gosnell.^[115][116] Davidson specifically linked her support for the additional regulations to her cousin's death, which she attributed to poor medical practices.^[117]

Gosnell managed to continue in his murderous practice in large part because the pro-choice bias in government and media and the judicial system repeatedly gave him a pass when he should have been jailed. 

 On May 15, 2013, Gosnell was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.



Reports from around the industry suggest Gosnell was not an outlier.

Delaware – Complete Failure to Regulate Abortion Clinics and Practitioners

2013

• On April 10, ABC Philadelphia news reported that two former nurses at the Planned Parenthood of Delaware abortion facility quit their jobs, citing unsafe, unsanitary conditions, and “a meat-market style of assembly-line abortions.”[1]
• On May 29, Jayne Mitchell-Werbrich and Joyce Vasikonis testified before the Delaware state senate and called the clinic conditions “ridiculously unsafe,” and said women were at risk for hepatitis and AIDS.
• Planned Parenthood of Delaware suspended surgical abortion procedures at their Wilmington and Dover clinics as a result of ongoing investigations by the state Division of Professional Regulation and the state Division of Public Health.[2] 
• Since January alone, five women were sent to the hospital from with complications from botched abortions.[3]
• Disgraced former Planned Parenthood Delaware abortionist Dr. Timothy Liveright is shown to be operating in clinics in New Jersey,[4] Pennsylvania[5], and California.[6]

2011

• Kermit Gosnell also performed abortions in Delaware, where abortion facilities are not subject to inspections.
• After news of Gosnell’s case broke, fellow abortion providers Drs. Albert Dworkin and Arturo Apolinario had their licenses suspended for failing to report Gosnell for performing late-term abortions at Atlantic Women’s Medical Services in Wilmington, DE, where he worked one day a week.[7] 
• Apolinario, like Gosnell, is charged with prescribing drugs illegally.[8]
• Both Atlantic Women’s Medical clinic locations were permanently closed (before a hearing could take place) after an agreement was reached between the Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline and clinic owner Panzy Myrie, a woman who portrayed herself as a medical doctor in advertisements - though she holds no license in Delaware.[9]

Maryland – Death at the Hands of Notorious Late-Term Abortionist Leroy Carhart, Clinic Shut- Downs, Unlicensed Abortionist Operating Out-of-State

2013

• On February 7, Jennifer McKenna Morbelli, a 29-year-old kindergarten teacher from New Rochelle, NY, died “due to or as a consequence of Amniotic Fluid Embolism following Medical Termination of Pregnancy.”  The medical examiner’s office confirmed that a botched 33-week abortion killed Mrs. Morbelli.[10]
• When she was 31 weeks pregnant, Mrs. Morbelli sought an abortion from Dr. Leroy Carhart in Germantown, MD.  Carhart left town shortly after the abortion procedure and was reportedly unavailable when Mrs. Morbelli began to experience shortness of breath and chest pains - which led to a delay in her emergency care.[11]
• In March, the Maryland Department of Health and Hygiene suspended the licenses of three surgical abortion clinics.  All three are affiliated with abortion business owner Steven Chase Brigham.[12]
• Inspections of the abortion clinics revealed they were continuing to violate state health and safety laws after the initial violations that prompted the state investigations in the first place.
• After a brief period of being reopened, in May the clinics once again lost their licenses after inspectors discovered that all clinics routinely administered the drug Misoprostol to cause abortions in women who were past 11 weeks gestation, "even if the patient has not be evaluated by a physician, and even if no physician is available on site."[13]
  
  
• Abortionists Mansour Panah and Iris Dominy had their licenses suspended on May 29, 2013 for their involvement in the death of a patient at the Baltimore abortion clinic where they were employed[14].
  • The Maryland Board of Physicians (MDBP) lifted Dominy’s suspension on August 29, 2013[15].
  • She is not permitted to use sedation techniques in her procedures, but is permitted to still practice medicine. 
  • Mansour Panah, Medical Director of a Steven Chase Brigham abortion clinic, where Dominy also worked, was returned his license completely on July 18, 2013.
    
    
  • In April 2010, an 18-year-old New Jersey woman was critically injured during an abortion at a Steven Chase Brigham clinic in Elkton, MD. She was airlifted to Baltimore hospital from Brigham’s facility.[16]
  • The Maryland Board of Physicians found that the woman, who was 21 weeks pregnant, had first been treated in Voorhees, N.J., where her cervix was dilated.  She was then told to drive 60 miles in her car to Elkton, MD, so doctors could complete the abortion[17].
  • After the woman's uterus ruptured, state officials said, the woman was put into Brigham's rented Chevrolet Malibu and driven to Union Hospital in Elkton.
  • The Maryland Board of Physicians stated that the patient was slumped in a wheelchair, nearly unconscious, outside the emergency room while Riley argued with hospital staff, who demanded their identities before treating the woman.
  • Elkton police searched the clinic but could not find medical records for the woman. During the search, police did find 35 late-term fetuses, some 20 to 35 weeks old, in a freezer.
  • The abortionists involved, Dr. Nicola Riley and Dr. Steven Chase Brigham are now prohibited from practicing in Maryland.  Dr. Riley's medical license was suspended in September 2010 by Maryland authorities.  Dr. Brigham, who did not even have a Maryland license, was barred from practicing in the state.
    • Both abortionists had previously lost their licenses to practice medicine or run clinics in other states, including New York and Pennsylvania.

• At the Associates in OB/GYN Care LLC on North Calvert Street in Baltimore, where one patient suffered a fatal cardiac arrest, the physician was not certified in CPR and a defibrillator at the facility did not work, according to state officials in a letter to the General Assembly. The other two clinics that lost surgical privileges, located in Landover and Silver Spring, are also owned by Associates in OB/GYN Care and also had licenses suspended for issues related to the ability to respond to life-threatening problems during surgery.[18]

• In November 2011, late-term abortionist James S. Pendergraft and his accomplice Harold O. Alexander were caught operating an illicit late-term abortion mill in Forestville, MD.
  Pendergraft – who is not licensed in Maryland – was caught on tape.[19] On August 22, 2012 the Maryland State Board of Physicians suspended Harold O. Alexander’s license for a minimum of three months.[20]

Pennsylvania – Gosnell’s House of Horrors and Clinic Shut Downs

2013

• On May 13 abortionist Kermit Gosnell was found guilty of the murder of three newborn children and the negligent death of one patient.[21]
  • He had been charged with eight counts of murder including seven babies who were born alive and then killed with scissors. Prosecutors said that he made millions of dollars over 30 years, performing as many illegal, late-term abortions as he could. [22]

2012

• American Women's Services, Pittsburgh[23], and Allentown Medical Services, Allentown[24], closed because complaints revealed violations that could not be fixed.  The Department of Health said that the former owner of Allentown Medical Services, Dr. Steven Chase Brigham, “showed a ‘serial’ disregard for health regulations.”[25]
• Allegheny Women's Center closed rather than meet the inspection regulations.[26]

2011

• In 2011, Abortion as an Alternative Inc., which had clinics in Bensalem and Philadelphia, closed.[27]
• The clinics were operated by Dr. Soleiman M. Soli.  The Department of Health found “drugs decades past their expiration dates, inadequate or inoperable equipment, poor record-keeping and mishandling of fetal tissue.”[28]
• Allentown Medical Services in Allentown was cited for “preparing to use unsterilized instruments on patients, having drugs and single-use devices that were past their expiration dates, and for splattering blood on the walls and on the floor of a scrub room freezer.”[29]

2009

• On November 19, Karnamaya Mongar, a 41-year-old immigrant from Bhutan, and a Virginia resident, died as a result of an abortion she received at the hands of now infamous Philadelphia abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell. The medical examiner’s report indicates that Mrs. Mongar died as a result of an overdose of Demerol.[30] She was 19 weeks pregnant.
• A Gosnell clinic worker assisted in administering local anesthesia and when Mongar’s face turned gray and her breathing slowed, Gosnell continued to perform the abortion and did not order that 911 be called until after the procedure was finished.[31]
• Gosnell could not resuscitate Mrs. Mongar himself as his defibrillator was broken.[32]

Virginia – 80 Violations Even with Notice of Inspection 

2013

• On June 27, 2013, a woman was taken away by ambulance from Nova Women’s Health Center in Falls Church, VA.  She was hyperventilating and in need of advanced life support.
• Following this event, on August 2, the Falls Church facility underwent a licensing inspection where it was found that the facility violated a number of codes.[33]
• Nova Women’s Health Center, the busiest abortion clinic in Virginia, closed when its lease was terminated via a lawsuit by the property owners on the grounds that the abortion clinic created a nuisance.
  • According to the lawsuit filings, Nova patients were regularly inside the building “lying down in corridors…and, in some instances, even vomiting.” One filing said witnesses would testify that this was a daily occurrence.[34]
  • Previously in 2007, the state Board of Health reported evidence of negligence and abuse at Nova Women’s Health Center clinic including: failing to provide follow-up care, keeping inadequate records, and improperly handling and dispensing drugs.  Abortionist Mi Yong Kim was forced to surrender her medical license, but continued to operate the clinic. [35]

2012

• Virginia Health Commission inspection reports obtained by The Family Foundation through the Freedom of Information Act reveal unsafe and “utterly disgusting” conditions in Virginia abortion clinics.[36]
  • Blood-stained medical equipment and operating tables (Falls Church Healthcare Center, Falls Church)[37]
  • A doctor doing exams with unwashed hands (Alexandria)[38]
  • Improper disposal of fetal remains including frozen blood and remains at the bottom of the freezer, after contents had spilled out of a unclosed plastic bag (Tidewater Women’s Health Clinic, Norfolk)[39]
  • Staff failure to disinfect blood-stained equipment and recovery cots between patients (Roanoke Medical Center for Women, Roanoke)[40]
  • Splattered, dried blood in different colors and thickness on exam table and between exam table cushions (Roanoke Medical Center for Women, Roanoke)[41]
    • Improper storage and dispersion of drugs (Falls Church Healthcare Center, Falls Church)[42]
    • Staff failure to properly sanitize equipment and distinguish between dirty and clean instruments (Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Virginia, Virginia Beach)[43]
    • The director of Tidewater Women’s Health Clinic in Norfolk, Dr. David Peters, claimed that the inspectors’ observations were flat wrong and none of the violations affected patient care.  The violations found at his clinic included spilled blood and “products of conception” (fetal remains) being stored in the freezer.[44]

2009

• Abortionist Mi Yong Kim of Nova Women’s Health Center performed an abortion on a woman with an ectopic pregnancy. Although the woman was told the procedure was successful and was sent home, the ectopic pregnancy later ruptured and caused a painful, life-threatening emergency for the woman. [45]
  • Previously, in 2002, a patient died as a result of an air embolism at the hands of Mi Yong Kim. Kim improperly sedated the woman, failed to realize the patient went into cardiac arrest, and subsequently did not attempt to resuscitate her.[46]

New Jersey – License Suspended in Bi-State Abortions, Planned Parenthood Sex-Trafficking Scandal

2011

• Planned Parenthood in Mercer County, NJ was inspected and found to be in non-compliance with safety regulations.
  • The state Board of Health found several violations including: improper use of syringes and compounds, improper training and qualifications of staff on pain management and health care counseling (including abortion services), failure to have infection control program in place, failure to require physical exam for staff, failure to test staff for rubella and TB, improper use and sterilization of medical instruments and devices, including a vaginal ultrasound, failure to maintain hot running water in patient care areas, and many more.[47]
  • In February of 2011, an employee of Planned Parenthood of Central Jersey, in Perth Amboy, NJ, was caught on videotape by Live Action aiding and abetting an undercover investigator posing as a sex trafficker of minor girls as young as 13.
    • Amy Woodruff referred the alleged pimp and prostitute to the Metropolitan Medical Association if ever in need of an abortion where “their protocols aren’t as strict as ours and they don’t get audited the same way that we do.”[48]
    • When asked how long after the abortion until the girls can engage in sex again, Woodruff says “minimum of 2 weeks.” When asked what the girls could do to make money, Woodruff advises, “Waist up, or just be that extra action walking by.”[49]  
    • Woodruff was fired after Live Action’s investigation became public.[50]

2010

• Steven Chase Brigham, who has operated facilities in Maryland, loses his only remaining medical license when the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners suspends it, calling him “a clear and imminent danger to public health.”
  • In 1996, New Jersey regulators try to revoke Brigham's license for botching bi-state abortions. An administrative judge reinstates the license.[51]

2007

• Metropolitan Medical Associates in Englewood, NJ, a late term abortion clinic, was shut down for botching an abortion and almost killing a woman.  When the state went in, they found filthy and unsanitary conditions and shut down the clinic. It later reopened.[52]

West Virginia- Abortionist Forcibly Aborts, Leave Fetal Remains Inside Mother

2013

• Itai Gravely, a 26-year-old woman, filed suit against the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia and abortionist Rodney Lee Stephens after Stephens allegedly forced Ms. Gravely to proceed with an abortion against her will and then left her dead baby’s head inside her womb.[53]
  • Ms. Gravely changed her mind about the abortion after adequate anesthesia could not be administered.
    • Dr. Stephens ordered clinic workers to physically restrain Ms. Gravely as he proceeded with the abortion.
    • The next day, Ms. Gravely was rushed to the emergency room where it was discovered that dismembered body parts, including the head of her child, had been left in her womb.

North Carolina – Dead Insects, Dirty Instruments and Improper Drug Use

2013

• On July 31, the FemCare abortion clinic was cited for 23 violations, including a lack of weekly checks on emergency medical equipment and poorly maintained anesthesia equipment.[54]

• On July 5, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services ordered The Baker Clinic for Women, an abortion clinic in Durham, to close after finding safety violations.
• The clinic failed to ensure quality control was performed in blood banking and also failed to perform quality control testing on 108 patients that received Rhesus testing.
• On May 13, 2013, A Preferred Women's Health Center abortion clinic in Charlotte was closed after state officials revoked its license to operate on May 10, calling it emergency action to address "an imminent threat to the health and safety of patients."[55]
• Previously last December, inspectors from the N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services found dead insects, blood splatters and dirty surgical instruments inside the abortion facility.[56]
• This time, they found that the facility was improperly administering chemical abortions and improperly examining post-abortive women before they were discharged from surgery. Women were being told to drink methotrexate, originally a chemotherapy drug now also used to abort a baby at less than 9 weeks gestation, when it is supposed to be administered by injection.[57]

Illinois – The Death of Tonya Reaves

2012

• On July 20, 24-year-old Tonya Reaves died following a second-trimester abortion at a Chicago Planned Parenthood.[58]
• Autopsy results reveal that Ms. Reaves died as a result of a hemorrhage following a botched surgical abortion.  The autopsy reported that she was a healthy woman at the time of her abortion but that she suffered an “extensive” perforation of her broad uterine ligament with a possible severing of her left uterine artery as a result of the abortion procedure.[59]
• The autopsy also revealed that the abortion was incomplete as the medical examiner discovered that pieces of placenta had been left attached to her womb, despite the dilation and evacuation (D & E) abortion performed by Planned Parenthood.  Reports indicate that Planned Parenthood ignored instructions by an emergency dispatcher to call 911.[60]

Michigan – Decrepit Clinics Shut Down, Criminal Abortionist Covered by Board of Medicine

2013

• In August 2013, Flint’s Feminine Health Care Clinic closed for unspecified reasons.
• This is nearly three years after the lawsuit a patient filed against the doctor and his assist at the facility[61] for forcing her to have an abortion after she changed her mind.
• A 20-year-old woman, Caitlin Bruce, alleges that Dr. Alberto Hodari of the Feminine Health Care clinic in Flint performed an abortion on her even though she screamed for him to stop[62].
  • Ms. Bruce claims that she told him to stop that she didn’t want to have the abortion anymore[63].
  • Ms. Bruce asserts she was held down and her mouth was covered by a staff member.

• In January 2013, an abortion clinic in Muskegon, MI was shut down by the fire marshal over conditions the city described as potentially “dangerous to human life or the public welfare.”[64]

• Dr. Robert Alexander’s abortion clinic was closed after police discovered "filthy" and unsanitary conditions throughout the clinic, including “blood on the floor and walls in multiple locations.”[65]
  • Photos taken by the police reveal unsanitary conditions, including stained medical equipment near an examination chair, trash near lab equipment and discarded in a storage room, and water stains and holes in a leaky ceiling.  The investigator also reported “blood dripping from a sink p-trap in a room used by patients.”[66]
  • Other violations noted in the fire marshal’s inspection include improper disposal of syringes and needles, unsterilized medical equipment, as well as the “dumping of chemicals and other liquids down drains without proper authorization and approvals.”[67]
  • In May, local media reported that in 2009, the Michigan Board of Medicine received a complaint about botched abortions at Alexander’s clinic, including one that ruptured a woman’s uterus, causing bleeding but still resulted in the birth of a live child, but the board did not investigate it.
    • Then Michigan Board Chairman Dr. George Shade Jr., Alexander’s mentor, determined that no investigation was necessary.
    • Dr. Alexander served prison time in the 1990’s for selling illegal prescriptions.[68]

• Two more clinics (in Livonia and Detroit) were closed in March.  Both clinics were owned and operated by abortionist Dr. Reginald Sharpe. 
  • The Livonia clinic was exposed several years ago for the dumping of fetal remains in a dumpster outside the facility.[69] 
  • Dr. Sharpe’s medical license was suspended in 2005 for performing an abortion beyond 24 weeks.
    • Dr. Sharpe was sued three years later, after his 26-year-old patient died of complications following her abortion.  It was later revealed that the abortion had resulted in the perforation of the woman’s uterus, cut a uterine blood vessel, and lacerated her intestines and liver.[70]

2010

• In February 2010, the bodies of 17 aborted babies were discovered in a business dumpster outside the WomansChoice abortion clinic near Lansing. Investigations revealed that the owners were Richard and Maggie Remund, owners of another clinic where the bodies of 47 aborted babies were discovered in a dumpster in 1989[71].
  • Additionally, the business dumpster contained medical records, including patient logs with full names and insurance information, bloody surgical material, and used urine specimen cups labeled with the names of the patients.

2009

• In March 2009, the Board of Medicine found several of the staff (including abortionist Dr. Alberto Hodari) to been negligent in the shocking 2003 death of Regina Johnson and were fined consequently[72].
• 7 months later, in October, a Bureau of Health Systems inspection found the Womancare of Southfield to be substandard.
  • The clinic was cited for incompliance with state surgical facility standards, including no oxygen available for patients, no emergency call system, and an insufficient recovery room.
  • Between 2007 and 2009, the Bureau of Health Systems cited 3 abortion clinics licensed as free standing surgical facilities (Birth Control Center Inc. in Sterling Heights, Feminine Health Care of Flint, and Womancare of Southfield) for noncompliance with state regulations for surgical facilities regarding the administration and storage of medication.
  • Violations at the Womancare Clinic were found to be especially deplorable during a 2009 inspection[73]. Violations included:
    • No physician’s order for a medication that had been sent home with a patient and no physician signature verifying several other medication orders.
    • Hallway cupboards with medications and an unsecured refrigerator with medications in patient areas where patients are left unattended.
    • Unsecured medications included Ketamine, a controlled substance often sold illegally as a “club drug” and used as a date-rape drug.
    • Narcotics logs were insufficient or nonexistent.
    • In one startling example, at the Birth Control Center Inc. in Sterling Heights, the abortionist Richard Goldfine scrubbed his hands for procedures in a sink which was holding unsterile equipment used for emptying and processing waste and fetal remains.[74]
    • In 2009, a Grand Rapids Ob/Gyn filed an allegation against abortionist Robert Alexander citing his gross negligence in attempting an abortion on a woman who was 26 weeks pregnant[75].
      • The OB/Gyn treated the patient who came into the hospital still pregnant following the incomplete abortion.
      • The patient told the OB/Gyn that Dr. Alexander’s office had called her multiple times to offer her a refund of the abortion fee, plus an additional $200.
      • The woman did not accept and retained an attorney.

2008

• It was uncovered in 2008 that abortion clinics in the Detroit area were disposing of biohazard waste and patient records simply by dumping them in common trash receptacles[76].

• Three locations (WomanCare of Southfield in Lathrup Village, WomanCare in Sterling Heights, and WomanCare of Downriver in Southgate) had bloody surgical material and a total of over 200 patient records in the trash. These patient records included photocopies of drivers’ licenses, insurance forms, and lab reports.
  • The Lathrup Village location had the remains of 18 aborted babies in the trash.

• At the Woman’s Choice Clinic in Lansing, Dr. Ronald Nichols was in the middle of performing an abortion when he determined the gestational age to be 20 weeks and stopped the procedure, despite already having rupturing the fetal membranes[77].
  • Dr. Nichols advised the patient, who was bleeding and in pain, to drive 80 miles to his Bloomfield Hills abortion clinic to complete procedure.
  • When she refused, Nichols forced her to sign a waiver.
  • Patient drove home and was taken by her family to the hospital where the staff confirmed the rupture of fetal membranes.
  • The patient’s 20.5 week baby died in utero the following day.
  • The Board of Medicine found Nichols to be negligent and incompetent, fined him $10,000, and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service.

• At the Womancare Clinic of Southfield, a patient alleges that she received no local anesthesia and tried to stop procedure due to her extreme pain[78].
  • The patient was allegedly held down and female assistant put hand over the patient’s mouth.

Ohio – More Clinic Shutdowns and Staff Failure

2013

• In July 2013, the Ohio Department of Health closed Capital Care Network for failing to meet state regulations that protect a pregnant woman’s health. [79]
• The clinic was warned in April of its potential closure after it was discovered to have multiple health and safety violations.
  • During Capital Care’s annual inspection, investigators cited multiple violations under 10 various inspection categories ranging from cleanliness, surgical procedures and staff requirements.[80]
  • Among many violations, the abortion facility failed to perform TB testing, used unqualified and untrained staff, failed to meet sanitary standards and failed to properly keep patient documentation and had dozens of other operational and medical failures.[81]

Louisiana – More Connections to Gosnell

2010

• In 2010, the Delta Clinic was accused by the Department of Health and Hospitals of failing to ensure the clinic had a “quality assurance program.”
  • The Delta Clinic of Baton Rouge is the former employer of Gosnell employee, Eileen O’Neill, who was also arrested in Philadelphia.[82]  O’Neill was introduced to Gosnell by Delta’s owner, Leroy Brinkley, who also owned Atlantic Women’s Services in Wilmington, Delaware.[83]
  • The report indicated that the clinic did not provide women adequate protections for their privacy and did not monitor patients receiving sedation “regarding their cardiac status, respiratory status and level of consciousness during the medical procedure.”[84]

Texas – Worse than Kermit Gosnell, Barbaric Photographic Evidence of Abortion’s Brutality

2013

• In Austin, Texas, on August 14, 2013, a patient is rushed into an ambulance from the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic.
• This is the eighth known medical emergency incident requiring ambulance transport since the 78,000 sq. ft. abortion facility opened in May, 2010.[85]
• In May, Operation Rescue released a report revealing that 3 former staff members of the Aaron Women’s Clinic in Houston had come forward with evidence of horrific late term abortions conducted by abortionist Douglas Karpen[86].
• The informants provided photographic evidence (taken on their cell phones) of illegal late-term abortions[87].
• The photos depicted two babies aborted well beyond the legal limit of 24 weeks in Texas. Their necks had been cut.  The physical condition of the babies reveals that it is likely that the babies had already been born when they killed.
• Testimony from the former workers indicates that Dr. Karpen was committing both very late term abortions and infanticide.  Patients would be administered doses of Cytotec, a drug that causes strong and unpredictable uterine contractions, to induce labor and then the abortion would take place.
• “When he did an abortion, especially an over 20 week abortion, most of the time the fetus would come completely out before he cut the spinal cord or he introduced one of the instruments into the soft spot of the fetus, in order to kill the fetus,” stated former surgical assistant Deborah Edge.  According to Edge, babies born alive were a common occurrence.
  • According to Edge, sometimes Karpen would kill the babies by “twisting the head off the neck.”
  • The whistle blowers also contend that numerous other abuses took place at Aaron Women’s Clinic including:
    • Falsification of ultrasounds to produce younger fetal ages of babies over the legal limit or older fetal ages to extract more money out of women.
    • Fraudulent billing practices.
    • Surgical equipment not properly sterilized and reuse of disposable instruments.
    • Unqualified workers drawing and administering drugs.
    • Hiring nurses through a temp agency to work only on days when inspections are scheduled.
    • Mistreating and inappropriately touching women while under sedation.
    • Sexual harassment.
    • The Harris County District Attorney’s office has announced that they are currently investigating the matter[88].

• Records obtained by Texas Right to Life[89] reveal that 14 Texas abortion clinics have been cited for serious health violations between July 2011 - 2012. Violations included:
  • Unsecured, open vials and unlabeled syringes were stored throughout abortion facilities.
  • Methotrexate, a dangerous drug used for abortion, was left open, unsecured, and unlocked in a room, in violation of state and federal law. 
  • Instrument packages in a treatment room had broken sterile seals and vials containing Lidocaine were not sterile. 
  • Patient records indicating that patients were released without vital signs being taken.
  • Expired equipment and medications being used.

2011

• The Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) found in June that Whole Women’s Health of Austin abortion had improperly disposed of fetuses[90][91].
  • The clinic had sent the aborted babies to a medical waste contractor, which subjected them to steam disinfection along with other medical waste generated at the facility. The contractor then sent the waste to a landfill.
  • The law forbids human body parts, fetuses or products of abortions from being disposed of in landfills.

• TCEQ cited Whole Women’s Health in McAllen, TX in September 2011 for the improper disposal of human remains after the discovery of unborn babies in dumpsters outside the clinic[92].
  • Private medical records were also discovered in the dumpsters.

Arizona – Abortionist convicted of Sexual Abuse and Inappropriate Conduct

2003

• Dr. Brian Finkel was convicted on 22 counts of sexually abusing patients over 17 years. During Finkel's three-month trial, a parade of victims told of sexual abuse that included twisting their nipples, kissing them or fondling them inappropriately during exams.
• Finkel performed more than 30,000 abortions over the past 20 years and was a national figure in the 1990s through his frequent appearances on network talk shows.[93]

Florida – Late-Term Abortionist Who Has Failed to Protect Babies Born Alive Continues to Operate

2013

• The Florida Board of Medicine indefinitely suspended the medical license of late-term abortionist James Scott Pendergraft, and closed one of his Orlando abortion clinics.
  • After merely paying a fine, Pendergraft re-opened his abortion clinic performs abortions seven days a week. [94]

2011

• Pendergraft owns five late-term abortion clinics in Florida and had his medical license suspended five times for repeated botched abortions.[95]
  • Pendergraft's medical license is also suspended in Virginia, and expired in Maryland and the District of Columbia.[96]
  • In July 2011, Pendergraft, who has also been convicted of “attempted extortion …mail fraud ... conspiracy to commit extortion, mail-fraud, and perjury[97],” was party to a lawsuit in which the jury awarded a plaintiff $36.7 million. The lawsuit stemmed from a 2001 botched abortion in which a baby girl was born alive and has suffered lifelong handicaps.[98]
  • He employs abortionists throughout the state of Florida who do late-term abortions that can exceed $2000.
    • These abortions are taking place even while his license is under suspension.[99]
    • Pendergraft’s associate, Randall Whitney has testified that babies have been born alive and delivered in the toilet all the time and many times are “still alive, wiggling around in the toilet.”[100]

2005

• WORLD Magazine reported that an abortion at one of Pendergraft’s clinics resulted in a woman giving birth to a “live pre-term baby” who died “after abortion workers refused to render aid or call for emergency help.”[101]
  • The woman saw her baby curl up as though cold, then “screamed for clinic workers to call 911”. When they wouldn’t a friend of the woman who had undergone the abortion called 911 on her cell phone.[102]

Alabama- Botched Abortions and Clinics Operating Illegally

2013

• On August 8, 2013, New Women All Women Health Care, located in Birmingham Alabama, was dealt a permanent injunction after the Alabama Department of Public Health filed a law suit, claiming abortionists, Diane Deriz and Bruce Norman, did not have the necessary licensing to operate the Birmingham abortion clinic.[103]

2012

• In January 2012 in Birmingham, New Woman All Women abortion facility sent three women with botched abortions to the hospital[104].  Paramedics had to hand-lift a partially clad woman from a narrow doorway and down several steps to an awaiting gurney because New Woman All Women did not have a gurney-accessible entrance.  
  • The Alabama Department of Public Health issued a 76-page deficiency report[105], citing, among other violations:
    • Clinic staff was not properly trained to provide safe quality patient care.
    • Failure to have policy and procedures related to medication errors and the administration of medications. This resulted in the hospitalization of three abortion patients on January 21, 2012, with one patient placed in ICU.
    • There was no documentation that the two abortionists employed by Derzis were even qualified to do abortions.
    • Abortionists made illegible notations on patient charts that made determining critical information about patient care impossible. In several cases, the abortionist’s notes about patient care and/or condition were completely false.
    • Lack of documentation of medications administered.
    • Inaccurate preparation and administration drugs resulting in overdoses or inadequate pain management.
    • Use of equipment with inspection dates from 2007 or no inspection date at all.
    • Failure of on-call nurse to return patient calls, document correct dates on reports, or notify the physician of patient problems.
    • In April 2012, the health department announced that New Woman All Women had been ordered to surrender its license by no later than May 18, 2012, noting that the Alabama Department of Public Health “performed a comprehensive investigation of New Woman All Women Health Care in Birmingham in response to a complaint received in January 2012.
      • This investigation revealed significant failures in maintaining compliance with the Rules of the Alabama State Board of Health for the safe and effective provision of care[106].”
      • New Woman All Women illegally re-opened in March,[107] despite the state’s denial of its two applications to reopen for business on August 27, 2012 and September 17, 2012. 
        • On March 19, 2013, the Alabama Department of Public Health announced that it was conducting an investigation into whether New Woman All Women was operating as an unlicensed abortion/reproductive health center[108]. 
        • On March 26, 2013, the state sued to shut down New Woman All Women, saying that the facility was acting as an abortion provider without a license.
          • On May 31, 2013, New Woman All Women owner Diane Derzis withdrew her motion to dismiss the case, which had argued that the Alabama Department of Public Health had no jurisdiction to enforce health and safety regulations[109].
          • A hearing is set for August 5, 2013[110].

• In 2012, Roberta Clark filed charges against Planned Parenthood for negligence for a botched abortion after the abortionist failed to diagnose her tubal pregnancy, which ruptured 25 days later and required emergency surgery.  Clark is now infertile[111].
  • “Clark was given a suction abortion, after which she continued to complain of nausea, vomiting, and pelvic pain. The pathology report that indicated no fetal parts were identified in the tissue specimen that had been submitted for inspection that same day. Clark was not informed of this nor is there a record of her receiving any follow-up care from [abortionist] Umoren or Planned Parenthood[112].”
  • In Tuscaloosa, the Alabama Department of Public Health found that the West Alabama Women’s Center failed to meet its own sterility standards for hand washing, glove usage, cleaning of supplies, and safe use of sharps containers.  The deficiency report also noted that needles lay on the floor[113].
    • Alabama state health inspectors found that Alabama Women’s Center for Reproductive Alternatives in Huntsville did not clean exam tables between abortions, dispensed expired medication, and failed to comply with state informed consent laws[114].

Mississippi- Woman Sent to Hospital after Judge Blocks Safety Standards  

2013

• On August 23, 2013, after it was discovered to fall short of state and health and safety regulations, Jackson’s Women’s Health  Organization has since then been presented with an appeal.[115]
• On August 7, 2013 abortionist Bruce Elliot Norman of the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the last open abortion clinic in Mississippi, sent a woman to the hospital. This clinic remains open after a judge blocked a law that would have ensured continuity of care for abortion patients in the event of a medical emergency.
  • Ironically, clinic owner Diane Derzis and Norman were in court on August 5 for a suit filed by the Alabama Department of Public Health alleging that they were operating an illegal, unlicensed abortion clinic in Birmingham.[116]

Missouri- More Medical Emergencies as a result of patients visiting PlannedParenthood

2013

• August 21^st, 2013, a patient from a Planned Parenthood clinic was rushed to a local hospital. This was the 19^threcorded medical emergency documented by Operation at this particular Planned Parenthood abortion clinic since 2009.

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[1] http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=9059172

[2] http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201304170345/NEWS/304170039&nclick_check=1

[3] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/15/delaware-planned-parenthood-halts-abortions-while-/

[4] http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Timothy_Liveright/reviews

[5] http://healpth.com/doctors/timothy-liveright-516656/   

[6] https://betterdoctor.com/timothy-liveright

[7] http://sos.delaware.gov/news/110301-gosnell_case_suspensions.shtml

[8] http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/02/24/news/doc4d664c0135303611258306.txt

[9] http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/two-delaware-abortion-mills-with-gosnellnaf-ties-won%E2%80%99t-reopen/

[10] http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/21/woman-late-term-abortion-bled-to-death/1935799/

[11] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2277868/jennifer-McKenna-Morbelli-dies-having-abortion-33-weeks-pregnancy.html

[12] http://www.wbaltv.com/news/maryland/i-team/Unlicensed-doctor-s-surgical-abortion-procedures-suspended/-/10640252/19274024/-/item/0/-/3ka3loz/-/index.html

[13] http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/four-maryland-abortion-clinic-licenses-suspended-woman-died-at-one-clinic

[14] http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/suspension-lifted-for-md-abortionist-involved-in-patient-death/

[15] http://abortiondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/D3089008.293.pdf

[16] http://articles.philly.com/2012-01-01/news/30579167_1_steven-brigham-late-term-abortions-american-women-s-services

[17] http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-12-30/news/bs-md-elkton-abortion-arrests-20111230_1_abortion-clinics-anti-abortion-group-murder-charges

[18] http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-03-12/health/bs-hs-abortion-clinic-suspension-20130308_1_abortion-clinics-clinics-face-surgical-abortion-procedures

[19] http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/undercover-sting-exposes-illicit-late-term-abortion-clinic-in-maryland/

[20] http://abortiondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Harold-Alexander-License-Suspension-July-31-2012.pdf

[21] http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/13/18232657-abortion-doctor-kermit-gosnell-convicted-of-first-degree-murder?lite

[22] http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2011/01/19/abortion-doctor-charged-with-killing-7-babies-with-a-scissors/

[23] http://www.americanwomensservices.com/office_locations/pa/pittsburgh.php

[24] http://articles.mcall.com/2012-04-11/news/mc-allentown-abortion-clinic-closed-20120411_1_allentown-abortion-clinic-american-women-s-services-clinic-operators

[25] http://articles.mcall.com/2012-04-11/news/mc-allentown-abortion-clinic-closed-20120411_1_allentown-abortion-clinic-american-women-s-services-clinic-operators

[26] http://www.lifenews.com/2012/06/19/pennsylvania-law-closes-abortion-biz-five-more-stop-abortions/

[27] http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8004958

[28] http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8004958

[29] http://articles.mcall.com/2011-07-09/news/mc-allentown-abortion-brigham-20110709_1_abortion-clinic-expiration-dates-unsterilized-instruments

[30] http://www.businessinsider.com/karnamaya-mongar-died-in-abortion-clinic-2013-4

[31] http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Gosnell-Abortion-Worker-Drugs-Given-Woman-Murder-202210561.html

[32] http://www.phila.gov/districtattorney/pdfs/grandjurywomensmedical.pdf

[33] http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/ambulance-transports-patient-from-virginia-abortion-clinic-with-history-of-filth-unsafe-conditions/

[34] http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fairfax-city-abortion-clinic-busiest-in-virginia-closes/2013/07/14/23f3d450-eb17-11e2-8023-b7f07811d98e_story_1.html

[35] http://www.lifenews.com/2012/04/19/woman-rushed-to-hospital-in-virginia-after-failed-abortion/

    http://abortiondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Kim-VA-License-Surrender05182007.pdf

[36] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/12/anti-abortion-group-releases-va-clinic-inspection-/?page=all

[37] Ask for PDF file

[38] http://www.sba-list.org/sites/default/files/content/shared/alexandrias_womens_health_clinic_1st_revisit_report_with_def_3-27-13.pdf

[39] http://www.sba-list.org/sites/default/files/content/shared/tidewater_womens_health_clinic.pdf

[40] http://www.sba-list.org/sites/default/files/content/shared/roanoke_medical_center_for_women_-_1st_revisit_report_12-19-2012.pdf

[41] http://www.sba-list.org/sites/default/files/content/shared/roanoke_medical_center_for_women_-_1st_revisit_report_12-19-2012.pdf

[42] Ask for PDF file

[43] http://www.sba-list.org/sites/default/files/content/shared/planned_parenthood_of_se_va.pdf

[44] http://wamu.org/news/morning_edition/12/09/13/reports_detail_health_violations_at_virginia_abortion_clinics

[45] http://familyfoundation.org/2012/04/just-learned-n-va-woman-rushed-to-hospital-last-month-after-botched-abortion/

    http://abortionsafety.com/doc/10003_nova_ectopic.pdf

[46] http://abortiondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Kim-VA-Board-Charges-011120051.pdf

[47] http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/2900616977.html

[48] http://liveaction.org/blog/planned-parenthood-aids-sex-ring/

[49] http://liveaction.org/blog/planned-parenthood-aids-sex-ring/

[50] http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/planned_parenthood_employee_is.html

[51] http://articles.philly.com/2012-01-01/news/30579167_1_steven-brigham-late-term-abortions-american-women-s-services

[52] http://www.njrtl.org/abortionmalpractice/

[53] http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/8246

[54] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/north-carolina-abortion-clinic-closes_n_3685913.html

[55] http://www.catholicnewsherald.com/42-news/rokstories/3519-state-regulators-shut-down-latrobe-abortion-mill

[56] http://www.catholicnewsherald.com/component/content/article/53-news/roknewspager-local/3004-charlotte-abortion-facility-cited-for-health-violations

[57] http://www.catholicnewsherald.com/images/stories/News_Local13/HHS%20report%20on%20Latrobe%205-10-13.pdf

[58] http://newsone.com/2026555/tonya-reaves-abortion-planned-parenthood/

[59] http://www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/13957308-452/death-of-tonya-reaves-after-an-abortion-is-a-reminder-that-abortions-carry-risks.html

[60] http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/planned-parenthood-ignored-instructions-to-call-911-in-tonya-reaves-abortion-death/   

[61] http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2013/09/controversial_flint_ab...

[62] http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/michigan-woman-claims-doctor-forced-abortion-stop/story?id=10809114#.UZKDD8p_PgE

[63] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B9MbkAnqZ0&feature=player_embedded

[64] http://woodtv.triton.net/news/mfd-womanmedserv-letter-122712.pdf

[65] http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/04/muskegon_abortion_doctor.html

[66] http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/01/muskegon_city_documents_detail.html

[67] http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/01/muskegon_city_documents_detail.html

[68] http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/04/muskegon_abortion_doctor.html

[69] http://www.lifenews.com/2013/03/05/abortion-clinic-closes-after-doing-abortions-for-30-years/

[70] http://www.lifenews.com/2013/03/05/abortion-clinic-closes-after-doing-abortions-for-30-years/

[71] http://www.freep.com/article/20101028/NEWS06/10280478/Law-called-after-17-fetuses-discovered

[72] http://www.prolifesociety.com/prolifesociety/archives/2008/Hodari/HodariAdministrativeComplaint.pdf

[73] http://abortiondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Health-Violations-Womancare-of-Southfield-10-20-09.pdf

[74] Michigan Department of Community Heath, Statement of Deficiencies, Birth Control Center, Inc., November 08, 2007, Pg. 3

[75] Allegation filed by unknown OB/Gyn with the Bureau of Health Professions, June 12, 2009, File No. 43-112676 

[76] http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080326/NEWS03/803260355/1005/NEWS

[77] In the Matter of Ronald A. Nichols, M.D., File No. 43-08-109430. Complaint, Paragraph 13. 

[78] Allegation filed with the Bureau of Health Professions, August 18, 2008, File No. 43-08-109481. Hospital records obtained by RLM. 

[79] http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102213307758-947/Capital+Care+Toledo+Documentation.pdf

     http://www.ohiolife.org/press-releases/2013/8/8/ohio-department-of-health-to-close-toledo-abortion-clinic.html

[80] http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102213307758-851/CuyahogaFallsClinicRecords.pdf

[81] http://www.toledoblade.com/State/2013/04/25/State-closes-abortion-clinic-with-area-ties.html

[82] http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/not-the-only-house-of-horrors-troubled-baton-rouge-abortion-mill-has-disturbing-ties-to-gosnell/

[83] http://www.lifenews.com/2011/01/25/abortionist-gosnell-had-ties-to-louisiana-delaware-centers/

[84] http://www.cpforlife.org/delta.htm

[85] http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/planned-parenthood-patient-rushed-to-hospital-in-houston/

[86] http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/special-report-new-stunning-photos-testimony-show-texas-abortionist-kills-babies-born-alive/ 

[87] http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/05/15/texas-may-have-its-own-gosnell-houston-doc-accused-of-gruesome-illegal-abortions/ 

[88] http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-doctor-accused-of-illegal-abortions-4519565.php

[89] http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/14-texas-abortion-clinics-cited-for-health-violations-only-one-fined/ 

[90] http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/health-clinic-receives-notice-of-violation-from-tc/nRb7Y/ 

[91] http://operationrescue.org/pdfs/TCEQ-AustinFines.pdf

[92] http://operationrescue.org/pdfs/TCEQ-McAllenFines.pdf

[93] http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/1203finkel03-CP.html?&wired

[94] http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/abortion-clinic-reopens-orlando/nYw5Q/

[95] http://www.sba-list.org/sites/default/files/content/shared/pendergraftsummary4_29_13.pdf

[96] http://www.sba-list.org/sites/default/files/content/shared/pendergraftsummary4_29_13.pdf

[97] www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200113057.opn.pdf

[98] http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-08-15/news/os-abortion-doctor-ruling-20110815_1_abortion-doctor-orlando-women-s-center-malpractice-case 

[99] http://www.forerunner.com/blog/is-kermit-gosnell-an-outlier

[100] http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/abortionist-admitsbabies-sometimes-born-alive-and-left-wiggling-around-in/

[101] http://www.worldmag.com/articles/10597

[102] http://www.worldmag.com/articles/10597

[103]http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/victory-court-issues-permanent-injunction-against-derzis-illegal-birmingham-abortion-business/

[104] http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/22/botched-abortions-injure-two-women-in-birmingham-alabama/

[105] http://abortiondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/NEW-WOMAN-ALL-WOMEN-201203011.pdf

[106]http://www.lifenews.com/2012/04/06/abortion-clinic-in-alabama-closed-after-botched-abortions/

[107] http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/birmingham-abortion-clinic-operating-illegally-in-defiance-of-state-ordered-closure/

[108] http://www.adph.org/news/assets/130319.pdf

[109] http://lldf.org/birmingham-abortion-business-argues-that-the-alabama-department-of-public-health-does-not-have-jurisdiction-to-enforce-health-and-safety-rules/

[110] http://www.lifenews.com/2013/06/02/lawsit-continues-against-alabama-abortion-clinic-operating-illegally/

[111] http://abortiondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Clark-v.-PPUmoren1.pdf

[112] http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/alabama-planned-parenthood-sued-after-botched-abortion-leaves-client-infert/

[113]http://adphnotes.state.al.us/hcfweb.nsf/1b480cf04b92be2786256d2600704885/7bf57ecd91a4947086257b1a006c3132/$FILE/alabama%20women%27s%20center%20for%20rep%2001092013.pdf

[114]http://adphnotes.state.al.us/hcfweb.nsf/1b480cf04b92be2786256d2600704885/7bf57ecd91a4947086257b1a006c3132/$FILE/alabama%20women%27s%20center%20for%20rep%2001092013.pdf

[115]http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/mississippi-appeals-abortion-clinic-injunction-pro-life-groups-discover-more-violations/

[116] http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/ambulance-transports-woman-from-troubled-jackson-mississippi-abortion-clinic/