Pennsylvania Abortion Staffers Wrongfully Prescribe Drugs

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jul 26, 2011   |   3:48PM   |   Pittsburgh, PA

Four employees at an abortion business in western Pennsylvania have been charged in connection with wrongfully prescribing prescription drugs for an employee at the Allegheny Women’s Center.

The Associated Press indicates three staffers at the abortion business and a former registered nurse who once worked there face charges from state prosecutors. The officials say the current and former medical director for the abortion facility authorized the ordering of a prescription weight loss drug for an employee at the abortion clinic. The employees was reportedly using the drug to battle anxiety and depression and that employee also faces charges of selling the drug to a friend and the former nurse.

State officials say the employee got 1200 pills of the prescription drug on demand and considered the pills a part of his benefit package for working at the abortion center.

“The discovery of illegal drug activity at this abortion center points out a reckless disregard for the law,” said Maria Vitale, Education Director for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, in an email to LifeNews. “We applaud Governor Tom Corbett for establishing yearly inspections of abortion facilities in Pennsylvania.  We are hopeful that the state legislature will follow suit by ensuring that abortion facilities abide by the safety standards of ambulatory surgical facilities. Who knows how many other illegal activities are occurring at abortion centers in Pennsylvania?”

This is the second problem this year alone involving staff at abortion centers and the misuse of prescription drugs.

The Arizona Medical Board, in February, issued a decision restricting the medical license of abortion practitioner Gabrielle Goodrick for abusing prescription drugs. Goodrick had her license to practice medicine restricted in December 2010 due to abuse of prescription medication.  The board issued a Order for Probation with License Restriction and findings of fact and conclusions of law restricting her use of intravenous and prescription medication and putting her on probation for five years.

Goodrick, who formerly worked for Planned Parenthood, has her own private abortion business in Phoenix.

John Jakubczyk, a pro-life attorney who is the former president of Arizona Right to Life, brought the new information to light and said Goodrick’s problems reflect the horror abortion practitioners eventually have to confront about the kind of work they do.

“Her problems reflect the similar problems many have seen in other abortionists throughout the country,” he said. “Former abortionists speak of the addictions, the personal, and emotional problems that cast a dark cloud over their lives. Tragically most abortionists fail to realize that killing babies and putting women at risk will take a toll on the soul. Simply stated such actions will kill the soul if not stopped.”

“Throughout the country, we are seeing the deadly impact of abortion on everyone’s lives, be it the baby, the woman, the clinic worker, the abortionist, the nurse,” he said. “So who really benefits from abortion? No one.”

Also, earlier this year, the Allegheny Women’s Center was found to have deficiencies by state officials in the aftermath of national revelations about the horrors at the abortion business Kermit Gosnell.

Three Pittsburgh-area abortion centers — Allegheny Women’s Center in East Liberty, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, Oakland and Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania, Downtown — were found to have issues after state health inspectors examined the centers. The failure by state officials during the administration of pro-abortion Governor Tom Ridge to ensure compliance with health and safety laws is credited as part of the reason Gosnell’s abortion center went so far in killing and injuring women and newborn infants during and after abortions.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review newspaper indicates seven western Pennsylvania abortion centers were inspected and three were found to have problems that, state records show, have since been corrected.

The Allegheny Women’s Center was found to not have proper equipment readily available to resuscitate patients, did not have a heart rate display monitor that was checked “for proper function and possible electrical leakage,” and did not have portable oxygen available for use in surgical abortions. The newspaper revealed today that the clinic director, Debra Miller, informed the state that the problems have been corrected.