Atlantic City Abortion Center Closes Down for Good After Health Violations

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 26, 2007   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Atlantic City Abortion Center Closes Down for Good After Health Violations Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 26,
2007

Atlantic City, NJ (LifeNews.com) — The Alternatives abortion center in Atlantic City, New Jersey has closed down for good and opted to surrender its license to do abortions rather than correct the numerous health and safety problems state inspectors found. Officials closed the Alternatives abortion center in June after they found multiple health code violations.

They found the abortion center had problems with infection control issues, poor documentation and record-keeping and problems with the facility itself.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for the New Jersey Health Department confirmed that Alternatives would not correct the list of violations.

Atlantic City Councilman John Schultz owned the building Alternatives leased and he told the Press newspaper that all of the abortion center’s equipment has been moved out of the facility and it is now up for lease.

"They moved out, everything is out of there," Schultz told the Press. "My lawyers just sent them a letter telling them they’re like a month behind on their rent."

Alternatives owner Alan Kline has not spoken with the media since health inspectors found the problems, but Schultz indicated Kline told him last month they would not be corrected.

Kline also owns the Princeton Women’s Center abortion business in Princeton.

Following the temporary closing of the Alternatives abortion center, women in the Atlantic City area have been traveling to Cherry Hill to get abortions.

Since the closing, women are making the trip north to the Philadelphia suburb, which has the next closest abortion center, the Cherry Hill Women’s Center.

"We have seen a spike in patients traveling from the shore area," said Jennifer Moore Conrow, said earlier this month.

Elizabeth Barnes, the vice president of the Cherry Hill abortion business, told the Press that she was worried New Jersey residents would worry that all abortion centers in the state had health code problems because the Alternatives business and another in Englewood have been closed.

However, like Alternatives, the Cherry Hill Women’s Center is one of several abortion facilities state health inspectors have not probed despite a state requirement to do so. Health officials say they don’t have enough inspectors for cover all of the medical center in the state.

As a result, Cherry Hill Women’s Center has not had a proper state health inspection since December 2004, and other abortion centers have gone longer.

The 2004 report found dirty, dust-covered poles used for IVs and "white scum" on them as well as not having proper anti-hypothermia drugs in place and improper infection control records.

The Cherry Hill Women’s Center reportedly issued a corrective report to the state a month later fixing the problems.