Troubled Abortion Biz Sees Two Abortion Practitioners Lose Medical Licenses
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 3, 2010
Philadelphia, PA (LifeNews.com) — The troubled abortion business Steven Chase Brigham runs in four states got more bad news as two of the abortion practitioners he employees have lost their medical licenses. The Maryland medical licenses of George Shepard, Jr., of Delaware and Nicola I. Riley of Utah, were suspended on Tuesday.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the suspensions today and said they lost their licenses for helping Brigham skirt the law.
Riley was involved in the botched abortion in Elkton, Maryland, that led to the discovery of Brigham’s scheme to circumvent late-term abortion laws by beginning the abortions at his New Jersey centers, which don’t meet state health and safety laws to make them eligible to do later-term abortions, then transporting the women to Maryland for completion of the abortion.
Brigham led a car caravan of women from his Vorhees, Pennsylvania abortion center to his Maryland one after one of the patients was critically injured during the abortion at his Pennsylvania abortion business.
According to the News, Brigham put the semiconscious, bleeding woman in the back of a rental car and drove her to a nearby hospital instead of calling for an ambulance and drawing attention to problems at his abortion center, American Women’s Services.
The Maryland Board of Physicians and Elkton police compiled documents unveiling the problems and later conducted a raid of his Maryland abortion facility. Authorities who raided Brigham’s abortion center discovered the remains of 35 late-term aborted babies in jars.
Brigham is not licensed to practice medicine in Maryland and never has been. The state issued a cease and desist order to Brigham on August 25 for him to stop doing abortions.
On September 1, Operation Rescue sent letters asking that the Maryland Attorney General’s office as well as state and county prosecutors file criminal charges against Brigham and that he be held accountable.
"There is a largely unspoken crisis in this country brought on by abortionists who insist that they are above the law," Operation Rescue spokeswoman Cheryl Sullenger told LifeNews.com.
"We can no longer turn a blind eye to these abortion abuses and pretend that things like this can’t happen in a nation where abortion is legally permissible. Brigham is just one example in an industry where this kind of behavior is the norm and not the exception," Sullenger added. "We have yet to find an abortionist who does not violate the law."
Sullenger said the abortion industry has failed to call Brigham out for putting women’s lives and health at risk.
"Shame on the women’s organizations that know this kind of abuse is occurring, yet continue to cover up for abortionists," she said. "If groups like NARAL and the NAF really cared about women, they would work night and day to close these abortion chop shops and offer real solutions to pregnant women that does not include submitting them to abortionist quacks."
The order to stop Brigham from doing abortions in Maryland says indicates that Brigham has been practicing illegally in Maryland since January, 2010.
"The health of Maryland patients is being endangered by the Respondent’s unlicensed practice of medicine in this State," the order read.
In Pennsylvania, in July, the Pennsylvania Department of Health ordered Brigham to shut down four of his abortion centers for reportedly employing medical staff who were not properly licensed with the state — and potentially putting women’s health at risk.
Brigham also has had problems ith the IRS, where officials have filed a lien on him for failing to pay payroll taxes from 2002 to 2006 for the employees of his American Women’s Services abortion centers in Pennsylvania and the six he runs in New Jersey.
Brigham was forced to give up his license to practice medicine in Pennsylvania some years ago because of botched abortions. Brigham has also lost his license in other states. He had medical licenses revoked in New York and Florida, and received disciplinary action in California and New Jersey. He served 120 days in jail in 1998 for Medicaid fraud.
He was also taken to task for employing Harvey Walter Brookman, who did abortions at a State College abortion facility known as State College Medical Services and at the Erie abortion center known as American Women’s Services under Brigham’s employ.
Brookman, was only permitted to treat himself and his family because he holds what is called an "active-retired" medical license in Pennsylvania.
Brookman has also had trouble maintaining a valid medical license in other states.
His New York license was revoked in December of 1996. His New Jersey license was temporarily suspended in December of 1994. In February of 1996, Brookman "voluntarily surrendered his New Jersey license to practice medicine and surgery with a prejudice to his right to apply for reinstatement."
The Pennsylvania state health department took its latest action on July 7, according to the newspaper, when Deputy Secretary of Health Robert Torres permanently banned Brigham and any corporation he owns or runs from doing abortions in the state.
That could allow for a significant reduction of abortions in Pennsylvania as American Women’s Services does about 3,600 abortions annually at its centers in Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, and State College.
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