In 2009, 18-year-old Antonesha Ross died after an abortion at the Women’s Aid Clinic in Lincolnwood, Illinois. After her tragic death, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) placed a fine of $36,000 on the facility for failing to administer CPR on Ross as well as violating other serious safety protocols.
The state inspection report revealed that the facility was fined $9,000 for failing to specify in writing which medical conditions would make a patient ineligible for an abortion; $18,000 for failing to hire a registered nurse to supervise the care of patients in the operating room; and $9,000 for sanitary and equipment issues. Additionally, according to the Chicago Tribune, inspectors found that the facility stored medications and frozen dinners in a biohazard refrigerator that also contained fetal or placental tissue.
However, despite these serious violations, an Illinois appeals judge ruled that the abortion facility didn’t have to pay $37,000; instead they would have a pay a mere $77. Unbelievably, on March 23, three Appellate Court justices affirmed the judge’s decision and now the facility is operating in a different building and under a new name.
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Apparently the reason the facility got away with killing a woman and violating safety protocols is because the owner, Larisa Rozansky, argued that they didn’t have the money to pay the fine. As LifeNews previously reported, Rozansky filed for bankruptcy and wrote a letter to the IDPH stating that Women’s Aid Clinic would be closing; but the facility continued to do abortions for several months after their supposed closure. Then in June 2012, Rozansky opened her new abortion facility in Chicago and argued that the Women’s Aid Center was a separate entity and shouldn’t be held responsible.
Justice Mathias Delort wrote on behalf of the Appellate Court’s decision to drop the $36,000 fine: “Essentially, the issue before us is whether the evidence demonstrated that the Center was merely an alter ego of the Clinic, or was a distinct and separate enterprise. While we appreciate the State’s desire to aggressively collect fines owed to it, we must note that there was an extensive (lower court hearing) at which significant testimony was elicited to the effect that there was, in fact, enough of a break between the two corporations that the latter cannot be required to pay the debts of the former.”
Janell Austin Tuft, Ross’ cousin, told the Chicago Tribune, “For us to not get justice — for them to not pay the fine — it’s not right. It’s just not right.” Maura Possley, a spokeswoman for the Illinois attorney general also commented on the decision. She said, “We are disappointed in the ruling. Our appellate attorneys are analyzing the decision, but they do not currently see a basis to ask the Supreme Court to take an appeal.”
