Reprotection commends a Florida state agency for enforcing the law and protecting women by taking action against a negligent abortion facility, resulting in the clinic having to pay $7,000 in fines.
A GYN Diagnostic Center in Hialeah, Florida, will pay the fine under a settlement agreement with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. Initially, the agency sought to impose a $41,000 fine, a $1,000 for each patient, but the facility negotiated a smaller fine, according to CBS News.
The abortion facility reportedly violated a 2015 Florida law requiring patients to have two appointments 24 hours apart before having an abortion, with the first consisting of women undergoing an ultrasound and receiving relevant information.
During a May 19, 2022, visit, agency inspectors pulled a sample of patient records, discovering the facility did not document whether it had informed women of the potential risks of undergoing an abortion 24 hours before their appointment.
We’re grateful for the ACHA’s dedication to helping us safeguard women from dangerous abortion practices, as they were instrumental in forcing a Pensacola-based abortion facility to close after our investigation exposed their gross violation of the law.
Our efforts led to an emergency suspension of the American Family Planning facility’s license in May 2022 before its doors were permanently shuttered in January 2023.
Negligence on the part of the facility’s head abortionist, Dr. Christopher Saputa, resulted in at least three cases where women nearly died from severe injuries. One woman required resuscitation and a massive blood transfusion after her abortion; another was forced to undergo a hysterectomy, while a third suffered a uterine perforation and also needed parts of her colon removed.
The clinic did not report these complications, even though it was required to do so by law. Additionally, a July 2022 report from the State of Florida Department of Health highlighted Saputa’s incompetence as a gynecological surgeon:
“Dr. Saputa is not a trained gynecological surgeon.” The report continues, “An independent medical expert reviewed Dr. Saputa’s curriculum vitae and determined that Dr. Saputa does not have the education, training, or experience to be competent to perform gynecological surgeries or procedures and that his continued performance of these surgeries is a public safety hazard.”
We will continue working with regulatory authorities in Florida and throughout the country to investigate abortion facilities that are breaking the law and ensure they are held accountable.