PENSACOLA, FL – January 19, 2023 – Reprotection, a national anti-abortion watchdog group seeking to protect women from dangerous abortion clinics, has successfully permanently shuttered the doors of the American Family Planning abortion facility in Pensacola, FL, the only abortion facility in Northwest Florida, after a months-long investigation to suspend the license of abortionist Dr. Christopher Saputa, which occurred in August of 2022.
In May of 2022, Reprotection spearheaded an investigation that led to the emergency suspension of the clinic’s license by Florida’s Agency of Health Care Administration (ACHA).
“The standard of care at the American Family Planning Abortion Clinic was non-existent and we are elated the clinic has shut down before more women are seriously harmed,” said Missy Martinez- Stone, CEO of Reprotection, who led the investigation into the abortion clinic’s emergency medical procedures.
The order to suspend the clinic’s license showed that head abortionist, Dr. Christopher Saputa, failed to follow standard medical procedures and guidelines designed to protect women. Three cases were listed in the order, all reading like a horror movie.
- Patient 1 came in for a second-trimester abortion at 19.6 weeks on May 5, 2022. The abortion was not completed due to possible uterine rupture and cervical lacerations. She lost a lot of blood but no one knows how much because the writing on her chart is illegible. She sat in the car with her spouse afterward and was not being monitored according to proper procedure yet was in dire need of emergency care. The clinic told her husband to drive an hour away to a hospital for care instead of using a hospital in Pensacola. By the time the woman received care at the hospital, she had “undetectable blood pressure” and “required resuscitation and mass transfusion.” No records of this are at the abortion clinic, which are required by law.
- Patient 2 also came in for a second-trimester abortion at 20.2 weeks on March 23, 2022. She started experiencing bleeding during the laminaria procedure to open the cervix. She was given Pitocin and Methergine but there are no records of her vitals being monitored as required by law. By the time she was transferred to the ER, she had no pulse and had lost an unknown amount of blood. Records indicate there were “pools of blood” at the abortion clinic when emergency personnel arrived. Two “big hole[s]” were discovered on the left and right walls of the uterus plus cervical lacerations. Doctors weren’t able to save any of her reproductive organs and she underwent a total hysterectomy.
- Patient 3 had an abortion in November 2021 and “required the repair of uterine perforation, a colon resection, a colostomy, a sigmoidectomy, and a cystoscopy.” The clinic, as required by law to report complications, did not report this, or any of the others, in accordance with the law.
In a later, July 13, 2022 report from the State of Florida Department of Health, authorities show Saputa’s incompetent medical experience and lack of training 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.”
In May, ACHA had issued the emergency order to suspend the clinic’s license, which was disputed, but ultimately a settlement had been reached and the clinic has been permanently closed.
For more information about Reprotection, please visit their website at https://centerforclientsafety.org.
For media inquiries and requests, please contact Missy Martinez-Stone by emailing media@centerforclientsafety.org.