March 2, 2007
In what can only be called an abortion horror story, a New Jersey woman is recovering in the hospital from a severely botched procedure that could have cost her life. Twenty-year-old Rasheedah Dinkins spent the last month in a coma after she visited the Metropolitan Medical Associates (MMA) in Englewood for an abortion that made her dangerously ill.
En route to the hospital, medics say Rasheedah died, but they were able to resuscitate her in time for doctors to give her blood transfusions and surgically remove her uterus.
Despite the MMA’s claim that they have the “finest staff in New Jersey,” Rasheedah is still in the hospital where she has suffered a stroke and other complications, including the collapse of both lungs. Not surprisingly, she now says she regrets her decision to have an abortion.
After an investigation by state health officials, MMA has been temporarily closed because the facility “had poor infection control” and used unsterilized equipment that posed an “immediate and serious risk of harm to patients.” These are serious charges for a clinic endorsed by the National Abortion Federation (NAF), an organization that claims its mission is to “ensure safe, legal, and accessible abortion care to promote health and justice for women.” On the contrary, NAF continues to put women at risk by retaining the MMA on its list of trusted providers despite its blatant violations of “member protocol” in this near-fatal incident.
Considering that MMA is one of the biggest abortion facilities in the nation, we can only shake our heads at the lack of regulation for clinics like this one that perform over 10,000 abortions a year. No matter what your views on abortion, we would all agree that there is no excuse for endangering women’s lives over something as basic as clean medical instruments.
If we don’t tolerate filth in fast-food restaurants or veterinary clinics, how much more outraged should we be at this lethal negligence? When FRC contacted the clinic, an employee said they may resume operations as soon as next Thursday. We call on the conscience of state officials to ensure that the clinic never reopens and instead finds its license revoked.
Additional Resources
Clinic sued by woman following an abortion