At Least Five Women Transferred by Ambulance in Just Two Months
By Anne Reed
Chicago, Illinois – After a series of medical emergencies at the high-volume abortion clinic Family Planning Associates (FPA) in Chicago, the shoddy business has earned Operation Rescue’s “Worst of the Worst” title for 2024.
Located on Washington Boulevard, FPA’s recent burst of emergencies has raised alarms about the safety of women placing their trust in this high-risk facility. According to Operation Rescue’s annual survey, the abortionists working at this facility kill children at the advanced gestational age of 23.5 weeks (5 months). Not only do babies feel pain and survive if birthed at this gestational age, but risks to the mother increases exponentially.
Documented Emergencies
Eyewitness accounts and 911 records revealed at least five emergencies requiring medical intervention. On September 9, 21, and October 8, 17, and 31, ambulances were spotted at the clinic after moms entered the premises believing, or at least hoping, that FPA would offer trustworthy “healthcare.”
“It’s incredibly sad and equally infuriating that these women become convinced that their lives will be made better by killing their babies,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, “so much so that they are willing to put their own lives in jeopardy as well.”
The Role of Witnesses and 911 Records
Sidewalk counselors and others participating in onsite prayer vigils have played a crucial role in documenting these incidents. When they are absent, many of these emergencies go unreported, leaving a gap in public knowledge and diminishing possible oversight by the appropriate state agencies.
Access to 911 records has further corroborated the accounts of ambulance activity. However, these records are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, and they cannot fully account for the number of emergencies that occur out of public view.
The full extent of these emergencies remains uncertain, as 911 call recordings are frequently heavily redacted and often reveal a troubling lack of thorough questioning by dispatchers.
Fortunately, FPA often has a heavy presence of sidewalk counselors reaching out to abortion-vulnerable moms with the Gospel, as well as material and emotional help, but the facility is not covered every day. Therefore, only a snapshot of the number of emergencies is captured.
Online reviews of this clinic also raise alarm. In addition to other disturbing reviews, one online reviewer noted that she was on the premises when an ambulance was addressing an emergency, and a passerby stated “this happens all the time.”
Like most abortion clinics, this facility has a reputation for hiding and minimizing the seriousness of emergencies that necessitate prompt intervention by qualified healthcare professionals.
Following are emergencies documented in September and October of 2024:
September 7, 2024: 41-Year-Old Mom Suffering with Seizure
An employee of FPA Called 911 at 1:24 to request an ambulance for a 41-year-old woman suffering from a seizure. The cause of the seizure is unknown, and the 911 dispatcher asked no questions about the woman’s vitals or the cause of her seizures.
A number of possibilities exist other than epilepsy.
Potential causes include reaction to an anesthetic agent or sudden discontinuation of a medication. It could also be caused by serious post-surgical complications such as insufficient oxygen during surgery that affects brain function, hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia in patients with diabetes, infection or fever due to a life-threatening post-surgical infection such as sepsis, a life-threatening condition. The computer-aided dispatch transcript provided little supporting information.
September 21, 2024: Uterine Bleeding (Likely a Perforation)
An employee called 911 at 5:19 to report post-abortion bleeding from the uterus. This likely indicates the uterus was perforated during surgery. Uterine perforation is a life-threatening surgical complication that has tragically claimed the lives of many mothers who subjected themselves and their unborn children to the surgical instruments of an abortionist. Again, the dispatcher asked no questions concerning the patient’s vital signs and amount of blood loss. This crucial information aids the emergency medical professionals as they prepare for the appropriate type of life support. The computer-aided dispatch transcript also failed to contain a summary of details related to the patient’s condition.
October 8, 2024: Possible Hypertensive Crisis
A call was made to 911 at 11:20 a.m. to report that an ambulance was needed for a 37-year-old woman. The specific details of the woman’s condition were redacted, but the computer-aided dispatch transcript suggests she was experiencing a hypertensive crisis, with a dangerously high blood pressure reading of 226/139. Such levels pose a significant risk of stroke, heart attack, or kidney failure. Prompt medical intervention is crucial to avert these serious complications.
Eyewitnesses reported that the woman walked to the ambulance when it arrived, and the ambulance departed with its sirens wailing.
If she had undergone a surgical abortion, her dangerously high blood pressure could have been a response to pain or stress, bleeding, infection, excessive IV fluids during recovery, inadequate reversal of anesthesia agents, or several other possibilities – none of which this abortion clinic was obviously capable of treating, hence the ambulance.
October 17, 2024: Unknown Cause
An ambulance was spotted and photographed at approximately 2 p.m. Eyewitnesses reported that the emergency vehicle arrived in front of the building before reversing into the alley. A photo reveals a patient being wheeled out on a gurney with an IV. The ambulance left with sirens on.
October 31, 2024: Unknown Cause
A private ambulance arrived at about 2:30 p.m. The ambulance was backed into the alley and parked at the receiving dock. A patient was soon wheeled out on a gurney with an IV. Onsite pro-lifers witnessed a staff member yelling out to the EMS personnel. Though not certain, they believed the EMS professionals were instructed to refrain from using sirens.
High-Risk Procedures and Patient Safety
Family Planning Associates is known for performing late-term abortions, a procedure that inherently carries higher medical risks.
“The recurring need for emergency medical intervention undoubtedly confirms what Operation Rescue has been proving for years, abortion is not safe,” said Newman.
“It kills a baby every single time. The regularity of ambulance transfers at this high-volume clinic doesn’t just raise questions about the clinic’s protocols and equipment, it reveals the total opposite of what it claims on its website, that ‘abortion is safe [and] legal’ and that FPA is a ‘trusted Chicago abortion provider.’ The frequency of its medical emergencies indicates systemic issues at the facility, and the fact that Chicago 911 dispatchers fail to ask questions about the condition of the patients is highly suspect.
“The incidents at Family Planning Associates serve as a stark reminder of the charlatans who call themselves healthcare providers but kill for a living instead – daily violating their Hippocratic Oath to heal and not injure. This calls for increased presence of pro-lifers at this and other abortion facilities across the nation.”
Operation Rescue is filing complaints to the appropriate state agency about the ongoing safety concerns, calling for an immediate investigation of this “Worst of the Worst” facility.
This report may be republished with inclusion of the following acknowledgement: “This article was originally published by Operation Rescue, a leading pro-life, Christian activist organization dedicated to exposing abortion abuses, demanding enforcement, saving innocent lives, and building an abortion-free America. The author, Anne Reed, is Senior Policy Advisor for Operation Rescue.”
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