A Houston abortion clinic has violated state health regulations, according to a state report released by an anti-abortion activist.
The documents from the Texas Department of State Health Services say that the Houston Women’s Clinic doesn’t have specific requirements that nurses be trained to administer moderate sedation, citing two nurses who “failed to reveal documentation of demonstrated competency.”
The documents, dated September 2015, also say exam tables in three procedure rooms had several rips, tears and non-intact upholstry and at least one roll of clear plastic tape stuck to their sides.
“The facility failed to ensure a safe and sanitary environment to protect the health of the patient,” the report says.
The documents were released by Abby Johnson, who formerly worked for Planned Parenthood but now actively opposes abortion. Johnson said the documents prove that abortion clinics put profit before women’s safety, criticizing the Supreme Court’s decision last week striking a Texas law requiring abortion clinics to meet the standards of surgical centers.
“Why the courts would want to put women at risk of dangerous healthcare is demeaning in more ways than one,” Johnson said. “What activist courts are saying is that they don’t care about women’s health, despite all the damning evidence that shows women are put at risk in so many of these Texas clinics.”
While abortion foes say the Texas law would have improved safety at abortion clinics in the state, the court said such regulations were unnecessary and unconstitutional because they made it too hard for women to obtain an abortion.
Johnson is trying to collect 100,000 signatures for a petition to the federal government to ask Congress to pass a federal law requiring abortion facilities to upgrade to surgical centers. She says she has more documents indicating health violations she will release over the next few weeks.
