A notorious Virginia abortion clinic remains closed this month after state inspectors found a long list of health and safety violations during an inspection earlier this year.
The Virginia Health Group in Fairfax, Virginia, is run by Steven Chase Brigham, a notorious late-term abortionist. Brigham has been barred from practicing medicine in five states, faced criminal charges for killing late-term babies and employed a sex offender at one of his facilities.
In April, state inspectors suspended his Fairfax abortion clinic’s license and released a 52-page report detailing dozens of health and safety violations, LifeNews reported. These included dirty and unsanitary equipment, expired medication, lack of medical supplies for emergencies and more. In one case, inspectors said a nurse used a plunger to unstop a toilet and then held a patient’s hand without changing scrubs.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports Brigham has not taken action to get his state abortion clinic license reinstated, and the practice remains closed.
Follow LifeNews.com on Instagram for pro-life pictures and the latest pro-life news.
Here is more from the report:
The developments were disclosed during the quarterly meeting of the state Board of Health Thursday in Henrico County.
Erik Bodin, who is in charge of licensing and inspections for the Virginia Department of Health, told the 15-member board that the Virginia Health Group, located on Arlington Boulevard in Fairfax, had withdrawn its request for an informal fact-finding conference — a step that is taken to begin the process of correcting deficiencies identified in an inspection and seek reinstatement.
… By putting off the hearing, the clinic can continue to operate and provide services other than abortions because its case for reinstatement is considered pending. Several board members on Thursday expressed concern that the situation not be allowed to remain unresolved.
Bodin said that his office would be in contact with the clinic in the next week or two to determine whether it plans to correct the deficiencies.
The Virginia abortion center failed state inspections in the past, too. In 2014, state inspectors discovered 33 pages worth of violations at the facility, many of which were repeat offenses, LifeNews reported. These included dirty and broken equipment, improper sterilization and cleaning, and failure to provide patients with contact information where complaints may be filed, according to the state report.
Victoria Cobb, president of the pro-life Family Foundation of Virginia, told the newspaper that Brigham should be shut down completely, given his record.
“Sadly, if Brigham promises to ‘fix’ the 52 pages of violations found in the last inspection, it’s likely he’ll be allowed to continue to put women at risk,” Cobb said. “But it’s important to remember that no one would even know the facts about the horrible conditions at his Fairfax abortion center if not for the abortion center safety standards Terry McAuliffe and the abortion industry oppose.”
Even a spokeswoman for the radical pro-abortion group NARAL said they were “deeply concerned” about how Brigham preys on women. However, abortion activists also claimed Brigham is an outlier, and the abortion industry does not need to be regulated.
It’s the same line they used when abortionist Kermit Gosnell was discovered in Philadelphia. Gosnell later was convicted of murdering three newborn babies and hundreds of other charges. The gruesome Philadelphia case led a number of states, including Virginia, to enact new regulations to ensure abortion facilities were meeting basic health and safety standards. But in 2014, Virginia granted Brigham’s shoddy Virginia facilities a variance, allowing him to avoid compliance with the regulations.
Then, last summer, pro-abortion Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe succeeded in convincing the state Board of Health to get rid of some of the new health and safety regulations.
