A Texas nurse may be aborting unborn babies illegally at the Hilltop Women’s abortion facility in El Paso, according to evidence uncovered by Abortion Free New Mexico.
The pro-life organization’s new investigation, released Wednesday, includes an audio recording in which a receptionist at the abortion facility admits that a nurse, clinic manager Gloria Martinez, does drug-induced abortions.
In Texas and most other states, laws require that a licensed doctor do abortions.
“Gloria Martinez is not a licensed physician and should, therefore, not be administering the abortion pill to women in the state of Texas,” said Tara Shaver of Abortion Free New Mexico. “Gloria Martinez is placing Texas women’s lives at risk by violating the state’s Health and Safety Code that was put in place to ensure patient safety.”
She said they submitted a complaint to the Attorney General of Texas and the Texas Nursing Board.
In the audio recording, a woman posing as someone seeking a first-trimester abortion calls the Hilltop abortion facility.
“I wanted to schedule an appointment for the abortion pill with your female practitioner. Is her name Gloria Martinez?” the caller asks.
The receptionist confirms that she can schedule an abortion with Martinez. She tells the caller that the abortion costs $550.
“Okay. But definitely then on Monday I’d be able to see Ms. Martinez? She could give me the pills and that’s fine?” the caller asks.
“Yes,” the receptionist confirms.
“I don’t have to worry about seeing what is it, doctor [abortionist Franz] Theard?” the caller asks.
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“Yes,” the receptionist replies.
Later in the call, the receptionist explains that Theard does surgical abortions, but Martinez can do the drug-induced abortion, according to the recording.
Shaver said Martinez may be putting unsuspecting women’s lives at risk.
“The total disregard by Gloria Martinez, as a nurse and clinic manager, to comply with both state and federal laws is quite concerning as her negligence poses serious life threatening consequences to the unsuspecting women who believe they are being seen by a licensed physician who is following proper protocols,” she said.
Last year, Abortion Free New Mexico also filed a complaint against another Hilltop abortion facility in Santa Theresa, New Mexico. In that case, the group found evidence that the facility may not have the proper equipment to comply with FDA regulations for abortion drugs.
When an undercover investigator called the abortion facility, a receptionist admitted they do not have the equipment to diagnose ectopic pregnancies – a requirement of the FDA when prescribing the abortion drug mifepristone, which the abortion facility does, according to the pro-life organization.
Mifepristone can be deadly for the mother as well as her unborn baby, especially if an ectopic pregnancy goes undetected. The FDA outlines specific requirements for prescribing the drug, including the “ability to diagnose ectopic pregnancies.” According to the agency’s data, at least 24 women died in connection to taking mifepristone, including two who had ectopic pregnancies.
Currently, 42 states require that a licensed physician perform abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Even abortion activists acknowledged that these laws were passed to protect women’s health.
In 2015, however, California passed a law allowing non-doctors to abort unborn babies. The new law has put countless women and their unborn babies at risk. The billion-dollar abortion chain Planned Parenthood also is suing several states to overturn their physician requirement laws.
One study found that abortions done by non-physicians were twice as likely to have complications as those done by licensed physicians.
