4 Md. Abortion Clinics Shut Down, 3 Abortionists' Licenses Suspended Amid Patient's Death

By Melissa Barnhart, Managing Editor Friday, June 07, 2013

The Maryland Board of Physicians has suspended the medical licenses of three abortionists following the death of patient Maria Santiago, 38, who died following a Feb. 13 abortion performed at the Associates in OB/GYN Care clinic, located inside a residential condominium complex in Baltimore, Md. The board subsequently shut down the four clinics that operate under the same name.

Santiago was almost 13 weeks pregnant when her abortion was performed by Iris Dominy, who reportedly told police her patient slept through the abortion before suffering cardiac arrest, which led to her death two days later. None of the clinic's staff was CPR certified, a crash cart wasn't used to attempt to save Santiago, and the defibrillator was found to be broken.

Abortionists Michael Angelo Basco, Iris Dominy and Mansuor Panah each had their Maryland medical licenses suspended on May 29. The four abortion clinics they worked at are affiliated with New Jersey abortionist Steven Chase Brigham, who in 2010, was arrested with his colleague, Nicola Riley, for transporting patients from New Jersey to Maryland during their abortion procedures, in an effort to evade the garden state's restrictions on late-term abortions, according to Operation Rescue.

"Basco is an abortionist that has been flying under the radar," Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, said in a statement. "Now the public can be warned about this dangerous man who has a history of discipline and lawsuits in other states."

States' disciplinary actions against Basco, as cited by Operation Rescue, include a reprimand issued by the Texas Medical Board on Aug. 15, 2003, for failing to provide information about malpractice lawsuits that had been filed against him when he filled out an application for hospital privileges.

Likewise, on Aug. 26, 2011, the Texas Medical Board issued an Agreed Order disciplining Basco for inadequate record keeping and for not informing a patient about her options before undergoing a hysterectomy. Basco was ordered to attend classes on proper medical recordkeeping procedures and was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine, according to Operation Rescue.

Pennsylvania and Maryland both issued reciprocal reprimands in 2012, following actions taken by the Texas Medical Board.

"Even though Basco, Dominy and Panah have all been suspended in Maryland, and four clinics ordered to halt surgical abortions, vigilance is still required because we have seen Brigham-operated clinics defy the law before," Newman said. "Brigham-operated abortion mills are among the worst in the nation. He has a history of ignoring the law, hiring troubled abortionists who are at the bottom of the barrel, and evading responsibility at every turn.

"His abortion clinics are continuously being closed by various states, but he finds ways to reopen them time and again. We pray that his entire chain of abortion clinics that span four states [New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia] will be brought down and Brigham is put behind bars where he belongs."

Documents show the clinics in Baltimore, Cheverly, Frederick and Silver Spring, Md., were initially shut down in March. They were later allowed to reopen, but were shut down again on May 9, according to The Associated Press.