Chapter 3 of Lime 5: Planned Parenthood

Crutcher opens this section by noting that Planned Parenthood are the snobs of the abortion lobby. They're looked on with disdain by independent abortion practitioners for this snooty attitude.

Crutcher says that we found stuff just as bad about Planned Parenthood as we did about NAF and independent facilities, but that's really not the case. The most egregious goings-on we saw when I was at Life Dynamics, and that I've seen since then, have never risen to the level of  Lawson Akpolonu or Kermit Gosnell. Planned Parenthood admitted that women had reported the grotesqueries to them, and said that they encouraged the women to report Gosnell to the medical board. There's no evidence that they were actively referring women to him, just as there's no evidence that they took any steps to warn women away or to ask the state to take action. Like the bystanders who listened to the murder of Kitty Genovese, they treated Gosnell as not their problem and let him go about his deadly business entirely unmolested.

That's not to say that we didn't find appalling things.

Charity's Tragic Story

Lime 5 recounts a Tennessee case. In October of 1990, a 14-year-old girl named Charity suffered a terrible tragedy in her home: her older sister had reported that their stepfather had been abusing her, and the stepfather had responded by murdering their mother then killing himself. The traumatized girl was sent to live with her grandmother. Six months later, her biological father called her, saying that he'd kill himself if she didn't move in with him. When Charity chose to stay with her grandmother, her father hanged himself.

Charity required a psychiatric hospitalization, where she was treated for about a month and a half.

In mid-January of 1993, Charity told her 17-year-old boyfriend, Jason Millikan, that she thought she was pregnant. Two days later he took her to Planned Parenthood of Middle Tennessee where his mother, Sandy Millikan worked as a counselor. Jason's mother told Charity that she was 11 or 12 weeks pregnant. Both Jason and his mother pushed for an abortion, but Charity wanted to have her baby. 

Jason began calling Charity every night, threatening to kill himself if she didn't go through with an abortion. His mother told Charity that she needed to think about Jason and do what was right for him by undergoing an abortion. 

Jason took Charity to Planned Parenthood's main Nashville facility, where she spoke to a different counselor rather than his mother. Charity again stressed that she did not want an abortion. Jason again threatened suicide. The counselor pushed a paper in front of Charity and told her to sign it without reading it.

It was a consent form for an abortion, which the medical director, Dr. Peter Cartwright, promptly performed in defiance of a law requiring that a minor's parents or guardian be notified at least two days prior to an abortion.

Two weeks later Charity was admitted to the hospital again for a psychiatric emergency. She was discharged to her grandmother's care, but had developed such severe mental health issues, and troubles with alcohol and drug abuse. Her grandmother was not able to continue to care for her. Charity ended up placed in a home for troubled adolescents.

Planned Parenthood denied any wrongdoing. ("Girl given abortion she didn't want, suit says," The Tennessean, January 28, 1994; Davidson County TN Circuit Court Case No. 94C-259)

Endangering Kathy

Kathy was 16 when she learned that she was pregnant. Her mother took her to a doctor for prenatal care. The doctor said that Kathy had abnormalities of the cervix and uterus that would make an abortion risky for her, possibly leaving her unable to bear future children. An abortion, he said, might lead to her death.

Undeterred, Kathy made secret plans for an abortion. Her mother learned of the plans and got a court injunction against area abortion facilities to protect her daughter. One of those served with the injunction was Delbert L. Culp (John Roe 851), who served as executive director of Planned Parenthood of Central Indiana. He told his staff to notify him if Kathy sought an abortion at their clinic.

They did so. Culp and a counselor informed Kathy that they could arrange for her to have an abortion in an out-of-state clinic not covered by the injunction. They scheduled the abortion in Louisville, not informing the other facility of Kathy's health problems that caused her obstetrician such concern.

Kathy's mother learned of the plan and got a restraining order banning Planned Parenthood from providing "any advice or aid in obtaining an abortion" and forbidding them to work with others in arranging an abortion. She tried to get the name of the clinic where the abortion was scheduled so that she could at least relay her daughter's medical information even if she couldn't legally protect her child. Planned Parenthood refused to provide the information.

The next day, Kathy underwent the abortion. Five days later she ended up in the hospital with a life-threatening infection that left her ability to bear future children in doubt. Both Kathy and her mother filed suit, but Planned Parenthood venue-shopped and got the case transferred before a judge who dismissed the cases.

Again, they insist that they did nothing wrong. Culp said that Kathy's father, though not the custodial parent, had signed a consent form and that this was enough for them to legally go ahead. ("Mother files lawsuit over teen's abortion," Indianapolis News, June 11, 1986; Boone County Indiana Circuit Court Cause No. C86-293; Marion County Indiana Superior Court Cause No. S287 0782)

The Same Old Run-Around

Just as we called the National Abortion Federation about Steve Lichtenberg and Mayfair Women's Center, we called Planned Parenthood to get their take on questionable doctors and what they'd tell patients who had questions about any deaths or malpractice. 

Dr. Robert Crist

I called to ask why Dr. Robert Crist, who had two dead patients to his discredit (Latachie Veal and Diane Boyd) and numerous other lawsuits was allowed to work at a Planned Parenthood. Did he, I wanted to know, meet their internal requirements for a physician to work at one of their clinics? Of course, I was assured that he did. When I asked why somebody with his background would be considered good enough, the employee, Ann Glazier, told me I'd have to talk to Crist. 

As was the case with asking NAF about Lichtenberg, I asked what they'd tell a patient who had heard about Crist's background and called to find out if the stories were true. That, Glazier said, was proprietary information. How, I asked, could a patient really know that her doctor was safe, if somebody like Crist was allowed to work at one of their clinics?

They would, Glazier told me, have to check with the medical board or the American Medical Association.

As Crutcher put it:

No one can seriously believe that a fifteen-year-old girl in a crisis pregnancy situation is going to call the American Medical Association in Chicago, the Texas Board of Medical Examiners in Austin, the Missouri Board of Medical Examiners in Jefferson City, and then start sifting through courthouse records in two states. Of course, the real question is why she would have to when the person she's talking to at Planned Parenthood already has that information. When we asked Ms. Glazier whether she thought it was reasonable to expect this kind of effort out of a woman in this situation, her answer was, "Well, uh, I have to tell you that, uh, I have all the confidence in Dr. Crist's skills and judgment."

That exemplary doctor went on to perform the fatal abortion on Nichole Williams at a Planned Parenthood owned facility in 1997.

I'll also note at this point that troubled abortionist Bruce Steir, who abandoned his patient Sharon Hamplton to the care of people who shoved her out the door to bleed to death, sometimes worked at a Planned Parenthood. Andre Nehorayoff, who performed two fatal abortions, did some time as a trainee at a Planned Parenthood.

Crutcher's Closing Thoughts

Crutcher notes that when we had a woman call a Planned Parenthood hotline asking for an abortion referral, they referred her to Family Planning Associates Medical Group. As of the publication of Lime 5, we had already "identified eight women who died as a result of abortions performed by them, plus over 70 other documented allegations relating to botched abortions. Among many other things, patients and health department officials have alleged that this organization performs abortions on women who are not pregnant, falsifies medical records, pays kickbacks for abortion referrals, maintains unsanitary and unsterile conditions, improperly maintains its medical equipment, and allows non-physicians to practice medicine. The California Department of Health Services once said that this chain's primary abortion clinic 'lacks the ability to conform to licensing requirements and is not of reputable and responsible character.' (Letter from California Department of Health Services, August 12, 1985) Apparently, however, their character and ability is good enough for Planned Parenthood."

It is also, I will note, good enough for the National Abortion Federation, since the chain remains a member in spite of racking up another eight deaths since the publication of Lime 5. We had already known about Patricia Chacon, Mary Pena, Josefina Garcia, Lanice Dorsey, Joyce Ortenzio, Tami Suematsu, Susan Levy, and Deanna Bell. I've subsequently learned about Christina Mora, Ta Tanisha Wesson, Nakia Jorden, Maria Leho, Kimberly Neil, Maria Rodriguez, Chanelle Bryant, and "Kyla Ellis." And this isn't even counting Natalie Meyers and Denise Holmes, who died at facilities owned by FPA founder Edward Campbell Allred before he christened his abortion empire Family Planning Associates Medical Group.

Deadly Referrals

I'll note here that Planned Parenthood has referred women to their deaths, including Christi Stile, who languished in a near-comatose state for over 22 years before finally dying of brain injuries she'd suffered at Mayfair.

After performing a failed abortion on her, Planned Parenthood referred Elizabeth Tsuji to the notorious Inglewood General Hospital for the abortion that ended her life in 1978. Kathy Murphy and Lynette Wallace had already died from abortions at that facility.

Planned Parenthood referred Kawaida Espenrace to A-Z Women's Center for the abortion that killed her in 2007.

Bring Out Your Dead

Planned Parenthood, as a huge abortion conglomerate, at least has a better track record than FPA -- or at least they're better at hiding the bodies. I've only uncovered the following deaths following abortions at Planned Parenthood:

Sandra Kaiser, aged 14, leapt to her death from a highway overpass in 1984 after a secret abortion at a Planned Parenthood.

In 1987, Elise Kalat suffered an asthma attack after an abortion and ended up dead because the Planned Parenthood uncertified staff were clueless about how to perform CPR.

Diana Lopez bled to death after a Planned Parenthood doctor rushed through a 19-week abortion in only 6 minutes in 2002.

Vivian Tran died of sepsis after getting her abortion medications at a Planned Parenthood in 2003. The same thing happened that same year to Holly Patterson.

A nurse at Planned Parenthood caused Edrica Goode's fatal infection in 2007 by using laminaria in a contra-indicated way.

Roselle Owens died in 2009; Planned Parenthood waited nearly 20 minutes to call an ambulance.

Tonya Reaves's transfer to a hospital was delayed for over 4 hours when she suffered abortion injuries in 2012; she bled to death.

Cree Erwin-Shephard died after being sent home from Planned Parenthood with injuries they hadn't noticed during her 2016 abortion.

The Full Scope

I thought about providing a lot of links to other seedy stuff Planned Parenthood does, such as lie to patients, facilitate child sexual abuse, and set abortion quotas, and push hard for abortion even if the woman is hesitant, but I think the better approach is this: Live Action's playlist, "Planned Parenthood Workers Speak Out," allows former employees to describe what they witnessed. 

Watch Lime 5: Planned Parenthood on YouTube.