Center Facts: Phoenix, AZ
| Abortion clinic: | Family Planning Associates Medical Group |
| Location: | Phoenix, AZ |
| Abortionist: | Dr. Paul Isaacson, Dr. Eleanor Stanley, Dr. Laura Mercer, Dr. Taylor |
| History: | Dr. Stanley was sued for medical malpractice in 2003. Eleanor Stanley was sued for medical malpractice in 2003. In 2012 Paul Isaacson testified falsely against an Arizona bill that would have banned abortion after 20 weeks. He said that most women who have abortions at or after 20 weeks do so because of serious fetal anomalies.[1] The Guttmacher Institute, however, found that only 2% of late-term abortions are committed for fetal anomalies.[2] |
| AZ State Law: | No abortions after 24 weeks. Arizona Revised Statute 13-1105, Murder in the first degree. A person commits first degree murder if, intending or knowing that the person’s conduct will cause death, the person causes the death of another person, including an unborn child, with premeditation. |
| Federal Law: | Born Alive Infants Protection Act. Infants born alive after an abortion are persons protected under the law. |
Live Action’s Investigation
Live Action goes undercover to expose the reality of what happens to a baby born alive after an abortion. Live Action’s 23-week pregnant investigator checks in to Family Planning Associates Medical Group for the first appointment of a two-day late-term abortion. She tells the clinic she is unsure about how old her baby was but thinks she is “about 20 or 21 weeks.” During the appointment, our investigator meets with Dr. Mercer; Dr. Taylor; a sonogram technician, “Val”; and “Linda,” the counselor.
Corruption, Medical Lies, and a Promise of Infanticide
Footage from Family Planning Associates Medical Group captures several disturbing examples of the corruption in the abortion industry. Our investigator’s first step is an ultrasound examination. The sonogram shows that she is actually 24 weeks pregnant, so she can not have an abortion under Arizona state law. The ultrasound technician and Dr. Taylor take several more images in an effort to obtain a younger sonogram measurement. They select a measurement of 23 weeks so they could proceed with the abortion. The ultrasound technician and Dr. Taylor then deride Governor Janice Brewer as the “Wicked Witch of the West” for her pro-life legislation and dismiss information about adoption as “politically motivated.”
A woman considering abortion should be able to trust Dr. Mercer to give her all the accurate information she needs to make an informed decision. But instead, Dr. Mercer lies to her patient. She says the baby’s heart doesn’t start to beat until 8 weeks; in fact, the heart beats at about 21 days.[3] In a shameful attempt to dehumanize her patient’s baby Dr. Mercer declares, “It’s not fully developed… it doesn’t even look like a baby yet.” As any mother of a very premature baby could tell us, at this stage, 23 weeks, he certainly does “look like a baby.” The baby has had every organ, fingerprint, and facial feature for the past three months.
Finally, and most shockingly, both Dr. Mercer and “Linda,” the clinic counselor, assure our investigator that “they will not resuscitate” if her baby is born alive. In fact, Dr. Mercer tells her not to go to the hospital if she starts to deliver a live baby because “emergency room physicians would treat you as though you were someone with a desired pregnancy… they would intervene.” The abortion clinic, however, would “absolutely not” try to save the baby. Linda admits that babies have been born alive after abortions at this clinic. Our investigator then asks, “So you would just let it die on its own if it was whole and breathing?” “Mm-hm, mm-hm. They will not resuscitate.”
Assessment
Family Planning Associates Medical Group are caught on tape admitting they have not resuscitated infants who survived abortions and expressing willingness to do so again, in violation of Arizona Revised Statute 13-1105, murder in the first degree.
The Arizona Medical Board and Attorney General Tom Horne should immediately launch criminal and license investigations into Family Planning Associates Medical Group and the doctors and nurses practicing there.
[1] Cheryl Baisden, “Women Still Fighting for Equality More than 150 Years Later,” Respect 12, no. 2 (Winter 2013), 8.
[2] Torres and Forrest, “Why Do Women Have Abortions?” Family Planning Perspectives 20, no. 4 (1988), 169-176
[3] Susan Blackburn, Maternal, Fetal, & Neonatal Physiology: A Clinical Perspective. Saunders, St. Louis. p. 86. (2007)
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