A lawsuit has been recently filed against a crisis pregnancy center in Massachusetts, accusing it of failing to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy, which resulted in a life-threatening situation for the patient.
A lawsuit filed last week alleges that a crisis pregnancy center in Massachusetts failed to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy, leading to a life-threatening emergency for the patient. The complaint accuses the anti-abortion Clearway Clinic of engaging in deceptive advertising to dissuade women from seeking abortions instead of providing them with the full range of medically appropriate options.
The plaintiff, a Worcester resident who remains anonymous, claims that the nurse who performed her ultrasound scan at the center did not take sufficient medical measures to ensure the viability of the pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancies occur when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the uterus, often in the fallopian tube, and can pose serious risks. The lawsuit states that the woman’s fallopian tube ruptured a month after the ultrasound scan, resulting in severe internal bleeding and necessitating emergency surgery.
The patient’s lawyer, Shannon Liss-Riordan, asserts that there is no evidence suggesting intentional deception by the nurse, but rather incompetence due to a lack of qualifications. Representatives of the Clearway Clinic have not responded to requests for comment, although CEO Jill Jorgensen stated that privacy laws prevented them from discussing the patient’s case. Jorgensen emphasized that the clinic has served thousands of women in the Worcester area at no cost and has not faced previous complaints of this nature.
Crisis pregnancy centers are facilities that aim to discourage women from seeking abortions and often offer resources such as diapers, baby clothes, and STI tests. According to the Crisis Pregnancy Center Map, a database created by researchers at the University of Georgia, there are over 2,500 such centers operating in the United States, with 29 in Massachusetts alone, outnumbering the state’s 19 abortion clinics.
The lawsuit argues that the Clearway Clinic’s website does not clearly disclose its true objective of dissuading women from terminating pregnancies. The patient discovered the clinic during an online search for an ultrasound scan nearby. The lawsuit also alleges that the paperwork received by the patient following the scan falsely indicated a viable in-utero pregnancy, which was not the case. Furthermore, the paperwork was purportedly signed by a doctor listed as the clinic’s medical director, although the patient claims not to have encountered the director in person. After leaving the Clearway Clinic, the patient reportedly received follow-up contact from staff members encouraging her to continue the pregnancy.
Dr. Amy Addante, an OB-GYN and fellow with the advocacy group Physicians for Reproductive Health, asserts that ectopic pregnancies should typically be terminated as soon as possible. The alleged incident at Clearway Clinic underscores the dangers that crisis pregnancy centers can pose due to the lack of transparency regarding the qualifications of personnel conducting ultrasounds. According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, less than 40% of staff and volunteer workers at crisis pregnancy centers were licensed medical professionals as of 2019.
The lawsuit was filed as a class action, with the hope of allowing other potential plaintiffs to join in the future. It aims to shed light on deceptive practices by crisis pregnancy centers and prevent other women from experiencing similar deception. Instances of misinformation spread by crisis pregnancy centers have been documented in research, with counselors falsely claiming that abortions cause mental illness and implying that they can lead to cancer and infertility. The patient’s motivation for suing is to protect other women from falling victim to the same kind of deception when seeking medical care at these centers, often unknowingly entering facilities that differ from regular medical clinics.
