The most recent suspension of the abortion facility license of Steve Brigham’s Virginia Health Group in Fairfax, VA with 52 pages of inspection violations, and the inspection wasn’t even completed, is cause for concern. It is long past time for Steve Brigham to stop operating facilities in Virginia, or anywhere in the US.

According to the Washington Post, “Brigham has had his medical license temporarily suspended, relinquished or revoked or has faced criminal charges in several states, including New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida and California.”

Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation, said in a statement, “Evidence of wrongdoing at Brigham’s American Women’s Services facility in Fairfax is part of a clear pattern of repeated and serious misconduct that poses a significant threat to patient safety, and which cannot be allowed to go unchecked in Virginia.”

Vicki Saporta also stated back in 2012, responding to a botched abortion in which a woman was driven to an ER and dropped off by Mr. Brigham, and subsequently found nearly three dozen viable fetuses in his clinic’s freezer, "Steve Brigham is a substandard provider and should not be practicing medicine or running an abortion clinic anywhere in the United States."

It’s time that the Health Commissioner, VDH and the Board of Health to prohibit Steve Brigham from operating abortion facilities in Virginia. He has clearly shown a track record of abhorrent healthcare practices in no less than five states. We must not wait until someone dies.

To that end, we must add a clause into the abortion regulations that allows for the denial of a license to applicants like Mr. Brigham, whose conduct has caused the revocation of a prior license. Mr. Brigham owns four facilities in Maryland, one in which a patient died from a heart attack, the physician wasn’t certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and a defibrillator at the facility didn't work. His other clinics have been suspended multiple times. In response, Maryland re-evaluated its abortion regulations, and as a result, added the following language: 

Denial of License for Prior Revocation or Consent to Surrender License.

(1) The department may deny a license to:

(a) A corporate applicant if the corporate entity has an owner, director, or officer:

(i) Whose conduct caused the revocation of a prior license; or

(ii) Who held the same or similar position in another corporate entity which had its license revoked;

(b) An individual applicant:

(i) Whose conduct caused the revocation of a prior license; or

(ii) Who held a position as owner, director, or officer in a corporate entity which had its license revoked; or

(c) An individual or corporate applicant that has consented to surrender a license as a result of a license revocation action.

According to 12VAC5-412-130, “the department may deny, suspend, or revoke the license to operate an abortion facility.” Therefore I recommend adding this language to Virginia’s Abortion Regulations 12VAC5-412-130. Denial, Revocation, or Suspension of License.

Thank you for considering my concern and all that you do for Virginia.