TALLAHASSEE, Florida, January 13, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) inspected various abortion businesses in August, for compliance with state health laws. The agency discovered several abortuaries were in various degrees of violation, including one that illegally committed second-term abortions without a license.
AHCA inspections resulted in charges against the Aastra Women's Center in Plantation, the Bread and Roses Women's Health Center in Gainesville, and three Planned Parenthood abortuaries in St. Petersburg, Fort Myers, and Naples.
“We are pleased with the actions of our governor to inspect he Planned Parenthood facilities to ensure the safety of women and girls,” Florida Right to Life president Lynda Bell told LifeSiteNews.
The Aastra abortion facility in Plantation responded to the charges, arguing they did no wrong because state law does not clearly define what constitutes the first trimester of pregnancy and requested hearings before a judge.
But in a strange twist of conviction, the AHCA asked the judge to “relinquish jurisdiction” over the case, effectively dropping the charges – with not even an admission of guilt.
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“The parties have reached an agreement in concept to resolve this matter and are in the process of executing a settlement agreement,” AHCA assistant general counsel John Bradley explained. “Should the settlement fail for any reason, each party has the right to file a motion to reopen this matter.”
Upon receiving the AHCA request, Judge John Van Laningham canceled the hearing for the case.
The Aastra Women's Center's attorney, Julie Gallagher, said the settlement would involve no admission or finding of guilt on the part of abortionists breaking the law to terminate second-trimester babies.
In short, according to Gallagher's comments, the state of Florida let the abortionists off the hook. Gallagher explained that from the abortion business's perspective, “[t]he settlement was a business decision [because] fines were minimal vs. cost of hearing. Each party asserts its position was correct[.] … Made sense [for Aastra] to do the deal.”
Not only did the state essentially drop its case, but also the state bound itself to never use the discovered illegal late-term abortions against Planned Parenthood or other abortion businesses in the future. Gallagher said the AHCA “cannot use the settlement as a basis for any future action” against Aastra.
Florida pro-life leaders are taking a wait-and-see approach to the undisclosed settlement. “We await the actions of AHCA and the settlement decision,” Ms. Bell told LifeSiteNews.
The Planned Parenthood cases are scheduled to be heard on January 26 and 27. The Bread and Roses case is scheduled to be heard on March 1 and 2.
