A Las Cruces, NM abortion facility opened its doors last month without applying for a business license, submitting proper paperwork only after they asked for increased police presence to deter protesters and city officials cried foul.
In an email exchange obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Thomas More Society, Project Director Mary Frank of the Whole Woman’s Health abortion clinic requested more frequent patrols from local police upon their opening October 13.
“Good morning gentlemen,” begins the note from Mary Frank, “we will be holding our first clinic on Thursday 10/16 and Sat. 10/18.”
“We will not be doing a press release so I hope it stays under the radar for now,” she added.
Commander Sean Kearney of the Las Cruces P.D. assured Frank that they would step up patrols in the area in anticipation of any pro-life protests. But Chief Jaime Montoya questioned the decision, asking in another email, “Has this clinic applied and received its business license?”
The answer was “no,” so city code enforcers visited the facility on October 16 and issued a verbal warning. The owners were given until October 21 to file the proper paperwork.
When October 21 came and went with no application received from the abortion business, code enforcement returned on October 22, this time with a written citation. On October 23, Whole Woman’s Health finally submitted its application for a business license – fully ten days after it first began seeing clients, according to its Facebook page.
Apparently fearful of being hauled into municipal court, the abortion clinic’s owners immediately began pressing for a decision. On October 27, City Chief Building Official Robert Kyle emailed assistant City Manager Brian Denmark to ask him to speed things up.
“The operators of the women’s health facility are pushing for an answer on their [business license] since [the Codes Department] hit them for opening without one,” Kyle wrote. “I know you guys are tied up … but do you have any direction as of yet?”
Denmark gave the go ahead for issuing the license, saying “we feel we have no choice but to proceed.” As a result, the citation against the facility was dismissed from municipal court.
“This is not the first time that Whole Woman’s Health has disregarded the law,” said Martha Beasley, who coordinates the 40 Days for Life vigils in Las Cruces. “In its locations just across the border in Texas, they had been fined for illegally disposing of biohazardous materials and baby remains, and also had been found to be violating HIPAA regulations.”
In particular, Whole Woman’s Health was fined more than $40,000 for dumping the remains of aborted infants in landfills instead of burying them, as Texas law requires.
Click “like” if you are PRO-LIFE!
“I fear that such unsanitary and illegal practices will only continue here in New Mexico,” Beasley added. “The records we have obtained, proving that the clinic opened without a business license, only add to our concern. Women deserve to be treated with respect by businesses that uphold the law, and it’s obvious that this facility does not respect women, their children, or the law.”
Beasley said her group plans to keep a constant eye on the facility for signs of dangerous or illegal practices.
Meanwhile, city officials interviewed by the Las Cruces Sun said there was nothing they could do to prevent the abortion center from opening, despite their overwhelmingly negative feelings about it.
“It's not something I support, but the Constitution allows them a certain amount of rights with the services they're providing,” said Mayor Ken Miyagishima.
“It's definitely an operation that there's a large part of this community doesn't care for it being here in Las Cruces,” added City Councilor Miguel Silva. “The clinic opened within a zoned area that allows it to operate, so there's not much we can do.”
“Personally, I don't really care for these operations to move into the city,” Silva added.
Another Las Cruces City Councilor, Ceil Levatino, told the Sun she considers herself “profoundly pro-life,” but feels her hands are tied.
“It breaks my heart to have an abortion clinic in my city, and particularly in my district,” Levantino said. “Unfortunately, abortion is legal, and I'm not sure there is anything that can be done.”