A father-son abortion team in Columbus, Ohio, has stopped its practice of committing surgical abortions.
Created Equal Executive Director Mark Harrington told LifeSiteNews that his organization called Complete Healthcare for Women, run by Dr. Mervyn Samuel and his son Dr. Milroy Samuel, on Thursday, and a receptionist said that “the Samuels are no longer performing abortions. Their last abortions will be performed tomorrow. The Samuels will not provide any abortions at any of their Columbus locations.”
“We are very gratified that after years of pleading with these men they have chosen to cease killing babies. Last summer we began post carding the neighborhoods of their abortion mill, and their homes as part of our Killers Among Us project,” said Harrington. “Recently, we pressured St. Ann’s and Mt. Carmel East Hospital to revoke their admitting privileges. Those efforts combined with the inability of many Ohio abortion mills to meet state safety laws has led to this decision.”
“This is a victory for all the pro-life activists in Columbus who remained vigilant over these many years.”
The executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio also verified the news. In a public statement, Kellie Copeland said, “For months, anti-choice extremists have targeted the doctors at Complete Healthcare for Women because they provided their patients with abortion care in addition to their other obstetric and gynecological services.”
“I would not be surprised if this campaign of harassment played a role in their decision to stop providing abortion care to their patients,” she added.
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The Samuels have faced difficulties from their own practices as well as from pro-life activists. In 2012, investigators found rusted and dirty IV equipment, improperly sterilized surgical tools, expired medications, and lax infection control standards at Complete Healthcare for Women. Likewise, in 2010 and 2012, women given abortions at the clinic required hospital care, and Operation Rescue discovered OSHA violations had garnered thousands in fines for the location.
A number of abortion clinics have closed their doors in Ohio due to a regulation from the administration of Ohio Gov. John Kasich that does not allow abortion clinics to enter into transfer agreements with public hospitals. Clinics require agreements with hospitals to exist under Ohio law. This has approximately halved the number of abortion clinics in Ohio in the last 18 months.
It was not immediately clear why the Samuels closed down the abortion portion of their operation. They have two satellite clinics that do not provide abortions and will also remain open.