Hundreds of young and vulnerable women seeking abortions are to be sent to other clinics after some services run by Marie Stopes International were suspended because of inspectors’ safety concerns. Nothing was done after a woman from Ireland died in 2012 immediately after an abortion in a Marie Stopes clinic in London.[1] A year before that another woman nearly died following a botched abortion at a Marie Stopes clinic.[2] Pro-choice groups closed ranks to protect the good name of the abortion industry rather than putting women’s health first.
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Ms Abbott warned: “The suspension of these services will affect up to 250 women a week”.
The law surrounding abortion in Northern Ireland is much more strict than in the rest of the UK.
The concerns relate to an inspection of its corporate headquaters which found poor governance in areas such as consent and safeguarding.
At the weekend, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) raised concerns about patient safety and Marie Stopes International suspended a number of services in England.
The last published inspection of its Belfast facility, on June 17 a year ago, said it was “delivering safe, effective and compassionate care”, with “no areas for concern”.
It is understood that the inspection team initially identified a number of concerns about the governance of Marie Stopes. We are working urgently with the CQC on these areas and intend to regain full assurance within a few days. “Women need not worry – if you are pregnant and need high quality abortion care you will be able to access services”. “Abortion is an inherently risky interference in the natural pregnancy process”.
In a further case, MSI was criticised in 2009 by The West Yorkshire coroner, Roger Whittaker, for failings that meant a 15-year-old girl, Alesha Thomas, was discharged before she was given a prescription for antibiotics to prevent infection at a Marie Stopes Clinic in Leeds two years earlier.
Figures released in May this year showed that there were 1,253 more abortions in 2015 than in the previous year.
Any woman, whether from Dublin or London, who needed abortion care would be able to receive treatment, she added.
Mark Bhagwandin, spokesperson for the United Kingdom charity Life, which runs pregnancy care centers, told the Daily Mail that MSI receives millions in public funds. This is not the first time that Marie Stopes clinics have been in the news.
The services would not restart until Marie Stopes International had satisfied the inspectorate that it had made the necessary changes to ensure all women were safe, the CQC said.
However a spokesman for Marie Stopes said this would not impact severely on its Belfast operation, as it only offers medical abortions.
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The commission said its health inspectors began reporting concerns after conducting inspections of the abortion facilities. A full report is expected in the fall.
