The owners of a Rockford, Ill., abortion clinic agreed to pay a $9,750 fine in order to resume doing business in a settlement with the state health department today.
The Northern Illinois Women’s Center had its license suspended last September, after the state found it neither had admitting privileges at licensed hospitals nor an experienced operating-room nurse on staff.
But the Thomas More Society, which represents the Rockford Pro-Life Initiative, said in a Nov. 23 letter to the health department the clinic owners were guilty of much more, including maintaining unsanitary surgical equipment, allowing the presence of dogs and rats and keeping shoddy records.
Though the clinic has since met the health department’s standards, spokeswoman Melanie Arnold said today it has no more room for error: Should NIWC repeat any of its previous violations, its license will be revoked permanently.
“There’s also another option,” Arnold said. “If the facility chooses to remain closed, it must surrender its license to the Department of Public Health, but the fine will be reduced to $1,000 because the risk of harm to the public is no longer there.”
Contact: Karla Dial
Source: CitizenLink
