Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-683-6790 ext 111; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue, info.operationrescue@gmail.com   
 
ANNAPOLIS, Md., June 15, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Poorly trained abortion facility staff. Unsterilized surgical instruments. Unsanitary facility conditions. Patient injuries and deaths. Abortion clinic administrators who appear to have no idea how to operate a medical facility. 

These startling violations are not referring to Kermit Gosnell's now-defunct Philadelphia "House of Horrors" abortion mill, as one might expect.

Instead, these violations were found at licensed surgical abortion facilities in Maryland - some repeatedly with no guarantee that all affecting patient safety have yet been corrected, according to a new Special Report released today by Operation Rescue titled, "Public Safety Scandal: Maryland OHCQ Licensed Abortion Facilities That Failed to Meet Requirements."

The exclusive exposé is based on a round of re-licensing inspection reports that were recently released by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Office of Health Care Quality (OHCQ). It paints a disturbing picture of substandard conditions and shoddy practices that characterize the 16 abortion facilities in that state.

Is there a cover-up that is endangering women's lives?

"We lay the blame for the egregiously unsafe conditions that exist in the vast majority of Maryland surgical abortion businesses on the Office of Health Care Quality," said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. "The lax enforcement of Maryland's surgical abortion facility licensing regulations has created an environment where abortion facilities feel free to disrespect and ignore the law. They know there will be few, if any, consequences."

The Special Report, authored by Operation Rescue Senior Vice President Cheryl Sullenger, discusses the OHCQ's failure to adequately enforce Maryland's 2013 abortion facility licensing regulations and cavalier handling of complaints under the leadership of OHCQ's Executive Director Dr. Patricia Nay and Program Manager Barbara Fagan - including two surgical abortion centers that continue to operate without licenses.

It contains links to full documentation as well as a video summary.

"When a woman walks into an abortion clinic that has been licensed by the state, she has every right to believe that the facility is in compliance with all regulations and requirements. That is just not the case in Maryland, where women face the very real prospect of being treated by unqualified staff using unsanitary instruments and expired medications. She is also prone to exposure to uncontrolled infection risks, disease and other hazards - all with the virtual blessing of the Department of Health," said Newman. "This is completely unacceptable, and those responsible for creating this intolerable public safety crisis in Maryland, including OHCQ Director Patricia Nay, should be forced to resign."

Read Operation Rescue's New Special Report

About Operation Rescue®   
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation and has become a strong voice for the pro-life movement in America.  Click here to support Operation Rescue.