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By Cheryl Sullenger
Cleveland, Ohio – A Cleveland area abortionist, David Burkons, has been cited by the Medical Board of Ohio for operating what amounts to an illegal pill mill and now faces the possibility of license revocation.
In a citation letter dated December 9, 2015, the Medical Board accused Burkons of secretly prescribing controlled substances to 14 patients while failing to record the prescriptions in the patients’ medical records as required.
Six of those patients received “under the table” powerful, habit-forming controlled substances, such as Xanex, Percocet, Vicodin, Valium, Hydrocodone, and others on a “protracted basis.”
Burkons admitted under oath to a Board Investigator that he also signed blank prescription pads and left them for his staff to complete and dispense at a later time.
The Board informed Burkons that his actions qualify as a misdemeanor in Ohio. However, no criminal charges are yet on file in Cuyahoga County or in the Federal Court system.
The letter further noted that his off-the-books drug distribution practices also constitute “failure to maintain minimal standards applicable to the selection and administration of drugs” and violations of other Ohio statutes.
Burkons owns and operates the Northeast Ohio Women’s Center in Cuyahoga Falls, a facility he took over in 2014, when the previous abortion business there closed due to the revocation of its Ambulatory Surgical Facility (ASF) license.
As its new owner, Burkons’ struggled to obtain a facility license that would allow him to conduct surgical abortions. An inspection conducted on February 3, 2014, cited numerous violations, which resulted in the denial of an ASF license by Ohio Department of Health.
The Northeast Ohio Women’s Center operated as a medication-only abortion facility until Burkons was finally able to obtain an ASF license last in July.
Burkons also works at two other Ohio abortion facilities. He serves as the Medical Director for Preterm in Cleveland where Lakisha Wilson received a fatal abortion in 2014, and at the Toledo Women’s Center, an abortion facility whose ASF license was revoked after Burkons failed to obtain required local hospital privileges. The Toledo Women’s Center continues operating under a court injunction that bars the Ohio Department of Health from shutting it down pending the outcome of a lawsuit.
But court cases and licensing hassles may be the least of Burkons’ worries right now as he faces the very real prospect of license suspension or revocation for his illegal drug distribution practices. His case before the Medical Board is set for a telephone status hearing on August 23 to be followed by a formal disciplinary hearing on September 22, 2016.
“So often abortionists are given a free pass when it comes to violations of the law,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “This time, the pill-pushing case against Burkons looks pretty solid. We look forward to the day when David Burkons can be stripped of his medical license and his abortion businesses closed for good!”
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