Baltimore, MD – The medical licenses of abortionist Iris E. Dominy and Mansour G. Panah summarily suspended on May 29, 2013, after Dominy was involved in the death of 38-year old Maria Santiago, who stopped breathing and suffered cardiac arrest while she was left unmonitored and unattended immediately after her abortion on February 13, 2013.
A post-deprivation hearing has been scheduled by the Board of Physicians for June 12, 2013, at 10:00 a.m.
Panah, an extremely troubled abortionist with a long history of sexual misconduct with patients, was acting as the Medical Director of the abortion clinic, Associates in OB/GYN Care located in a residential condo complex on Calvert St. in Baltimore, and was responsible for patient care at the time of Santiago’s death. Panah and Dominy also work at Associates in Ob/GYN abortion clinics in Cheverly, Frederick, and Silver Spring, all of which are affiliated with the notorious illegal late-term abortionist Steven Chase Brigham of New Jersey.
The Maryland Board of physicians concluded that both abortionists were so dangerous that “the public health, safety, or welfare imperatively requires emergency action.”
The Office of Health Care Quality (OHCQ) had suspended the operating license of three Maryland Associates in OB/GYN Care clinics in March after Santiago’s death was discovered during inspections tht were conducted due to public pressure after the death of another abortion patient, Jennifer Morbelli, at Germantown Reproductive Health Services, a late-term abortion clinic operated by LeRoy Carhart. Inspectors also found that the defibrillator at the condo/clinic did not work and that the patient had been carelessly left unattended while under heavy sedation. No one noticed when Santiago stopped breathing, and no staff was adequately trained in CPR, including Dominy. As a result of the inadequate clinic conditions and the negligence of Dominy, Santiago died from Severe Pulmonary Edema, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, and Hypoxia Brain Injury.
The OHCQ reinspected the clinics on May 7 and found continued deficiencies at all four locations that posed a danger to the public and ordered suspension of abortion services again on May 9.
Dominy is accused of “failing to perform surgical abortion services in a safe manner” and of “failing to develop appropriate post-anesthesia procedures and protocols.” She also used unlicensed, unqualified workers to evaluate patients, perform and interpret ultrasounds, and dispense Misoprostol, a drug that causes strong, unpredictable uterine contractions, all without her presence at the abortion clinic.
Panah was accused of allowing abortions to be started by unlicensed, unqualified workers at a facility that was not equipped to complete the abortion. Patient A was seen by an unqualified worker with no competency in ultrasounds. There were multiple gestational ages estimated from the incompetently performed ultrasounds in the patient’s file. The worker none-the-less administered misoprostol to the patient to begin her abortion without a physician present. Later, the abortionist turned the woman away even though her abortion had been started because she was carrying twins and her uterus was the size of a 22 week pregnancy. Because Panah was the Medical Director, it was determined that he posed a danger to the public.
Panah’s long history of discipline started in 1988 when he was accused of fondling and attempting to kiss his patients on the mouth. He was disciplined once again for unwanted sexual contact with patients in 1995. One woman received as many as three breast examinations in one visit for no medical reason. When asked why the need for repeated examinations, Panah simply expressed admiration for the woman’s breasts. In 2011, Panah was again disciplined for shoddy plastic surgery methods and sloppy record-keeping.
“The emergency license suspensions of Dominy and Panah raise other serious questions concerning patient safety in Maryland and elsewhere,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “Why is Steven Brigham allowed to continue operating his chain of shoddy abortion clinics that endanger women and have now claimed the life of Maria Santiago? Brigham and all his abortion quacks should be banned from coming within a mile of a medical facility.”
Another concern is why the death of Santiago led ultimately to license suspensions while LeRoy Carhart, who was responsible for the death of Jennifer Morbelli on February 7, 2013, is allowed to continue operations as usual. Morbelli died of complications to a 33-week abortion that developed after Carhart left the state and was unreachable for emergency assistance.
“If Dominy and Panah are considered a danger to the public, then there can be no doubt that Carhart poses an equal danger,” said Newman. “We renew our calls for an emergency suspension of Carhart’s medical license as well in the interest of public safety.”
Read Dominy’s Suspension Order
Read Panah’s Suspension Order