By Dave Andrusko
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced today that two abortion clinics near Lansing, Michigan– The Lansing Health Care Clinic and Saginaw Women’s Choice Clinic—have been dissolved by clinic owners Richard and Margaret Remund.
As NRL News Today reported earlier this month, citing violation of state law and allegations of improper medical records disposal, Schuette filed a lawsuit asking an Eaton County court to permanently dissolve the two abortion clinics. Schuette also requested that Remund be barred from ever organizing any other company for a similar purpose.
That is what happened today under the terms of an agreement filed with the Eaton County Circuit Court, according to The Saginaw News’s Justin L. Engel.
“To ensure patient safety, state law restricts the organization of for-profit corporations that provide medical care services to licensed medical professionals only,” a statement from Schuette’s office said. “The clinics’ owner, Richard Remund, and his wife, Margaret Remund, are not licensed medical professionals.”
Further, “Profit should never come before patient safety, and that’s why state law requires medical facilities to be run by licensed medical professionals,” Schuette said. “Facilities that fail to follow this important safeguard should not be in business.”
When Schuette filed his lawsuit, he referred to evidence uncovered by investigators suggesting possible regulatory violations to the Bureau of Health Systems and the Bureau of Health Professionals, agencies within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
The latter refers to evidence the clinics were improperly licensed because more than 50% of their business activity was abortion. If true, the clinics must be licensed under the Public Health Code as freestanding surgical outpatient facilities, which requires the clinics to comply with more stringent state regulations to protect the safety of patients.
“It’s widely known that employees at these facilities tossed unborn babies in the trash, so it is not surprising to find more evidence of callous disregard for state laws intended to protect patient safety,” said state Senator Rick Jones at the time. “I applaud Attorney General Schuette for taking steps to hold these facilities accountable.”
State Representative Deb Shaughnessy said, “This commonsense enforcement of state law governing medical clinics is long overdue,” adding, “No one should be exempt from following laws passed to preserve health, safety and welfare.”
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