Annapolis, MD (LifeNews.com) -- Just one week after abortion practitioner Romeo A. Ferrer had his medical license suspended a pro-life group has learned that the abortion practitioner who replaced him isn't much better. Last week, the Maryland Board of Physicians signed the suspension order for Romeo A. Ferrer.He may also face criminal charges in connection with the death of a woman from a failed abortion he performed.
The complaint against Ferrer revolves around a February 2006 abortion he did on a 21-year-old African-American woman, Denise Crowe, at the Gynecare Center abortion business in Severna Park.
Now, the pro-life group Operation Rescue informs LifeNews.com today that problematic abortion practitioner Ghevont W. Wartanian is doing abortions at Gynecare in Ferrer's place.
"We thought that Ferrer's abortion mill would close with his suspension, but as far as we know, it never missed a day of business," said the group's president Troy Newman. "In fact, as bad as Ferrer was, it looks like he replaced himself with someone even worse, if that is even possible."
Newman points out the Gynecare Center abortion facility is an affiliate of the National Abortion Federation, a national trade group of abortion businesses.
While NAF claims to publish so-called "guidelines" for abortion clinics, Newman says those standards apparently do not include ensuring the abortion centers have competent licensed physicians who have not killed people with their substandard and negligent practices.
Wartanian has a long and sordid history of malpractice suits and wrongful deaths reaching back decades, Newman notes, and he was involved in a 2001 Maryland scandal that led to reforms in the way the Board of Physicians disciplines doctors. But through it all, Wartanian has escaped discipline.
Operation Rescue has issued a new report detailing Wartanian's legal woes and his history of incompetence that has led to the deaths of at least two babies not destined for abortions.
"If it is too dangerous for Ferrer to be practicing medicine, why is this guy still in business?" asked Newman.
He continued, "Today, with the release of our special report, we are sending a letter to the Maryland Board of Physicians asking them to conduct a new review of Wartanian's competency and take appropriate action to protect the public from him. Enough people have died at the hands of Ferrer and Wartanian. The public needs the peace of mind that these quacks will not be allowed by the state to hurt anyone else."
In the case against Ferrer, the woman who died, Crowe, sought a second trimester dilation and evacuation abortion procedure but it eventually claimed Crowe's life and left her three-year-old son without a mother.
Ferrer is accused of failing to properly administer pain medications, failing to monitor the patient’s respiration and ventilation, and failing to employ standard methods of care to resuscitate the patient. He is accused of giving her a fatal overdose of meperidine, a narcotic also known as Demerol.
Shortly after the abortion, Ferrer's staff were unable to detect Crowe's vital signs and she was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center, where doctors pronounced her dead.
Crowe's estate filed a complaint in 2007 with the board accusing Ferrer of the various problems during the abortion. The Board of Physicians referred to a peer review organization to investigate, and it brought a complaint on April 7.
The case was stagnant for years until the Maryland Board of Physicians, in April, filed a petition against Ferrer for "failure to meet the standard of quality care" in his negligent treatment of Crowe that resulted in her death.
Related web sites:
OR's new report on Wartanian -
http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/my-life-has-been-ruined-because-of-him