State orders abortion clinic shut, citing Brigham connection

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has ordered a new abortion clinic in Philadelphia to shut down because it did not disclose its affiliation with Steven Brigham, an abortion provider whose history of flouting health and abortion laws got him banned from operating in the state.

The department suspended the registration of Integrity Family Health on Bustleton Avenue and gave it 30 days to file an appeal or the revocation will be permanent.

"No abortion-related services of any kind may be offered after Nov. 29," the deputy secretary of health, Anna Marie Sossong, wrote Monday to Kimberly Glunt, president of Integrity Family Health.

Neither Glunt nor Brigham could be reached for comment.

Michael McMonagle, president of the Pro-Life Coalition of Pennsylvania, and State Rep. Matt Baker (R., Bradford), chair of the Pennsylvania House health committee, had been pushing for action to close Integrity Health. "We thank Gov. Corbett for correcting his Department of Health's mistake of granting a license" to a clinic associated with Brigham, McMonagle said.

The Health Department did an initial inspection of the facility and issued the registration in September, unaware that it was part of Brigham's multistate abortion business, American Women's Services, based in Voorhees.

This month, another abortion clinic, the Philadelphia Women's Center, raised concerns about the fact that American Women's Services was making appointments for Integrity Health. That prompted the state to investigate and confirm the connection to Brigham.

Brigham, 57, has a two-decade history of battling medical boards, regulators, the IRS, landlords, creditors, and, most recently, prosecutors in Maryland, public records show. He has lost or relinquished his medical license in five states, including Pennsylvania.

He is trying to regain his only remaining license, in New Jersey. It was suspended in 2010 when the state Board of Medical Examiners concluded he was evading outpatient surgical safety rules, violating medical standards, and deceiving and endangering patients.

A New Jersey administrative law judge began hearing Brigham's appeal of the suspension in October. The state Attorney General's Office, which is prosecuting the case, is in the process of filing an amended complaint to allege that Brigham practiced medicine without the required malpractice insurance during the period when he was evading outpatient surgery rules, according to Assistant Attorney General Jeri Warhaftig.