The conclusion of another chapter in Reprotection’s investigation into the American Family Planning abortion facility, which we helped permanently shut down last January, has ended with further accountability for the abortionist there who nearly killed three women.
On Aug. 4, 2023, the Florida Board of Medicine officially suspended Christopher Saputa’s medical license for a year, permanently restricted his ability to perform OBGYN care, imposed a $5,000 administrative fine plus the costs of the investigation and prosecution of the case.
Last May, Reprotection began looking into the Pensacola-based facility after faithful community members trained by Sidewalk Advocates for Life alerted us to the clinic’s unsafe practices. Our efforts resulted in an emergency suspension of the clinic’s license by Florida’s Agency of HealthCare Administration (ACHA) before the abortion facility was permanently closed by the state in January 2023.
The state also issued an emergency suspension for the physician directly responsible for endangering the lives of three women, ending with the final disciplinary action last week.
During the investigation, the State Department of Health cited Saputa’s complete disregard for standard medical procedures intended to protect the health of women and reported that Saputa did not even have the education or training necessary to commit gynecological surgeries.
In an attempt to justify his actions, Saputa claimed that his experience working under abortionist James Pendergraft “was like an OB/GYN residency” and that it was adequate training. However, Pendergraft’s own license was revoked by the state of Florida in 2016 after he was arrested in South Carolina on drug charges and performing abortions from his car.
The Medical Board’s investigation report also noted that Saputa “alternated between blaming [American Family Planning] for being poorly run and claiming to be a Victim of their mismanagement” And that he took no responsibility for his actions because he believed the abortion facility was an “AHCA-approved abortion machine.”
Now, Saputa is facing the consequences for endangering the lives of women and committing abortions that he was not qualified to conduct, thanks to Reprotection’s action. But, the imposed punishment falls short of adequately addressing the lasting harm he inflicted upon these women.
Christopher Saputa should never practice medicine again.
We haven’t forgotten the woman who underwent a second-trimester abortion at the facility in March 2022 and then started bleeding at some point during the process. Although the clinic gave her Pitocin and Methergine, there are no records of the staff monitoring her vitals, as required by law.
By the time the woman was transferred to the emergency room, she had no pulse. She also had cervical lacerations and two large holes on the left and right walls of her uterus. The doctors at the hospital were unable to save any of her reproductive organs, and the woman had to undergo a total hysterectomy.
Another woman who nearly lost her life at the facility underwent a second-trimester abortion in May 2022, but it was not completed due to possible uterine rupture and cervical lacerations. The woman lost a lot of blood, but the exact amount is unknown because the writing on her chart is illegible. The facility further endangered the woman’s life by instructing her husband to drive her an hour away for care instead of directing him to a nearby hospital in Pensacola.
When the woman finally made it to the hospital, she had “undetectable blood pressure” and “required resuscitation and mass transfusion.” The clinic also did not keep any records of this, as required by law.
These women were forced to endure a traumatic experience due to the negligence of Saputa, and the Florida Medical Board should have fully revoked his medical license. If Reprotection had not worked diligently to expose the horrors happening behind closed doors, then Saputa may have never faced the disciplinary measures that have currently halted his dangerous practice.
As our ongoing investigations indicate, Saputa is far from the only abortionist ignoring the law and subjecting women to substandard care. Someone must hold them accountable, and that’s why Reprotection is on a mission to shield women and their unborn children from the violence and exploitation of the abortion industry.