Written by Kathy Clubb
30th May 2024
In the wake of the death of a Melbourne mother during her abortion earlier this year, the Australia Health Practitioner regulation Agency (AHPRA) has clamped down on the abortion mill involved, suspending three of its employees. In addition to the abortionist, an anaesthetist as well as the clinic manager, have been suspended and are currently unable to practise anywhere in Australia. All three were found to have been under restrictions from AHPRA at or near the time of the woman’s death. The situation is so serious that AHPRA has created a special taskforce to investigate anomalies at a number of other medical facilities.
As reported by FLI, a mother-of-two died at the Hampton Park Women’s Health Clinic soon after undergoing an abortion last January. She had been advised by a staff member not to use the abortion pill, due to its side-effects, and chose surgical abortion as the method of killing her child. The woman’s heart stopped beating after the abortion and she could not be revived.
The abortionist, Rudolph Lopes, had in the past been penalised for sexual harassment infringements which led to his suspension from practising as an ob/gyn specialist for three and a half years. Although AHPRA recommended he be struck off the medical register, the Victorian Civil and Administrative tribunal (VCAT) allowed Lopes to continue working, albeit with provisions in place. VCAT deemed that Lopes no longer posed a risk to patients or fellow employees and that he had ‘suffered enough’ for his offences. Lopes was then permitted to work only under the supervision of another doctor – a restriction which expired just weeks before the incident at Hampton Park. In March, media revealed that APHRA has now suspended Lopes, and he is currently unable to practise in Australia. In light of this, the Hampton Park Clinic has begun searching for a new abortionist.
A second practitioner who is subject to AHPRA restrictions is the clinic’s medical director, Michelle Kenney. The AHPRA website states that Kenney, a GP, may work as a medical practitioner only when supervised by another registered medical practitioner, and that her hours are limited to three weekly shifts of eight hours each. Further restrictions also apply to Kenney, but these are being kept confidential. AHPRA does not divulge the reason for any of the limitations it has put in place but according to Kenney, they are due to a health condition.
Anaesthetist Tony Chow is the third practitioner to have been suspended by AHPRA. Chow was subject to AHPRA restrictions on the day of the mother’s death and only had permission to work at the Knox Private Hospital. The ABC reports that he was working at the Hampton Park centre in violation of his restrictions.
In a statement to the media, the clinic manager, Michelle Kenney claimed that her abortion business was not responsible for the patient’s death, suggesting instead that the patient, Harjit Kaur, had a congenital heart issue. Kenney has been telling media that AHPRA’s actions constitute a ‘witch hunt’ and that the regulator should instead be lauding her team for their attempts at resuscitating Kaur. Kenney also told media that the suspension of anaesthetic-related procedures at her clinic has “nothing to do” with the patient’s death. Yet another article, reports that Kenney’s staff are now being called “murderers,” – as if killing babies alone does not warrant that title.
According to The Guardian, AHPRA released a statement claiming that it “ has received a range of concerns about a number of practitioners associated with the Hampton Park Women’s Clinic,” and that “some of these concerns are also before the Victorian coroner….” “We (AHPRA) … have established a specialist team to lead a co-ordinated examination of these issues which involve multiple practitioners across a number of professions and across a number of practice locations.” The Guardian also reported comments from the chief executive of AHPRA, Martin Fletcher, who said that he was “gravely concerned by the picture that is emerging.”
Mr. Fletcher continued:
“We have taken strong action to protect the public while our investigations continue. National boards stand ready to take any further regulatory action needed to keep patients safe. While the coroner continues to examine the tragic death of a patient, our inquiries are focusing on a wider range of issues that our investigations bring to light.”
The Guardian also quoted a spokesman from the health department who said the clinic’s registration as a day procedure provider had been suspended due to it “operating in a manner that poses serious risks to patient health or safety”. This would appear to contradict the statements from the clinic manager claiming that her patient’s death had ‘nothing to do’ with the suspension of day surgeries. The suspension is confirmed on the clinic’s website: any procedures requiring anaesthetic, such as surgical abortions and vasectomies, are temporarily suspended, although medication abortions and other non-anaesthetic procedures are still available.
Describing itself as a ‘boutique’ private abortion clinic, the Hampton Park centre was started in 2008. The following year, it became the site of regular witnesses by the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants until exclusion-zones were introduced in 2015.
The cause of death of Harjit Kaur, 30, has not yet been determined by the coroner, and an investigation remains underway. The clinic manager believes her clinic has always had an “excellent reputation”, however, a search of Google reviews of the Hampton Park abortuary exposes chronic problems with disorganisation and scheduling.
Reviews going back several years mention that patients have had to wait for hours for their procedures. Some had appointments cancelled at the last minute and rescheduled multiple times. One woman wrote that although she changed her mind, the abortionist went ahead with the procedure. Another specifically criticised Dr Lopes, the abortionist on duty the day Kaur died. Another mentioned that her IUD was misplaced, leading to a second insertion elsewhere. Yet another claimed that her abortion was incomplete. Many of the reviews were negative including one which quoted FLI’s previous article!
A woman who left a review sheds some more light on the mindset of the staff. She wrote that although the receptionist and manager were nice, other staff members played music and told her “you’ll see us dancing in here”. She stated, “It was a very hard time for me and I felt such lack of empathy. “
Lack of empathy is certainly a hallmark of the industry which promotes killing babies as the only solution for unexpected pregnancies. Far worse is the pursuit of mammon obtained through the exploitation of women in desperate situations. That not all women are desperate is only proof that the abortion lobby has fooled the general public into believing that there are no repercussions when a mother aborts her own flesh and blood. The occasional incidents like this one, when pro-life philosophy intersects with the law, only serve to highlight the fact that all will be held to account for their actions, whether in this life or the next.
