Pro-Pregnancy Center Missed Life-Threatening Pregnancy, Lawsuit Charges

A crisis pregnancy center has been sued after it allegedly failed to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy, causing a patient to require urgent medical care.

The complaint, filed in Worchester County Court June 22, claims that the anti-abortion Clearwater Clinic in Worcester, Massachusetts, focuses on persuading women to not have an abortion rather than "providing them with the range of medically appropriate options."

The anonymous Worcester resident alleges that the nurse who performed her ultrasound did not take enough measures to ensure that the pregnancy was viable.

Shannon Liss-Riordan, the patient's lawyer, said there is no evidence the nurse intentionally deceived her, but told NBC News that "she wasn’t qualified to do this."

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg plants itself outside the uterus, oftentimes in the fallopian tube. These pregnancies are typically nonviable and can threaten the life of the mother.

In this case, the suit alleges that the patient needed emergency surgery when her fallopian tube ruptured one month after her ultrasound, causing “massive internal bleeding.”

The clinic’s CEO, Jill Jorgensen, told the local news outlet MassLive that the clinic "has served more than 10,000 women and their families in the Worcester area for the past 22 years at no cost and have never had a complaint like this in the past."

According to Crisis Pregnancy Center Map, the facilities often try to persuade women not to have abortions and may offer resources such as diapers, baby clothes and STI tests.

However, the lawsuit claims that the clinic’s website is not clear that it's primary "true goal is to dissuade women from terminating their pregnancies."

After finding the name of the clinic when the patient searched for an ultrasound scan near her, Liss-Riordan said her client was informed she had a “viable, in-utero pregnancy, which she did not."

The paperwork was also allegedly signed by a doctor who the patient claims she never saw in person.

Despite abortion being legal in Massachusetts, the state is home to more crisis pregnancy centers (29) than abortion clinics (19).

Clearwater Clinic’s website says it offers “pre-abortion consultations” to talk about “emotional complications associated with the abortion procedure,” as well as free ultrasound scans and “abortion pill reversal,” which the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says is not rooted in science.

Liss-Riordan said her client filed the lawsuit because "she wanted to prevent other women from experiencing the type of deception that she did."

The suit was filed as a class action in case other possible plaintiffs join the suit.