Ex-Planned Parenthood nurse says clinic coerced teen into birth control injection

A nurse practitioner is suing her former workplace, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Chula Vista, California, after being terminated from her job. She had protested about coercion and medical malpractice at the Planned Parenthood center.

According to the San Diego Reader,  a nurse named Carla M. Murray is suing her former employer for wrongful termination after being fired from her job in 2013, allegedly for “poor performance.”

Murray’s problems apparently started when she complained to her supervisor about unlicensed staff dispensing medications to patients. This practice is illegal. Murray maintained in court that although she had never had a problem with job performance before, she was subjected to a series of writeups for fabricated infractions. She believes this was done in retaliation.

According to the San Diego Reader article:

Things came to a head on March 8, 2013, when a teenaged girl came to the clinic with her stepmother. According to the complaint, the girl did not want to receive birth control, but her stepmother insisted that she be administered an injection of Depo-Provera. Murray, it’s alleged, felt that it would be inappropriate to proceed with the injection and instead decided, after conferring with another staff member, to provide the girl with “emergency contraception, condoms and educational handouts.” However, after the stepmother became irate (Murray states that she heard her “screaming in the lobby”), Thelma Mendoza [Murray’s supervisor] ordered the injection without the authority to do so.

So much for “pro-choice.”

Murray reported the incident to Planned Parenthood’s risk management department. However, the investigation was quickly closed with no action taken. Shortly afterward, Murray was fired.

The disturbing thing about this incident is that not only were a teenager’s rights violated by the Planned Parenthood clinic, but none of the other clinic workers protested. On top of that, Planned Parenthood’s administration refused to take action. This shows a systemic problem that goes beyond a single rogue Planned Parenthood worker or clinic.

In May of this year, I wrote an article about a teenage girl who was coerced into an unwanted abortion at Planned Parenthood.  That story came from former clinic worker Lavonne Wilenken and was written in the book Bad Choices: A Look inside Planned Parenthood (pictured left).  One of the readers of the May article wrote:

This happened to me in April of 2010

planned parenthood is evil

The counselor came back to the room where I was refusing to take the muscle relaxer because I didn’t want to do the abortion

And with no medications or iv [sic] they forced me down and told me I could not leave while I cried and did the surgical abortion. After the procedure I was walked into another room where I collapsed in tears from what happened.

They then got my bag full of my clothes and my bf at time and told him I could leave and go home.

After that experience I tried to kill myself numerous times and even now repeating it makes me want to be dead.

It’s disturbing to wonder how many women have similar stories.