Worcester Telegram & Gazette | Lawsuit alleges Worcester antiabortion clinic's missed diagnosis threatened woman's life

By Marco Cartolano
Story Originally Appeared in Worcester Telegram & Gazette

WORCESTER — A lawsuit filed Thursday in Superior Court by abortion-rights advocates on behalf of an anonymous Worcester woman claims the actions of Clearway Clinic, a pregnancy clinic that advises patients against abortion, led to a missed diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy that threatened the woman's life.

According to a press statement from Reproductive Equity Now, the alleged incidents occurred between October and November 2022.

The woman is being represented by Shannon Liss-Riordan, a well-known Boston-area labor attorney known for suing tech companies such as Uber who ran for state attorney general in 2022 as a Democrat. Liss-Riordan is also a vocal proponent of the right to an abortion.

The woman, referred to as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, wanted to diagnose a pregnancy through an ultrasound. She found the website of Clearway, located at 358 Shrewsbury St., while searching for ultrasound providers. She booked an appointment and went the same day, according to Reproductive Equity Now's statement.

At Clearway, the suit alleged, the woman was told that the ultrasound confirmed a viable pregnancy. The suit claims a limited ultrasound was performed by someone who was not a Clearway physician, but the woman received paperwork after she was discharged saying she had received care from a medical doctor.

A month after the woman visited Clearway, she is reported to have experienced sharp pain and was rushed to the emergency department at UMass Memorial Medical Center.

She was reportedly diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy at the hospital and internal hemorrhage caused by the pregnancy’s rupture. Due to the pregnancy having ruptured, staff allegedly could not perform a less invasive treatment.

The suit claims the woman underwent an invasive emergency surgery that included the removal of one of her fallopian tubes. 

The suit filed on the woman's behalf claims Clearway did not adhere to the standard of care that would have properly diagnosed the woman; that it uses deceptive advertising to represent itself as a regular clinic when its mission is to prevent abortions; and that the clinic breaks state regulation by allowing registered nurses who are not diagnosticians to read ultrasounds and diagnose pregnancies.

“Clearway’s actions are not only illegal, but abhorrent,” Liss-Riordan said in the statement. “Our client was forced to undergo a traumatic, dangerous, and completely avoidable emergency surgery to save her life because she was deceived into going to an anti-abortion clinic instead of an appropriate healthcare provider. At every step of the way she was led to believe she was receiving appropriate medical care when in fact she was subject to a campaign of misinformation and unfair and deceptive practices. Through this case we intend to hold Clearway accountable and put other so-called crisis pregnancy centers on notice.”

When a reporter called Clearway Clinic, an employee said she would forward the request for comment to someone with knowledge about the suit. At the time of publication, Clearway Clinic had not returned the request.

Clearway's tumultuous past in Worcester

Clearway Clinic has been the subject of local controversy in the past year.

In July 2022, Clearway and Problem Pregnancy, two Worcester clinics that advise against abortion, were vandalized in the aftermath of the June 24 U.S. Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Dobbs overturned Roe v. Wade.

In August 2022, Councilor-at-Large Thu Nguyen submitted an order to the City Council requesting the city solicitor and administration develop a draft ordinance regulating the clinics, also known as crisis pregnancy centers.

The request revolved around requesting the city to regulate the clinics' advertising practices and prevent them from making false advertisements. The order passed 6-5 after an intense debate.

Nguyen has been vocal in saying the city administration has failed to follow up with the City Council on their order after the vote.