Indiana medical-waste firm fined for handling fetal tissue
INDIANAPOLIS — A medical-waste company here has been fined for accepting fetal tissue, amplifying calls from anti-abortion advocates to restrict how fetal remains are handled.
MedAssure Services, a private medical-waste disposal company based in Farmingdale, N.J., that operates in a dozen states, accepted three to six 31-gallon containers a week during the past four years from Pathology Services, a Missouri lab that services Planned Parenthood, a women's health and abortion provider. Some of those containers contained fetal tissue, in violation of the company's solid waste permit, according to a settlement the company signed Tuesday with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
The company was fined $11,250 but will have to pay only $9,000 because it cooperated with the investigation, said Courtney Arangoan, an environmental management department spokeswoman.
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MedAssure treats infectious waste with microwaves and steam before transporting it to a final disposal facility, according to the settlement. While it is not illegal to dispose of fetal tissue in Indiana, MedAssure's solid-waste permit specifically prohibits it from accepting such materials, Arango said.
Joe Delloiacovo, executive vice president of regulatory affairs for MedAssure, said the company did not intend to receive the material, which he described as "small tissue samples about the size of a thumbnail that had to be sent out for diagnostic purposes" under Missouri law.
"This particular customer became a customer through an acquisition," he said. "We tried to make sure we did not pick up any abortion clinics as a result of that acquisition. We were unaware that Pathology Services was actually servicing Planned Parenthood."
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He said the company itself called for the language in its Indiana state permit that prohibited it from accepting fetal tissue.
"We did not want to get into any of the politics or debates on abortion," he said.
But now the company's actions are right in the middle of that debate.
Indiana Right to Life had a news conference Tuesday to condemn the company's actions and call on lawmakers to pass House Bill 1337, which would make it a misdemeanor to knowingly transport an aborted fetus into or out of Indiana except for the purpose of burial or cremation. A committee hearing on the measure is scheduled Wednesday.
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“We are horrified by the findings of this investigation,” said Mike Fichter, chief executive of Indiana Right to Life. “Unfortunately, there are four other medical-waste companies in Indiana that, unlike MedAssure, have no restrictions on disposing of aborted babies. We fear Indiana’s current law allowing aborted babies to be treated as medical waste is making Indiana a magnet for fetal disposal.”
Republican Gov. Mike Pence said through a spokeswoman that the Indiana Department of Environmental Management should be commended for its investigation.
“The governor believes it is among our society’s highest obligations to protect those who cannot protect themselves and will give strong consideration to any legislation the General Assembly sends him that does so," said Kara Brooks, his press secretary.
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The state's findings come after a Missouri attorney general investigation found that Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri sent fetal tissue to a lab called Pathology Services, which in turn sent the tissue to MedAssure.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, a Democrat, found no evidence that Planned Parenthood in Missouri had engaged in unlawful disposal of fetal organs or tissue.
A series of undercover videos that purported to show Planned Parenthood staff discussing the illegal sale of fetal organs prompted the investigation. However, Planned Parenthood has said the videos were highly edited and misleading.
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Subsequent investigations in multiple states have found no wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood.
A grand jury convened to investigate the organization in Texas instead indicted two of the activists who made the undercover videos. They face felony charges of tampering with a government record.
Still, the videos prompted Pence and several other governors to order investigations of Planned Parenthood in their states. The Indiana State Department of Health found that the organization was in compliance with state regulations.
Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky issued a statement Tuesday defending its practices:
We talk with patients on a case-by-case basis to answer all of their questions about how fetal tissue is handled. Planned Parenthood handles medical tissue like other health-care providers do and takes compliance very seriously. We utilize licensed medical-removal professionals which operate legally within the state and are contractually obligated to conduct their business in a manner consistent with all state and/or federal law. If at any point a vendor we utilize is found noncompliant, we would take swift and immediate action.
Indiana lawmakers have offered a number of bills this session intended to further restrict abortions and limit the transfer of fetal organ tissues.
Follow Tony Cook on Twitter: @indystartony