Allege negligent practices
Planned Parenthood is in hot water again as a former patient is suing them over medical malpractice, alleging she was incorrectly diagnosed with “common constipation” when she had serious issues that put her reproductive capability at risk. Kipenzi Chidinma’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit names as defendant the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc. Chidinma seeks unspecified damages.
“Despite the plaintiff’s repeated efforts, (Planned Parenthood) utilized their position of superior knowledge and wrongfully, negligently and incorrectly diagnosed plaintiff with simple constipation,” the suit states. A representative of Planned Parenthood has yet to respond to the allegations or the lawsuit but should be expecting to put out a release soon.
Chidinma went to Planned Parenthood in March 2022 for a wellness exam and told her provider that she was having abnormally heavy vaginal bleeding, headaches, hormonal imbalance, and other related discomforts and abnormalities, according to her suit. Chidinma informed the provider that she had bloating and a possible mass in her abdomen but was denied an ultrasound and told she had “common constipation,” the suit states. Chidinma argued that her condition was more serious and again requested the ultrasound and equivalent testing, but was again turned down and assured that the constipation diagnosis was accurate, according to the suit, which also states that she was denied a referral to a specialist.
Chidinma’s symptoms persisted for several months and worsened, so she returned to Planned Parenthood in January and asked again for an ultrasound, finding out for the first time that the facility did not have ultrasound equipment, the suit alleges.
Chidinma was examined by someone else, and it took less than a minute for the new provider to diagnose that her uterus was sharply expanded and that masses were present that could have been found during the March 2022 Planned Parenthood office visit, the suit states.
Chidinma cried and contacted her insurance carrier to obtain coverage from a different provider organization, and learned during her visit to the new facility that she had fibroids so large and advanced that her reproductive health was at risk and that non-surgical options she had in March 2022 were no longer available, the suit states.
Planned Parenthood is also under fire for their support of child marriages that California leaders are trying to put a ban on. Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California spokesperson Jennifer Wonnacott told the Los Angeles Times that it “strongly supports protecting youth from abuse of all kinds” but said those protections should “not impede on the reproductive rights of minors and their ability to decide what is best for them, their health and their lives.”
California and Mississippi are the only states that have no age requirement for marriage, while most states require the child to be 18. The only thing minors need to get married is consent from a guardian and a court order to get married in California.
