Virginia's largest abortion center closes after dispute with landlord

Recent reports by pro-abortion media claim Virginia’s largest abortion center closed because of new regulations implemented earlier this year. But legal records show NOVA Health Center closed because of its failure to uphold leasing standards and pay rent, despite warnings from its landlord months in advance.

Eaton Place Associates, LLC, filed suit against NOVA’s owner, abortionist Mi Yong Kim, in 2011 with the intention of terminating the center’s lease. The complaint stated the Fairfax County facility created a nuisance and a displeasing atmosphere, causing other tenants to leave.

The lease specifically prohibited any disorderly, unlawful, or extra hazardous uses or the attraction of a large number of people that could cause unreasonable annoyance to the landlord or other tenants. The complaint, corroborated by witness testimony, said between three and 45 protestors could be seen on any given day, shouting at or praying for women who walked into the facility. The tenants were also greatly disturbed by the sight of patients vomiting outside and around the building every single day—some women even had to be carried out of the facility unconscious.

Both Operation Rescue and The Washington Post report that Kim settled the 2011 suit with the landlord. But the peace was short lived: Eaton Place sued NOVA a second time in April of this year for failing to pay $95,000 in back rent. The center eventually paid the money and vacated the building.

“The more we learn about the doctors in these facilities and the people who own them, the more convinced we are about the lack of health and safety,” said Chris Freund, with The Family Foundation. Kim is a perfect example of an abortionist with a stained reputation who continued to own and operate a facility, he told me.

The Family Foundation says Kim surrendered her medical license under threat of revocation in 2007, yet continued to manage the NOVA center. Kim also faced a lawsuit in 2009 for allegedly attempting an abortion on a woman with an ectopic pregnancy. Other concerns about malpractice emerged last year after an ambulance rushed to the hospital a NOVA patient bleeding heavily following an abortion.

In March, the Virginia Board of Health adopted regulations requiring abortion centers in the state to adhere to the same health and architectural standards as new outpatient surgical centers. Kim’s shoddy practices prove the regulations were necessary, despite protests from pro-abortion activists, said Victoria Cobb, president of The Family Foundation: “Such mismanagement and lack of patient care is exactly why Virginia needed to adopt health and safety standards. The profit-driven abortion industry is simply incapable of governing itself.”