After nearly a nine-hour hearing in Trenton, the state Board of Medical Examiners medical board concluded Steven Chase Brigham, 54, skirted state law by beginning the late-term abortions in New Jersey and sending the women out of state to finish the procedure.
The board stated "his continued practice presents a clear and imminent danger" to the public and his procedures caused "fetal demise and brought patients to the point" where abortion was basically required, according to a statement read by a board member.
The board agreed, at Brigham's request, to transfer the case in an "expedited" manner to an administrative law judge for further consideration.
Attorney General Paula Dow had said Brigham administered labor-inducing and abortion-"commencing" medication to five patients at his office in Voorhees, and then told them to follow him by car to another clinic he owns in Maryland, where the fetus would be surgically removed by another doctor with his "consultation."
The State Attorney General's Office contends he used the two-state scheme to evade state law prohibiting New Jersey doctors from performing abortions after the 14th week of a patient's last menstrual period outside a hospital or other licensed medical facility.
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