Whistleblower Says Doctor Performed Excessive Hysterectomies On ICE Detainees
Several people, including a nurse, expressed alarm at the number of hysterectomies being performed on immigrant women at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Ocilla, Georgia, according to a new whistleblower complaint sent to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.
Multiple legal advocacy groups filed the complaint, dated Monday, on behalf of Dawn Wooten, a licensed practical nurse with a decade of experience.
The complaint alleges that officials have fostered unsanitary conditions and allowed for “jarring medical neglect” at the Irwin County Detention Center, which is operated by the private prison company LaSalle Corrections. In addition to the allegedly high number of hysterectomies performed on female detainees, the center is accused of failing to take basic steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Wooten said in a press conference Tuesday that she had to speak out publicly after witnessing the “inhumane” treatment of immigrants.
ICE told HuffPost that it “does not comment on matters presented to the Office of the Inspector General, which provides independent oversight and accountability within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.”
The agency continued: “ICE takes all allegations seriously and defers to the OIG regarding any potential investigation and/or results. That said, in general, anonymous, unproven allegations, made without any fact-checkable specifics, should be treated with the appropriate skepticism they deserve.”
HuffPost did not immediately receive a response from LaSalle Corrections.
According to the nurse, female detainees are regularly sent to an off-site doctor who sometimes ends up removing all or part of their uteruses. Due to language barriers, many of the women may not be able to properly consent to the procedure. Some nurses end up “simply googling Spanish” to obtain patient consent, she alleged.
“That’s his specialty, he’s the uterus collector,”...
