Why did police find containers full
of pain medication and what appears to be human tissue in the trunk and glove
compartment of a Michigan OB/GYN’s car? Answers are forthcoming and they are
not going to be pleasant.
Detroit’s WXYZ reports that police
in the wealthy suburb of West Bloomfield found “14 containers of human tissue,
possibly fetuses, medical equipment and large amounts of fentanyl” in Michael
Roth’s car after it was impounded as part of an accident investigation launched
in early October. Fentanyl is a powerful painkiller often used in brief
surgical procedures.
West Bloomfield Deputy Police Chief
Curt Lawson told the Detroit Free Press that they are investigating the doctor
and have raided his office and his home. Lawson said of the tissue found in the
car, “We do have an opinion from the medical examiner’s office that this is
remnants of conception, but there was nothing that was seen within the
containers that were recognizable.”
Lawson was not immediately available
for further comment on the investigation. No charges have been filed and Roth,
73, is not in custody. Michigan’s attorney general is also investigating the
contents of Roth’s vehicle.
WJBK confronted Roth leaving the
police station to to ask if he had “anything to say about this investigation.”
Roth attempted to hide his face in the hood of his jacket and responded, “Just
go away.” The station also observed the raid on Roth’s lakeside apartment,
reporting that investigators left the house “carrying grocery bags among other
things.”
The Michigan Department of Licensing
and Regulatory Affairs disciplined Roth in 2012 for alleged practices that were
“below standards of care for physicians licensed to practice medicine in the
State of Michigan.” Among the many complaints against Roth was a 1998 case in
which a 41-year-old woman “requested [Roth] to perform a voluntary termination
of pregnancy at her home” because of her “alleged agoraphobia.” The woman was
in fact a “bartender” and had no diagnosis of agoraphobia.
The administrative complaint filed
against Roth indicates that the doctor “never saw her before performing the
procedure” in violation of Michigan’s mandatory 24-hour waiting period for
abortions.
In 2004, Roth was told to “never
perform a pregnancy termination procedure outside an approved
clinic/hospital/office setting” by the Department of Community Health, which
also fined him $15,000 and placed him on probation.
A long history of malpractice
allegations and state scrutiny have dotted Roth’s career. From 1996 to 2000,
according to an administrative complaint, Roth allegedly prescribed multiple
prescriptions “with no rationale” to a single patient including antibiotics,
sedatives, and pain medication.
In 2002, a Consumer and Industry
Services pharmacy inspector found that Roth’s drug control license had expired
more than 20 years prior to her visit. A cabinet in Roth’s office held hundreds
of envelopes full of “controlled substances” that “were not properly labeled,”
and to which the doctor’s staff had access.
According to court records reviewed
by The Daily Beast, Roth was sued for medical malpractice in 2012 by a patient
who alleged that she suffered a uterine and bowel perforation under his care.
The case was settled in December 2013.
Roth had provided abortions from his
practice at the Novi Laser and Aesthetic Center, where he also ran an “Eat to
Live” Weight Loss Program. According to a court document obtained by The Daily
Beast, a complaint was filed last October by Roth to recover possession of an
office operated by the doctor.
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