Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Dorothy Brant, Abortion Death

The survivors of Dorothy Brant filed suit against Dr. Robert Prince in her death.

The suit claims that Prince failed to perform a proper pre-operative evaluation before performing an abortion on Dorothy at Dallas Medical Ladies Clinic on May 27, 1986.

Dorothy hemorrhaged during the procedure. In the lawsuit, her family said that Prince was negligent in his administration of drugs, anesthesia, and in his administration of a blood transfusion.

Dorothy was transferred to a hospital, where she died four days later of pulmonary fibrosis.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Does anybody have information on this abortion death?

Mary from Abortion in Washington sent me a link with sketchy information about an abortion death.

This article mentions "Raisa Trytiak, a 24-year-old Seattle woman who was strangled and left in a garbage dump after a botched abortion on February 7, 1967."

This is hardly enough information to do a write-up. Does anybody know more?

Monday, May 29, 2006

Denise Montoya, Abortion Death

Denise Montoya was fifteen years old when her parents brought her to Women's Pavillion in Houston for an abortion on May 13, 1988. Denise was 25 weeks pregnant.

The abortion was performed by Douglas Karpen, an osteopath.

Denise suffered severe bleeding, and was admitted to Ben Taub hospital. Her condition deteriorated, and she died on May 29, 1988.

Her parents filed suit against Karpen and the clinic, saying that they had faied to adequately explain the risks of the procedure, and had not provided consent forms, or had the parents sign any informed consent document, prior to the fatal abortion."

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Friday, May 26, 2006

Not Just the Unborn: C-FAM addressing sex-trafficing for World Cup

Not Just the Unborn: C-FAM addressing sex-trafficing for World Cup: "Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, or C-FAM, has launched a 'Stop World Cup Prostitution' campaign on its website. "

Wichita Abortion Mill Closes: Praise God!

Operation Rescue - Blog Archive - Wichita Abortion Mill Sells Out, Holds Yard Sale

After over 20 years in business, Central Women's Services in Wichita has sold out to an undisclosed buyer. A yard sale was held May 26, 2006, to sell off the contents of the facility. Cheryl Sullenger of Operation Rescue went to the sale.
"There really wasn't much there," said Sullenger. "It was very dingy and crowded inside, and not particularly clean. Most of the items for sale had seen better days, for sure. It must have been a very depressing experience to have had an abortion at such a dumpy office."


OR reported that the clinic had faced financial difficulties and was behind on the rent. Abortions were perpetrated there two days a month, with abortionist Sherman Zaremski of Kansas City working there until this past January, whereupon former Planned Parenthood abortionist Ronald Yeomans took over. Yeomans had been investigated for malpractice and for practicing with an inactive license.

OR had discovered fetuses from Central dumped in a Kansas City landfill in 2005.

Joy Joy, Illegal Abortion Death

On May 26, 1950, Annis Whitlow Brown performed an abortion on Joy M. Joy, the unmarried mother of a six-year-old daughter. Brown botched the job, causing hemorrhage and failing to properly treat the patient. Joy died quickly from blood loss.



For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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India: Women kills self rather than face second abortion

Girl gulps down acid before second abortion

Shulka Gharami, 20, had already been forced into an unwanted abortion by her father-in-law. Facing the prospect of a second forced abortion, she killed herself.

Hear that sound? No? Of course not. You can't hear the deafening silence that is the lack of prochoice outrage.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Ironic hope: Sleeping pill wakes PVS patients

Sleeping Pills May Wake Up PVS Patients, Terri Schiavo Family Optimistic
Researchers have made a serendipitous discovery: the sleeping pill Ambien can temporary awaken some "PVS" patients. The patients are able to talk with loved ones for hours before the effects of the medication wear off.

The pills were given to three patients. Two had suffered severe head injuries in car wrecks, and one had suffered brain damage from a near-drowning incident. The patients have been treated with the Ambien daily for several years.

One researcher called the effect "amazing to say the least," and noted that one patient even played catch with family members. The researcher, Ralf Clauss of Royal Surrey County Hospital, said the discovery was made when a restless PVS patient was given the sleeping pill, thinking it would have a calming effect. "Lo and behold, he woke up 15 minutes later. And so now we're using a sleeping drug to wake people up in the morning."

The family of Terri Schiavo, who was put to death for being in what some doctors called a Persistent Vegetative State, have called for a moratorium on all killing of PVS patients.

Meanwhile, Clauss is hoping for clinical trials, and for the development of a slow-release formula that will allow patients to become permanently awake.

This is not the first awakening of a patient supposedly in a PVA. In December of 2000, Patricia "Happi" White Bull was given Amantadine, a drug used to stimulate people with Parkinson's disease. She awoke from a 16-year coma.

Is it too much to ask that we focus on curing, rather than killing, folks with brain injuries?

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Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Safe-n-Legal Anniversary

Rhonda Ruggiero underwent an abortion in May of 1982. She suddenly died of an abortion-related pulmonary embolism on May 23.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Never trust an abortionist with your baby

Former Kentucky Abortion Practitioner Faces Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Former abortionist Ronachai Banchongmanie proved that his abortionist's bad attitude toward babies wasn't changed when he stopped killing deliberately and limited himself to regular ob/gyn work. He's let two loved and wanted babies die due to his negligence.
Danielle Warfield and Curtis Wickliffe filed a suit [alleging] that Banchongmanie delivered their baby girl at Norton Hospital using "vacuum extractions" .... The ... baby was pale and had rapid respiration, but instead of providing her with emergency care and medical attention, Banchongmanie sent the baby to the newborn nursery.

The baby died a day later....

Another wrongful death lawsuit filed against Banchongmanie in 2004 from the death of a baby in 2003 is still pending..... Marilyn Brooks sued Banchongmanie after she went to him and complained of intense pain during her pregnancy. He told her there was no problem, but she returned later still having the pain.

Brooks eventually went into premature labor ... and gave birth to a baby girl who died shortly thereafter.

Go here for more information on this quack.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

open book: And doctors are supposed to do...what?

open book: And doctors are supposed to do...what?
From the UK, a story about a mother who was told that her unborn baby had Down's Syndome, and was urged to abort- at 35 weeks, no less.

Read this, and the link, not just for the entry but for the excellent comments.

More on the closing of Summit

For more on the closing of Summit, see:
  • Suspended Abortion Center Gave RU 486 to Woman With Late-Term Pregnancy -
    This coverage says that "the woman was in a tenuous medical condition" and that Summit staff gave her the abortion drugs "to try to hide [their] actions."

    Regarding the closure, state health officer Dr. Donald Wilson said, "That's not something we do very often. The incident involved multiple and serious violations of the rules. There was no other means to address it except an emergency suspension."

    LifeNews.com said that they obtained a copy of the suspension order, which said that the woman had a "critical and dangerously high" blood pressure of 182/129. Instead of instructing the woman to seek care for this problem, clinic staff dispensed abortion drugs.

    Summit's license was been suspended for 90 days, and a hearing was scheduled to determine if the license would be revoked.

    Dr. Wilson added, "This is the first time I've ever ordered an emergency suspension for an abortion clinic."

    LifeNews.com says that Summit Medical Centers operates seven abortion facilities in five states, including one in Montgomery, Alabama, which employed Malachy Dehenre, who lost his medical license in both Alabama and Mississippi because of botched abortions.


  • Abortion Business Has License Suspended in Botched Abortion Drug Case -
    This covereage indicates that the baby the woman delivered was "macerated", which means it had died in-utero and had begun to decompose. The article quotes the health department document: "Though Patient A was not seen by a physician at Summit, the facility's records inaccurately reflect that a physician, who was not present at the facility on that date, performed the ultrasound and provided the medical abortion."


  • Clinic's closing renews debate -
    This article indicates that the woman whose care led to the closing of the clinic arrived at the emergency room with the head of her dead baby protruding.

    This article also tells of the experience of Jennifer Vickery, age 26. When Jennifer learned of the woman who had delivered the dead baby, "I was scared for my life. I was at a loss for words. It was crazy."

    At the time, Jennifer was running a fever after complications of a surgical abortion she'd undergone at Summit on May 4. She had a follow-up appointment scheduled. Should she keep it? But the clinic was shut down.

    Jennifer said that she'd been rushed into the abortion. An ultrasound had been performed, and she was told she was 8 weeks pregnant. "They rushed me back so quick and started giving me medication, and I didn't have time to think about it. I didn't feel like I had time to think about nothing. When I got there, they had me start filling out papers. They said, `We want you to do it today, because we have a doctor here.'"

    The article said that three other women, identifying themselves as Summit patients, contacted the paper saying that they'd had complications after recent abortions. One said that she'd undergone an abortion on May 11, and was there the day the clinic was closed, seeking care for extreme pain and a fever of 103. She drove instead to Beacon Women's Center in Montgomery Alabama, and was rushed into surgery. (State officials allowed Summit to remain open long enough to refer patients elsewhere, which is good for those who needed follow-up but tragic for those still thinking they needed abortions.)

    The News said that they contacted a woman at Beacon, an administrator who would only identify herself as "Pat", who said she was "in shock" over the closing of the affiliated clinic.

    This article also said that Dr. Williamson, the state health officer, said the health department puts more resources into inspecting nursing homes than abortion clinics. "Would we like to do it more frequently? Absolutely," he said. "But the nursing homes get more inspection because those are federally funded surveys. We have to figure out how to do the clinic inspections with state dollars."

    The article also notes that two other Birmingham facilities had been inspected. New Woman All Women Health Care had been cited in 2004 for allowing non-licensed staff to do counseling, and for failing to meet administrative requiremets. Summit had been cited in 2005 because Dr. Deborah Levich, the medical director, didn't have a controlled-substance permit. Both facilities, the article said, corrected these deficiencies.

    Interesting point. The article said, "The National Abortion Federation, a trade association that represents Summit and other clinics, referred all requests for comment to Summit and its attorney." So - is Summit affiliated with NAF? Is NAF trying to distance itself? Whatup with that?


    ADDITION: The Associated Press is covering the story as well. Alabama women's clinic probed for late-term abortions, violations
    This article indicates that actions were also taken against the clinic's doctor, Deborah Lyn Levich, and nurse Janet F. Onthank King who apparently administered the abortion drugs to the woman who was 8 months pregnant. The disciplinary action appears to only cover the two of them working together. The Alabama Attorney General is also going to launch an investigation.

    The AP report also noted that the nurse practitioner gave RU-486 to three other patients without the doctor being present, and without having the ultrasounds reviewed by a doctor. Five women had second trimester abortions without the doctor noting any attempts to determine fetal viability. One of the women was 19 weeks pregnant, and another was 21 weeks pregnant. Dr. Levich signed medical records for procedures done when she wasn't present.
  • New additions

    Tanisha's Nightmare at Volunteer Medical Clinic
    Fifteen-year-old Tanisha nearly died in a botched abortion at Volunteer Medical Clinic.<

    East Tennessee Women's Clinic
    This facility was closed by authorities after an investigation found disgusting conditions. The woman who owned it also owned the Lime 5 clinic.

    Abortionist Ed Perry
    Ed Perry botched abortions at Chattanooga Women's Clinic, the Lime 5 clinic.

    Chattanooga Women's Clinic
    Despite disgusting conditions and a patient death, this seedy abortion mill -- the Lime 5 clinic -- was permitted to remain open, due to an activist judge.

    Abortionist Ralph Robinson
    Despite medical board disciplinary actions in several states, Robinson's Kentucky office was a NAF member, according to the 1991 Annual Report.

    Summit Medical Center of Birmingham, Alabama
    A patient death in 2003 was not enough to close this abortion mill, but an attempt to abort an 8-month fetus in 2006 was.

    This series of pages stemmed from the news that Summit was closed. Ralph Robinson was a Summit abortionist. He also worked at Chattanooga Women's Clinic. Ed Perry worked at Chattanooga Women's Clinic, owned by the owner of East Tennessee Women's Clinic. Perry also worked at Volunteer Medical Clinic. One news item, six new pages.

    Alabama Abortion Clinic Shuts Down :: Abortion :: ProLifeBlogs

    Alabama Abortion Clinic Shuts Down :: Abortion :: ProLifeBlogs
    Summit Medical Center, the abortuary that has been killing children in Birmingham, Alabama for the past 24 years, has been shut down for good. ... The Alabama State Health Department walked into the doors of Summit Medical Center at 11:00am, Wednesday morning, May 17, 2006, and closed the doors of this horrific business forever.

    .... Two department officials entered the building and, in a few short minutes, all the clientele began to leave. ....

    Imagine that! Yay! Now for the background:
    In February, 2006, a young lady had come to Summit Medical Center for an abortion. A sonogram was administered by a non-physician (against Alabama State Law) and she was told she was 6 weeks pregnant. In reality she was 8 months along.

    There's professional skill for you. Unable to distinguish between a 6-week pregnancy and an eight month pregnancy!

    A non-physician gave the woman RU 486, again, in violation of Alabama law.

    Six days later, the woman was rushed to the emergency room, where she gave birth to a dead baby weighing 6 lb. 4 oz. baby. The Health Department was notified. Six weeks later, the health department shut Summit down.

    Summit was, according to the 1991 Annual Report, a National Abortion Federation member facility. They're no longer listed as a member facility, but when the membership terminated or under what conditions I do not know. Summit is the facility where Malachy DeHenre performed the fatal abortion on Leigh Ann Alford in 2003. (Note that this wasn't enough to get the state to close the facility down, though the medical board did suspend DeHenre's license.

    With the closing of Summit, the number of abortion mills in Birmingham is down to one, from five in 1994. And lo! The streets of Birmingham aren't littered with coathanger-impaled women. Operation Rescue also reports that 22 former abortion workers became Christians during that period. Praise God! Dozens more left the business and sought wholesome, productive employment.


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    Sharon Margrove - Legal Abortion Death

    Little is known about Sharon Margrove, but according to her death certificate, on May 21, 1970, she died following a legal abortion in Los Angeles County, California. She was 25 years old.

    Other pre-Roe legal abortion deaths include:


    For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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    Saturday, May 20, 2006

    Two more tragic anniversaries

    The autopsy report for 22-year-old Joan Camp attributed her death to "complications apparently as a result of a recent termination of pregnancy."

    Joan had been found unconscious in the morning on May 18, 1985. She was rushed to Memorial Hospital in San Leandro, California, where doctors tried to save her life.

    Their efforts were futile. Joan died the next morning, May 19, 1985, from clots in her lungs.

    The CDC classified Joan's death as "unknown" abortion, because they could not find out where the abortion was done. The CDC does not count an abortion death as a legal abortion death unless they can verify that the person who performed the abortion was a licensed physician, or another legally qualified medical professional in states that allow non-physician abortions.

    ****

    Susan Levy was 30 years old when she underwent an abortion at the Family Planning Associates in Mission Hills, California on April 9, 1992. FPA is a member of the National Abortion Federation.

    Susan was homeless and was living in a car owned by a friend. On May 19, 1992, she was found dead in that car.

    The cause of death was determined to be from an infection that developed from fetal tissue that was not removed during her abortion.

    Susan is one of many women to die at this NAF facility after the National Abortion Federation was founded. Others known to have died after abortion at Allred's facilities include:

    I suspect that the reason the deaths appear in clusters is because those are years that researchers checked for lawsuits, rather than that these are all the women and girls who died at Allred facilities. Anybody with the time and resources to do so could probably uncover other deaths Allred and his staff have managed to sweep under the carpet.

    For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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    Wednesday, May 17, 2006

    Somebody was looking for Eastern Women's Center

    Eastern Women's Center, a National Abortion Federation member, has a history of malpractice and maternal death. When inspectors were there, they couldn't even find their medical director. That's a four day inspection during which nobody could track him down.

    Dawn Mack died after an abortion there in 1991. Venus Ortiz was left in a coma from which she never recovered. Dawn Ravenelle was only 13 when Eastern staff allowed her to choke on her own vomit and lapse into a fatal coma.

    Easter Women's Center is, in short, bad news.

    New additions for May 17

    Detroit Memorial Hospital

    Womancare of Detroit

    Northland Family Planning Clinic

    Abortionist Abraham Alberto Hodari

    Northland Family Planning Clinic

    Abortionist Enrique Gerbi

    Abortionist Julio B. Acosta

    Somebody wanted EMW abortion clinic

    I have this: EMW conspired with Planned Parenthood to perform an abortion on an underage girl from out-of-state in order to evade parental involvement laws, despite a restraining order that the girl's mother had obtained. The girl ended up hospitalized for sepsis and nearly died.

    And this: EMW's security guard was raping women in the facility after-hours.

    EMW is a National Abortion Federation member.

    Here's an article about the security-guard rapist:


    "Danielle" Roe, Abortion Death

    "Daniell"" Roe, age 18, had traveled from Massachusetts to New York for a safe and legal abortion.

    On May 17, 1972, the abortion was performed. Minutes after the abortion was completed, Danielle was dead. She'd developed arterial and veous air emboli.

    For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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    Tuesday, May 16, 2006

    Somebody was looking for Steve Brigham in King of Prussia

    Brigham is a real piece of work. I don't have specifics about him in King of Prussia, but I do have this on him:

    Brigham deserves to have a full-time person on his case, with a web site giving his background and a blog keeping people abreast of his latest shenanigans. I'd be glad to help.

    Somebody was looking for abortion 1940s

    Here's what I have:

    From 1940 to 1945, there was roughly a 50% drop in abortion deaths (from 1,407 in 1940 to 744 in 1945), thanks to the development of antibiotics. Then from 1945 to 1950 came a tremendous drop, with abortion mortality falling to roughly a third of the previous tally (down to 263).



    For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:





    For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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    New test may allow early, better treatment of Tay-Sachs and other metabolic diseases

    Novel Newborn Screening Can Open Door To Treating Rare But Devastating Diseases
    A drop of blood and an enzyme analysis can lead to early, precise diagnosis of Tay-Sachs and other devastating metabolic diseases. If the baby is diagnosed before he or she starts to show symptoms, damage can be delayed and both quality and length of life improved.

    New additions

    Abortionist Vasant Acharya

    Abortionist David B. Aberman

    Planned Parenthood of New York City

    Abortionist Sunthorn Bunyaviroch

    Abortionist Charles L. Johnson

    Abortionist Gan Tijook

    Abortionist Manohar Lal

    Manohar Lal added to RealChoice

    As part of my routine updating of RealChoice, I've added a page on abortionist Manohar Lal, who botched abortions at his own clinic as well as at National Abortion Federation member Akron Center for Reproductive Health, the clinic where Robin Wells underwent her fatal abortion.

    Lack of care does have a good result, sometimes

    A patient I call "Lauren" benefitted from Planned Parenthood's sloppiness by at least getting one live baby to love -- and to worry about.

    ****

    Some prochoicers do admit that occasionally it's possible that maybe at some fringe place, a woman just might, theoretically, have a less than ideal abortion experience. But prochoicers hold firm that at Planned Parenthood, love and perfection reign. All a woman has to do is waltz into her local PP, and she can rest assured that no bad thing could ever happen to her. She will be held in the highest regard, respected totally as a unique person with unique needs. She will be given all the time and care and information and support and counseling and love and good vibes she could ever need. It's sort of the abortion worshippers' version of being rocked in the bosom of Abraham.

    But even within the sacred confines of the temples of Planned Parenthood, reality often bites.

    Lauren alleged that she underwent an abortion by Dr. Ghazi Accaoui at Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island September 22, 1990. Because the clinic had received an ultrasound report, they should have been aware of, and should have notified Lauren of, the fact that she was carrying twins.

    Accaoui aborted only one twin and sent Lauren home. Lauren's 3-week follow-up appointment was canceled by Planned Parenthood due to a shortage of staff. Lauren repeatedly attempted to reschedule, but said that the phone would be busy when she called at 8 AM as instructed. When she would call later in the morning, when she could get through, they would tell her to call back again at 8 AM because that is their time for scheduling appointments.

    Lauren returned to Planned Parenthood for a counseling appointment in October but was not given a physical exam. She discovered the survival of the second fetus during her annual physical exam in February of 1991.

    Lauren was plagued with much fear that the surviving fetus had been injured by the abortion, and continued to suffer fear that infant "Joshua," born May 16, might suffer residual effects from the lack of early prenatal care and the prenatal loss of his twin sibling.

    Lauren is seeing a clinical psychologist bi-weekly due to ongoing emotional distress. She said, "No one spoke to me about the risks associated with an abortion. However, I was given an information handout to sign entitled 'Facts About Early Abortion.'"

    Will the fact that not every woman who enters a Planned Parenthood finds only sweetness and light wake up the prochoice community to the idea that perhaps all is not well in their temple?

    I'm sure they will -- right around the same time the Democratic National Committee invites Alan Keyes and Bill Bennett to address their convention.

    ****

    According to the Rhode Island medical board site, Accaoui lacks hospital privileges, and has been disciplined. The site does not give details on the disciplinary action.

    NAF opposes choice for nurses, too

    Just Half of Nursing Programs Have Abortion Ed, Activists Complain

    The National Abortion Federation is complaining that only half of nursing, physician-assistant, and nurse-midwife training programs teach students how to perform or assist in killing embryos and fetuses.

    The appalling thing to me is that half do teach this barbaric practice.

    NAF, of course, doesn't want any medical practitioners to have any choice. Ten years ago the drive was to force all physicians to learn to kill. Now the drive is to get the nurses to do the dirty work.

    Note to NAF: Set up your own optional program to teach medical professionals how to be killers. If it's so important to you, make it free.

    That said: On the plus side, fewer than half of the programs responded to NAF's survey in the first place, so it's possible that the majority, who didn't respond, didn't consider it even worth their dignity to participate in such an appalling and gruesome survey.

    A survey spokesperson did say something that I can agree with, after a fashion:
    Regardless of an individual's interest in and intention to provide abortion services as part of her or his practice, all APCs need to be knowledgeable about ... abortion.

    Indeed, they should know how to help identify abortion-vulnerable patients and get them to real care. They should know how to identify and treat abortion complications. And I'd not oppose letting each of them take a gander at the results of abortion: a few shredded fetuses and weeping, disconsolate mothers.

    Monday, May 15, 2006

    Somebody was looking for abortion infection

    So I've added a deaths page for Infection Deaths.

    Somebody was looking for David Gluck

    Gluck performed the fatal abortion on Alerte Desanges, and was Medical Director of C.R.A.S.H. when K.B. died.

    After K.B.'s death, inspectors noted that CRASH "did not employ proper monitoring equipment or procedures,"""had no working EKG machine," and didn't have a cardiac defibrillator. They noted that no one on staff was qualified to perform CPR. No one on staff was qualified to administer anesthesia, and they did not use proper procedures or equipment. Anesthesia was administered "by eye," with no means of accurately measuring the dose. Dosage was estimated to be twice that recommended in the procedure manual.

    The operating rooms were found to be ill-lit, and there was no soap or paper towels at the scrub sink. The scrub sinks were stained, the walls and floors dirty, trash was stored in the scrub room. There were red make-up stains on the oxygen masks and nitrous oxide masks, dusty tubing on the suction machines, and blood on the wheels of the operating table.

    CRASH had no documentation verifying the credentials or qualifications Gluck. Gluck had been previously convicted of felony charges related to the sale of 48,000 Diluadid tabets to pay off gambling debts. His license had actually been revoked two months before K.B.'s death, but had been restored by judicial stay.

    Abortionist Gerald Zupnick

    I've been updating my site at RealChoice, and I've added a page for abortionist Gerald Zupnick, who botched abortions at NAF member clinic Bill Baird Center.

    Not Just the Unborn: Baby loses hand in factory tour mishap

    This is just awful, awful, awful. Prayers, prayers, prayers for everybody involved.

    Somebody was looking for abortion in the 1920s.

    We need some perspective first. All surgery of any sort in the 1920s was done without the aid of modern blood transfusion and antibiotics. All surgery of any sort in this era was riskier than similar surgery today. This is the era where kitchen-table surgery was phasing out in favor of hospital-based surgery. I have an obstetrical nursing textbook from this era that describes how to set up an operating table in the woman's home to perform a c-section.

    Blood banks were cutting-edge battlefield medicine just a few years before, and had not yet come into common usage. Blood type compatibility was not yet understood. It wasn't until the late 1930s and early 1940s that things like separating blood products started to come into practice. Antibiotics were not manufactured and used widely until after WWII. (See chart, below)

    So keep in mind that things that may seem appalling to us in the early 21st century -- such as performing surgery in one's home -- was not appalling at the time. Things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future.

    With that said, I can't find any numbers for abortion mortality prior to 1940. It seems that before that, the information available lumps all maternal mortality together, and abortions can't be sorted out. But we can hazard a guess that the numbers were at least as high as they were in 1940. How much higher? It's hard to say.



    So our best guess, based on what I've been able to find, is about 1,400 deaths a year from abortions in the late 1920s and early 1930s -- a number that would combine illegal abortions, the rare "therapeutic abortion" performed as a last-ditch attempt to save a dying woman, and miscarriages.

    With that established, let's look at some examples of women who died, and who did their abortions. I have the following deaths:

  • 1920: Margaret Marts
  • 1921: Jennie Chubb, Iva Triplett, Virginia Rappe (pictured)
  • 1922: Mary Cybulski, Mary Gresky, Lillian Hulbert, Louise Huse, Veronica Maslanka, Carrie McDonald, Irene Michaelson, Beulah Pickerill, Margaret Sullivan
  • 1923: Annie Allison, Madge Bowman, Martha Byzynski, Mary Federowicz, Sophia Hartozinski, Emma Herrod, Alice Johnson, Mollie Monilson, Lydia Nelson, Lauretta Schranz, Daisy Singerland, Catherine Stange, Mary Sudik, Agnes Wendt
  • 1924: Madelyn Anderson, Mildred Bleschke, Selma Hedlund, Helen Koss, Etta Marcus, Agnes Nazar, Elizabeth Strazdas, Anna Strazynski, Elizabeth Strobel, Wanda Szidzewicz, Mary Whitney
  • 1925: Helen Bain, Jean Cohen, Agnes Crowe, Della Davis, Betty Fisher, Anna Kick, Lottie Lowy, Bridget Masterson, Faye McGinnis, Nina Pierce, Kate Radochouski, Mary Sayers, Katarzyna Tobiasz, Elizabeth Welter, Mary Williams, Gertrude Wynants, Margaret Zito
  • 1926: Alice Annalora, Mary Bailek, Edith Green, Alberta Handy, Ethel Hoer, Jeanette Jarrett, Louise Maday, Lillian McCullough, Mary Morehead, Emily Mueller,, Margaret Muscia, Mary Paradowski, Sophie Peterson VIctoria Smith; Fern Strecker, Willie Walker, Anna Welger
  • 1927: Auna Arola, Irene Campbell, Nancy Dawson, Loretta Enders, Shellane Franklin, Angerita Hargarten, Martha Kohnke, Florence Kruse, Arhne Reynolds, Lucille van Iderstine
  • 1928: Julia Agoston, Margaret Barnts, Anna Borndal, Rose Hannover, Mildred Jakobsen, Bessie Kouns, Stefania Kwit, Catherine Mau, Eunice McElroy, Anna Mae Smith, Lucille Smith, Maud Thurmond, Esther Wahlstrom, Stella Wallenberg, Martha Washington
  • 1929: Louise Allman, Emmy Anderson, Barbara Auer, Alline Brown, Virginia Clark, Violet Dianalana, Clara Duvall, Anna Fazio, Ruth Friedl, Winifred Garver, Agnes Johnson, Marjorie Johnson, Mary Kelly, Viola Koepping, Jennie Kuba, Elizabeth Palumbo, Frances Rogers, Dorothy Schultz, Fannie Shead,
    Mary Strugnall, Amelia Stumbras, Edna Vargo, Ruth Weir

    I also noted the following:
    • Dr. Amenti Rongetti was sentenced to die in 1928 for letting Loretta Enders, an abortion patient, die.
    • The widower of Aretta Hardesty won a judgment in 1928 against the abortionist who killed her.
    • A May 23, 1928 story in the New York Times describes the arrest of Dr. Charles Brancatti after a 19-year-old fingered him as her abortionist. Brancatti was araigned and had to put up $2,500 bail.

    I hope this answers any questions the searcher might have had.or more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



    Here is a breakdown of who performed the fatal abortions I've uncovered for the 1920s:



    *Doctors: 45.65%
    *Perpetrator, or perpetrator's profession, unknown: 29.71%
    *Other medical person: 20.29%
    *Amateur: 2.17%
    *Self: 1.45%
    *Professional lay abortionist: 0.72%

    The breakdown of cases in which I was able to determine the profession of the perpetrator looks like this:



    *Doctors: 64.95%
    *Other medical person: 28.87%
    *Amateur: 3.09%
    *Self: 2.06%
    *Professional lay abortionist: 1.03%

    If we figure that the least likely to die are those who get a doctor to do their abortions, and the most likely to die those who take things into their own hands, this small sample is in keeping with the estimates of Mary Calderone and Nancy Howell Lee, that about 90% of criminal abortions were done by doctors.


    For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



    For more abortion deaths broken down by year, see this post.

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  • Somebody was searching for Milan Vuitch

    As I checked out what else the searcher turned up, I found this book review by Mary Meehan. Mary mentions Vuitch -- who I now learn was Serbian by birth -- and the two abortion deaths I knew he was responsible for: Wilma Harris and Georgianna English. But Mary also said that a teen died in 1970, six days after Vuitch performed an abortion on her. (This was a year before Vuitch's case challenging the DC abortion law was decided, which would make her an illegal abortion death. Previously I'd thought that Vuitch's only deaths were post-legalization.)

    This is the first I've heard of this death. I'd appreciate more information, either on this unfortunate girl or on how to contact Ms. Meehan.

    For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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    The Attack on Abstinence Education: Fact or Fallacy"

    HT: Birth Story

    This paper looks at two articles published in The Journal of Adolescent Health: "Abstinence and abstinence-only education: A review of US policies and programs", and "Abstinence-only education policies and programs: A position paper of the Society for Adolescent Medicine".

    The authors took a hard look at these articles:
    We obtained copies of the referenced materials and examined them to determine how accurately the authors had interpreted the evidence. Where provocative words and phrases were used (eg. "censorship," "misinformaiton"), we searched the documents for these words and phrases. We also evaluated additional authentic references addressing abstinence education that had been omitted from this review article. As necessary, we consulted experts in the field.

    And what did they find? "[A] significant number of serious omissions, misrepresentations, deviations from accepted practices, and opinions presented as facts. Logic, if employed, was often faulty."

    Here are some of the shortcomings found:
    • "Key points are substantiated by non-peer-reviewed sources."
    • "The authors repeatedly state that a source says something, when it fact it does not."
    • Rather than citing original source documents, "these authors cite secondary and tertiary sources."
    • The authors "cite opinion pieces and editorials" and "on-line news magazines."
    • The authors do not inform the reader when the cited source was not peer-reviewed. (This is done in dozens of instances.)
    • Many assertions are not referenced at all.

    One striking feature of the articles is a dichotomy the authors build between "moral" considerations (which they condemn) and "ethical" considerations (which they applaud). In other words, if they disagree with a practice, they scornfully dismiss the practice as forcing "morality" on children. If they agree with a practice, they praise it as "ethical".

    One "moral" assertion that the authors of the JAH articles scorn is that of encouraging teens to "be responsible." They also fault the use of the word "virgin" as being a "moral" term.

    The JAH authors assert twice that there is no evidence that sexual activity can be harmful to adolescents. This flies in the face of studies that find higher rates of depression among sexually-active teens. It also ignores the obvious risks of STDs and unintended pregnancy, which bring with them considerable stress.

    The JAH authors also claim that abstinence-based sexuality education is contrary to parental and adolescent values, even though polling finds over 94% support for abstinence education among parents and over 80% support for abstinence education among the teens themselves.

    The critics of the JAH articles go on to look at evidence of success or failure of contraceptives-based versus abstinence-based sex education programs. I encourage you to read this for yourself and draw your own conclusions. But I'll review the results of two community-based abstinence programs:

  • One, in New York, saw a drop in pregnancy rates among 15- to 17-year-olds, from 63/1,000 to 49/1,000.
  • The other, in South Carolina, saw pregnancy rates for pregnancy among 14- to 17-year-olds drop from 54/1,000 to 25/1,000. In the control communities, that did not institute the program, pregnancy rates among 15- to 17-year-olds rose from 46/1,000 to 54/1,000.

    I encourage y'all to read this critique for yourselves.
  • LA Times Obit verifies: Larry Lader died unrepentant

    Lawrence Lader, man who was key to abortion rights
    Lader kept pressing the cause of abortion rights until his death, said his wife of 45 years.... One of Lader's last acts was to pay for an ad in a Sioux Falls newspaper protesting South Dakota's new law banning abortions.

    Some folks are hoping that Lader experienced a moment-of-death conversion. I guess this ought to douse those hopes. Even facing his own death didn't lead him to show any mercy or compassion toward the small, weak, and vulnerable. More power to those who can hope for him. Even more to those who can forgive him.

    Saturday, May 13, 2006

    Ulrich George Klopfer back in the news

    Second front in abortion war?
    Dr. Ulrich George Klopfer is juggling buildings in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, in an apparent attempt to avoid having new clinic regulations apply to his practice.

    Not that he'd follow them anyway:

    Ulrich George Klopfer was one of many quack abortionists practicing in the Chicago area in the late 1970s and 1980s. One patient, Patricia T., alleged that Klopfer misdiagnosed her fetus as dead, obtaining her permission for an evacuation that killed what had actually been a healthy fetus.

    Patient Brenda C. filed suit against Klopfer, alleging unspecified bodily injury related to an abortion Klopfer performed January 4-5, 1985, at Women's Pavilion in South Bend, Indiana. Klopfer had estimated the gestational age as 10 weeks, but Brenda had actually been 14 weeks pregnant. He used an improper abortion technique. Also, a piece of laminaria broke off and was retained in Brenda's uterus. She had to be hospitalized to remove the laminaria and complete the abortion. (St. Joseph Superior Court Docket No. R-9706; LaPorte County Superior Court Cause No. 46D01-8701-CP001)

    Patient Bettijean Z. sued for injury after an abortion performed by either Klopfer, under the supervision of Stewart Marcowitz, at Oak Lawn Surgical Center. The abortion was performed July 3, 1982. Bettijean faulted her caregivers with failure to administer anesthesia and with operating an unlicensed facility.

    Bettijean said that she'd been given an injection "to dry up my mouth so you wouldn't get nauseous and then also to relax me; and put in another room for a few minutes and then sent down to wait in a waiting room, sat in the elevator. I thought that was not real wise. I was a little groggy, and any of the patients could have fallen or wandered out of the building or whatever. ...when I was in the surgical room, I didn't feel like there was any particular care as to cleanliness. Doctor Marcowitz was not in any type of surgical garb, just in regular plain clothes."

    Bettijean also said, "I felt the procedure was started too quickly. I was -- I was told that you could ask questions or the doctors would talk; and by the time ... Doctor Klopfer was done with a very quick examination, he was all ready to start .... It was freezing cold in there. I asked the nurse or attendant when I was taken in there to have a blanket and she kind of laughed and said, oh, you wouldn't need that for very long. You will be plenty warm in a little while."

    Bettijean further described her ordeal: "Extreme pain. Doctor Marcowitz was there to hold my hand and tell me I should lay perfectly still because if I didn't ... I would have the risk of perforating my uterus and then I would go to the hospital and probably have to have a hysterectomy."

    Bettijean had to be treated elsewhere on July 15, and was hospitalized on July 20 with heavy bleeding. The actual identity of her abortionist was kept from Bettijean until September 4, 1984.

    When asked how often he had "performed or assisted in performing operations similar to the operation involved in the alleged occurrence," Marcowitz replied, "None." Klopfer, in his deposition, stated that Marcowitz was usually in the room during abortions, mostly to "provide emotional support to the patient," but also to assist him by getting instruments, and he would monitor pulse as he held patient's hand. Klopfer identified handwriting on pre-op exam form as not his own, and said he did not know whose handwriting it was; Marcowitz's signature was on the state health department abortion reporting form as the aborting physician. The state reporting form was incomplete, and did not indicate the reason for the abortion or if there were complications. (Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 84L 14029)

    Patient Gloria T. sued in 1982, identifying Klopfer as the doctor who perforated her uterus, causing infection, fever, vomiting, and inability to urinate. Gloria had to be treated at a hospital for an abscess.

    Patient Rhonda C. alleged incomplete abortion and negligence by Klopfer, Ming Kow Hah and Henry Meunier during her 1978 abortion at Chicago Loop Mediclinic.

    Patient Dennelle L. alleged that she suffered an incomplete abortion by Klopfer and/or Stewart Marcovitz on April 7, 1979. She needed treatment at a hospital to remove the remainder of the dead fetus. (Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 79L18615)

    Patient Mary H. alleged that she underwent an abortion by Klopfer and/or Henry J. Meunier at Chicago Loop Mediclinic on August 15, 1979. She suffered a punctured uterus requiring corrective treatment. She faulted Chicago Loop with having improperly trained staff, improper facilities and surgical instruments, and failure to maintain sterility and cleanliness of instruments. (Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 79 L 26661)

    Klopfer was licensed in Florida, but that license now shows "null and void". He also let his Iowa license expire. Ditto for his Illinois license. He still has an active Indiana license, showing no disciplinary actions.

    Safe and legal anniversary: "Roxanne"

    "Roxanne" was 17 years old when she traveled to New York from Michigan to have a first-trimester abortion in a doctor's office. The doctor gave her sedatives and local anesthesia to begin the abortion on May 13, 1972. But before the abortion could be started, Roxanne started to have convulsions and went into cardiac arrest.

    Roxanne was taken to an area hospital, but she was declared dead on arrival. An investigation into the case revealed that the doctor had exceeded the recommended dose of the local anesthesetic.

    For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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    Friday, May 12, 2006

    Three safe-n-lethal anniversaries

    The family of 34-year-old Colleen Chambers had become concerned about her after her abortion in 1991. They called an employee of the place Colleen lived, and asked him to check on her. He found her dead in her room. Autopsy showed that she had died from blood clots in her lungs and legs, and gave her date of death as May 12, 1991.

    ****

    Survivors of Gladyss Delanoche Estanislao, 28-year-old mother of 1, alleged that she underwent an aspiration abortion by Alan J. Ross at The Wisconsin Avenue Women's Health Care Center on April 25, 1989.

    The family's arbitration claim indicated that "tissue retrieved consisted only of clots and [Ross] drew the conclusion that there had been a missed abortion. He then sent [Gladyss] home and prescribed medication instructing her as though the pregnancy had been terminated."

    On May 12, Gladyss was found unresponsive on the floor of the rest room near her college classroom. A doctor who was in the vicinity performed CPR while awaiting an ambulance. Gladyss was taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival from cardiac arrest due to blood loss from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.

    The fact that the abortion specimen did not contain fetal parts should have indicated that Gladyss had an ectopic pregnancy. This condition is routinely treated by competent doctors, saving the lives of the mothers. But Ross missed his diagnosis and allowed Gladyss to leave his clinic with her life in danger.

    Even though, in theory, women who choose abortion should be less likely to die of ectopic pregnancy complications, experiences shows that they're actually more likely to die, due to sloppy practices by abortion practitioners.

    ***

    "Anita" was a 23-year-old mother of two when she chose safe and legal abortion in 1971. She traveled from Massachusetts to New York for her abortion. She was 22 weeks pregnant.

    On May 11, the doctor initiated a saline abortion, then sent Anita home to expel the fetus. The next day, Anita was found unresponsive at her home. She was rushed to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. She had bled to death.

    For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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    Not Just the Unborn: What Happens when the Government Meddles

    Medical charity illegal, government says
    There are few legitimate tasks we must delegate to government (defense, justice, some degree of regulation to keep the strong from running roughshod over the weak, etc.). The rest it just screws up.

    Thursday, May 11, 2006

    Safe-n-legal anniversaries

    A lawsuit filed by the father of Barbara Dillon, age 22, alleged that Barbara underwent an abortion at Long Island Gynecological Group April 18, 1981.

    Barbara's father said that the pathology report identified placental tissue, but no fetal parts.

    Barbara suffered pain and bleeding from May 5. She was treated with antibiotics and advised to see her doctor. She was in severe pain later that day, so her roommates called the emergency room. They were told to give the antibiotics more time.

    Barbara's pain did not abate. Her roommates called a doctor who advised them to take Barbara to an emergency room. The roommates got a neighbor to take Barbara to the university health center.

    Barbara was unconscious upon arrival, and was rushed to the emergency room. There were delays finding a doctor from the clinic who would aid the emergency room physician in addressing Barbara's symptoms. She went into irreversible shock and died. It turned out that Barbara had an ectopic pregnancy which the clinic had failed to detect. Barbara's father also sued Dr. Mark Silver over his daughter's death.

    Even though, in theory, women who choose abortion should be less likely to die of ectopic pregnancy complications, experiences shows that they're actually more likely to die, due to sloppy practices by abortion practitioners.

    ****

    "Melissa" was 27 years old and five months pregnant when she checked into Lutheran Medical Center of Brooklin on May 1, 1992.

    For some reason, her doctor chose the dangerous and antiquated saline abortion procedure. She died of complications on May 11.

    For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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    Wednesday, May 10, 2006

    Larry Lader goes to meet his Maker

    HT: Jivin J

    A key player in the drive to make abortion ubiquitous has bitten the dust. Lawrence Lader died Sunday at 86. Jivin J quotes Bernard Nathanson, who once worked hand-in-glove with Lader:
    Larry brought out his favourite whipping-boy.
    "...and the other thing we've got to do is bring the Catholic hierarchy out where we can fight them. That's the real enemy. The biggest single obstacle to peace and decency throughout all of history."

    ....

    "Well, Larry, what do you think? Is the Catholic hierarchy identical with the anti-abortion forces? Aren't there any others opposed to abortion?" As I nosed the car into the Lincoln Tunnel traffic, he set the intellectual tone for the next eight years with a single word.

    "No."

    Some day, when we come to our senses, Lader will take his place in history alongside Pol Pot, Stalin, and other engineers of mass murder. I wish I could bring myself to pray for his immortal soul.

    Monday, May 08, 2006

    ACLU of Michigan opposes bill to address abortion coercion

    From Jivin J:
    Kary Moss, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan, has an editorial in the Detroit Free Press today in which she attacks bills in Michigan which are designed to make it illegal to coerce a woman into getting an abortion. The Coercive Abortion Prevention Act is a set of five bills (H.B. 5879-5883 and S.B. 1177-1181) which you can read by visiting the web site of the Michigan Legislature. The main bill, H.B. 5882, outlines methods of coercion and punishments for certain actions taken to coerce a pregnant woman into abortion. Read the bill and the others and try to explain to me how someone who is supposedly "pro-choice" could be so against these bills.

    Of course an abortion fanatic would hate the bill, which I think is a good start but doesn't go nearly far enough:
    (i) If the act results in the death of the pregnant female, the person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 15 years or a fine of not more than $7,500.00, or both.
    (ii) If the act results in great bodily harm to the pregnant female, the person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $2,500.00, or both.
    (iii) If the act results in serious or aggravated physical injury to the pregnant female, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 6 months or a fine of not more than $500.00, or both.
    (iv) If the act results in physical injury to the pregnant female, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or a fine of not more than $500.00, or both.

    In other words, the guilty party is only punished if the woman suffers physical harm. And frankly, I'd like to see anybody who coerced a woman into a fatal abortion charged with, at the very least, manslaughter. Fifteen years prison isn't nearly long enough for sending a woman to her death.

    Still, it's a start, and of course the abortion fanatics are up in arms because to them, the only bad abortion is one that doesn't happen.

    Safe-n-legal anniversaries

    Twenty-four-year-old Maura Morales was eight weeks pregnant when she went to Woman's Care Center for an abortion on May 8, 1981.

    When she was in the recovery room, her heart went into spontaneous ventricular fibrillation -- irregular heartbeats not capable of effectively pumping blood. Maura was taken to a hospital, but died that day.

    Maura was the fourth woman to die at the same facility. The others were Shirley Payne, Myrta Baptiste, and Ruth Montero.

    ****

    Claudia Caventou, age 33, underwent a first-trimester abortion at Mercy Medical Clinic in Los Angeles on May 8, 1986, performed by H. N. Fahmy.

    Claudia's boyfriend was in the waiting room during the procedure. Staff told him that everything was okay, and suggested that he leave and get something to eat. Since he'd heard Claudia screaming earlier, he decided to stay.

    Several hours later, he heard the doctor come out and tell his staff to call 911. Claudia was taken to a hospital where she underwent emergency surgery for what doctors thought was a perforated uterus. It turned out that Claudia's pregnancy had been in her fallopian tube, which had ruptured during the abortion. Efforts to save Claudia were futile, and she died later that day.

    Even though, in theory, women who choose abortion should be less likely to die of ectopic pregnancy complications, experiences shows that they're actually more likely to die, due to sloppy practices by abortion practitioners.

    ****

    Cross-posted to Adam's Blog

    For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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    Sunday, May 07, 2006

    Abortion, Law, and Real Choice

    Cross-posted to Adam's Blog.

    An interested prochoice person once asked me: "How does prohibiting abortion encourage women's choice??"

    The question springs from my frequent assertion that legalizing abortion actually reduced women's choices by funneling them into the one option that's easiest for everybody but her: abortion.

    As abortion advocates are so fond of pointing out, women who really want abortions will get their fetuses killed one way or another. They're not helpless or stupid, all mythology to the contrary. So making abortion illegal isn't going to stop the gung-ho woman who really wants that fetus dead. She's going to pursue her own self-interest and find somebody to do the job for her, or she'll consult herbalists and find a way to snuff the fetus herself. The rare woman who really wants her fetus dead will make sure that her fetus gets killed, no matter what the law says.

    It's the women who are distressed and ambivalent that I'm worried about. They don't want to have their fetuses killed so much as they want a way out of their bad situations. By keeping abortion illegal, society puts pressure on the people around the ambivalent woman to offer her real help. It's not a simple, risk-free, easy thing to point her to the nearest abortion mill.

    So the woman who really wants abortion gets her dead fetus regardless. The woman who just wants a way out gets an abortion if abortion is legal, and gets real help if abortion isn't readily available.

    Next question: "How does legalized abortion encourage pro-choice advocates to browbeat pregnant women into choices that they don't want?"

    It's not so much pro-choice advocates as two groups:

    • People who make money from abortion as a practice
    • People who don't want to be bothered helping a frightened woman to find a better way out of her bad situation.

    First, there are the abortion profiteers. Since the early days of legalization, any investigators who cared to look closely have found the abortion industry to be rife with corruption. They've found "counselors" who were actually salespersons, who were paid on a commission basis for each abortion sold. They've found marketing consultants brought in to teach abortion staff how to take advantage of the pregnant woman's vulnerability during her period of intense crisis. They've even found abortions being sold to women who only thought that they were pregnant. After all, what does the legal abortionist really have to lose? It's not like he's going to be sent to jail for any of this. There will be some bad publicity, perhaps a few legal fees and some glib words of contrition to the medical board, and then it's back to business as usual.

    What of the people around the pregnant woman? A lazy person is going to be lazy, regardless of the law. But if the lazy person has no abortion clinic down the street, no Medicaid abortion, no referral network set up to protect the lazy person's option of shoving the woman off to be vacuumed out, then the lazy person can't just say to her, "Go fill out a form and get an abortion." The lazy person has to point the pregnant woman to somebody, and if there's nobody obviously doing abortions, they'll point her to somebody providing real help.

    The easier abortion is to sell, and to hold up as an "option," the more likely those who benefit from the woman getting an abortion (the profiteers, deadbeat boyfriends, et cetera) are to shove her into the nearest abortion mill. If it's going to cost the boyfriend personally -- if he's risking going to jail, if it's not just her body on the line -- he's not going to be so adamant about "getting rid of it." We have to put some of the risk back on the people around the pregnant woman. Before legalization, everybody who took part in an abortion was taking a risk. They all could go to jail if something went wrong and the woman got hurt. Now the only person taking a risk is the woman. If she gets hurt or killed, everybody else is in the clear. I don't see how asking her to bear all the risk alone is an improvement.

    The last question: "Why would you encourage an indecisive, easily influenced, easily brow-beaten pregnant woman to have a child, and try to cope with all the decisions involved in parenting?"

    There are several issues buried in this question.

    First of all, we're not talking about pregnant women being "indecisive, easily influenced, easily brow-beaten." We're talking about the normal human reaction to intense stress. A woman who gets pregnant at a difficult time is in crisis mode, and her problem-solving skills are compromosed. This is not a phenomenon unique to pregnant women. Counselors advise bereaved persons to put off major life decisions, such as quitting a job or selling a house, until a year or more after the loved one's death. This is because the bereaved person is in a state of crisis and shock, and therefore his or her problem-solving skills are not operating at peak performance. And you surely know this to be true in your own life: How sound have the decisions been that you've made when you were in a crisis, emotionally overwrought, frightened, confused, and despairing? The first days and weeks after discovering an unintended pregnancy are not going to be a woman's best time for making major, life-altering decisions.

    Second of all, to be influenced into making a purchase based on faulty information given by salespersons disguised as disinterested third-parties doesn't make one "indecisive, easily influenced, easily brow-beaten." If you were considering buying a car, and you called an organization that presented itself as a consumers' organization, and you bought a car based on their assessment, would that mean you were "indecisive, easily influenced, easily brow-beaten?" The pregnant woman who calls a "family planning" facility is duped by their advertising, and by abortion advocacy rhetoric, into thinking that she is consulting with a dissinterested third party who only wants to help her make an informed choice. The most important fact of all -- that she is actually talking to a trained abortion salesperson -- is kept from her. Does falling prey to slick consumer fraud make the pregnant woman "indecisive, easily influenced, easily brow-beaten?" I don't think so.

    But there's one more important point: I'm not asking anybody to have a child. Overall, I encourage chastity and practice it myself. It's a healthy lifestyle and I wish it didn't get the bad press it gets. I also support the availability of life-affirming, healthy methods of fertility control. But once a woman is pregnant, the baby already exists. She's already a mother. Then all I can do is encourage her to be the best mother she can be. And since, as even abortion fanatics point out, "nobody wants to have an abortion," it's clear that the vast majority of women really do want to nurture and care for their unborn children. What's wrong with demanding that society conform to the woman's needs, rather than insist that she conform to society's preference that she get rid of the problem and not bother anybody else about it?

    Legalization has been a boon to abortionists, abortion profiteers, politicians, and lazy people who don't want to be bothered with pregnant women's real needs. But it has not been a boon to the pregnant women themselves.