Abortion Doctor

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November 25, 2012

Abortions Decline – But For the Right Reason?

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information | Tags: |
[9] Comments 
abortion

Abortion

I read the other day that, according to the Centers for Disease Control, the rate of abortions in the United States fell by 5% in 2009, the largest single-year decrease in a decade.   The CDC noted that about 18% of all pregnancies in the United States end in abortion and “factors from the availability of abortion providers, state laws, the general economy and access to health services including contraception can all influence the abortion rate.”

Although the CDC could not say with certainty which factor or factors were responsible for the decline, the pro-life PR machine was quick to claim credit.  Within hours of the announcement, Americans United for Life President and CEO Doctor Charmaine Yoest called the news “a real cause for giving thanks. For more than 40 years, AUL has been working to advance a culture of life that protects women and children from Big Abortion. And today we celebrate this historic drop in the abortion rate.”  She then added that AUL had “paved the way for this historic drop in abortion by pushing pro-life legislation in the states, such as clinic regulations holding abortion providers to acceptable standards of care.”

Now, in 2009, close to 60 pro-life laws were enacted across the states, a marked increase from 2008 but how the heck can the pro-life movement prove that their laws have resulted in less abortions?  Have they found women who were thinking about having an abortion and then decided not to?   Gimme a break.

And think about this.  In most of the states where they enacted strict clinic regulations, the states required changes like wider hallways (ostensibly so the gurneys for all of those dying women could be wheeled out faster), thermostats set at certain standard temperatures,  and other miscellaneous requirements that really have nothing to do with patient safety.   How do these regulations actually stop women from getting abortions?   Say a woman in Chicago is pregnant and she wants an abortion.  She calls a few clinics, compares prices, counseling, etc. and then makes her decision.  How did the width of the hallway deter her from having an abortion?   What am I missing here?

Now  if the pro-lifers would just admit that the regulations were designed to close the clinics, then they could legitimately argue that there are less abortions because they are making access to a clinic more difficult.  But, no, that is not their reason for pushing for these laws.  They are just oh-so-concerned about those poor innocent women who are being harmed in those clinics.  How nice of them.

Spin, spin, spin.  Of course, the pro-lifers cannot even think about admitting that maybe better sex education has made women a little bit smarter about birth control.  No, we just can’t admit that one, can we?   They just gotta make up some crap so they can beat their chests.

The bottom line is that the decrease is good as long as it’s for the right reasons.  If women are having less abortions because of state law, that means they are being forced to give birth to unwanted children.  And that is not a welcome development.  But if they are just being smarter about sex, then bravo.

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November 11, 2012

They Just Never Give Up, Do They?

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Blog, Abortion Clinic, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information | Tags: , |
[32] Comments 
Abortion

Abortion

On Election Day, I was standing outside my polling place minding my own business.  I’m a pretty staunch Democrat and everyone in my area knows it.  But, on this day, I was not handing out literature to voters.  I was just sitting in the background and leaving that work to other younger poll watchers.  There were about seven of us Democrats and just about 30 feet away the Republican Party had their table and their workers were doing the same.  As usual, everything was generally rather civil.

Then, suddenly, over near the Republican table I hear some woman at the top of her lungs say “I know you, Pat Richards, you’re a baby killer!”

Now, as a staff person for the National Coalition of Abortion Providers for 13 years, I had gotten somewhat used to being called names during protests, rallies, etc.  It came with the territory.  I even kind of enjoyed it – it meant they knew who I was.  But it’s been about 8 years since I’ve been in that movement and this was the first time in many years that I had been confronted with something like this in public.

Abortion

Abortion

Her screech cut through the chilly wind and pierced my ears.  Interestingly, I found that my heart started palpitating wildly.  I couldn’t believe I was hearing that crap again.  I looked over and made eye contact with this woman, who then yelled out “Yes, Pat, we know you teach people how to perform abortions.”   This absolutely ridiculous statement brought me back down to Earth because now I knew she wasn’t dealing with a full deck.  And now I was intrigued.

I quietly walked over towards her and just said “what are you talking about?”

“Oh, we know who you are and what you do.”

Abortion

Abortion

Fair enough, I thought.  I mean, this world famous blog is a public document so in a funny way I was actually flattered that she knew who I was.  So now I really wanted to converse with her, to see if I still had those ole debating skills.  You see, in the years I represented abortion providers, I loved engaging the pro-lifers and enjoyed trying to have a civil conversation about the issue.  I may have been delusional, but I always thought that if I just had a chance to explain why women have abortions and why the doctors put their lives on the line every day, then that person might understand just a little more and be less angry.  I never thought I would convert them, I just wanted them to understand.  But the person I was talking to now felt a little different.

“I know you write that blog where you teach people how to perform abortions.”  I asked her if she had ever read my blog and she said “no, but they have,” and she pointed to a group of 3 or 4 fellow Republicans who were peering at me, as if I had horns.  “If you haven’t read my blog, how do you know what I say?  You know, I do look at things rather objectively and there are times I don’t even agree with the pro-choice folks.  You should really read my stuff.”   No answer.

By this time, others were joining in on both sides.  There was no shouting (my friend did shout but I found out later she was hearing impaired) but it was tense and everyone was just talking over each other.  But my new “friend” and I just kept “talking” (she talked and I listened) and we ultimately learned we had another non-abortion connection in the community.  She then segued into asking me questions about Obama:  “Please tell me, I really want to know, how can you be voting for Obama?”  When I started to answer, she interrupted with “no, really, I really want to try to understand, I want to learn, I want to…..”   And she kept going on and on.  It was a constant monologue.

I had to get away so I told her I had to leave.  I came back about two hours later and she ran up to me and said “Pat, let me ask another question.  You’re really the only one here that I can talk to….”

Huh?

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October 14, 2012

And Some people that support Abortion Rights are Still Considering Voting for this Anti Abortion Turkey?

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Centers, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Pill, Abortion Rights, Abortion RU486, Methotrexate, RU486 | Tags: , , , , , |
[24] Comments 
Romney Abortion

Romney Abortion

Okay, now I am totally confused about Mitt Romney’s ever-moving position on the abortion issue.  You don’t think he is trying to cater to as many people as possible, do you?

In the past, I’ve written about how when Romney was Governor of Massachusetts he was pro-choice straight down the line.  And not only was he pro-choice in terms of legislation, he actually met regularly with staff people from the Massachusetts branch of the National Abortion Rights Action League to strategize.  They were buddies.

Romney Abortion

Romney Abortion

Then, when Mitt decided to run for President, his position on this very basic issue started to “evolve.”

Now, I can see how over a period of years someone might change their views on certain economic models or on the pros and cons of rehabilitating prisoners.  There are a lot of fuzzy areas in those issues so one could become more educated over time.  But abortion?   Gimme a break!  What is more fundamental than whether or not to allow a woman to terminate her pregnancy?  I mean, there’s something living inside the woman’s body and, if she gets an abortion, that once-living thing is no longer living, pure and simple.  How does an adult “evolve” on that basic issue?  Did Romney suddenly learn how pregnancies work?

Romney Abortion

Romney Abortion

Of course, the answer is he had to be pro-life to get the Republican nomination.  That’s because the nominating process in that party is totally dominated by right wing nut balls and you gotta pander to them if you hope to have any chance of securing the nomination.  And Romney did pander.  Oh, no, I’m sorry.   He “evolved.”

So now that he has the nomination, he’s had to shift gears again to cater to the independent voters. And to do that you have to move to the political middle.  So, the other day Mitt Romney actually declared that ““There’s no legislation with regards to abortion that I’m familiar with that would become part of my legislative agenda.”

What the hell?

Is Romney telling us that when the new Congress comes to town and pro-life Congressman James McNabb from Podunk, Illinois introduces legislation banning third trimester abortions or requiring women to get the consent of their husbands, he will have absolutely nothing to say about those bills? If the Republican House of Representatives decides to pursue one of those “personhood” measures on a national level, is Mitt Romney actually going to resist the incredible amount of pressure from the pro-life lobbyists and not take a position on that issue?

Poppycock.  He just continues to pander to anyone who will listen.

I will give him some credit, however, in that he is actually being candid when it comes to Planned Parenthood.  He has said unequivocally that he will “cut off funding for Planned Parenthood”  and that is certainly an extreme position that might not go over well with independent voters.  The irony, of course, is that Planned Parenthood clinics probably prevent thousands of abortions each year but then Romney probably still has not “evolved” on the issue of birth control.  Give him 20 more years to catch up.

Hopefully, the American public, and especially those who for some unfathomable reason are still undecided, will not buy into this “it’s not on my agenda” bull crap.  Indeed, if Obama is not in another coma during the next debate, this is an issue that he should jump all over.

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September 30, 2012

Hooray For More Abortion Doctors?

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information | Tags: , |
[53] Comments 
Abortion

Abortion

I recently read that California Governor Jerry Brown (yes, he’s still alive and kicking) signed a bill into law that would allow certain non-physicians to perform abortions. Predictably, the pro-choice groups hailed the measure as an important step towards making abortions more accessible to women.  The pro-life groups basically said Brown is pond scum and that he would spend all of eternity in Hell.

The pro-choice groups are excited because in many parts of the country there is a serious lack of abortion providers.  A lot of the ones that entered the field years right after Roe was decided are now rather old and are close to retirement (or death).  In many cases, when a doctor retires or dies it means the clinic closes because there are no replacement physicians. So, you’d think that everyone in the pro-choice movement would rally around a new law like this one.

Not so fast.

Think about this for a second.  Say you run a hot dog stand on the corner of 51st Street and Lexington Avenue in midtown Manhattan.  You’ve been working the same spot for 21 years.  You’ve gotten to know your patrons personally and you know their order before they can spit it out.   You also get used to making a certain amount of money every week and your income determines your lifestyle.

Then, one day a young whipper-snapper opens up another hot dog stand right across the street.  I mean, he is right there in your field of vision and you can’t ignore how many people are now patronizing his business.  You can practically count how many customers you’re losing to the competition and pretty soon your income decreases and your way of life is affected.

So, although the pro-choice groups are applauding the action of Governor Brown, some of the doctors and owners of abortion clinics in California are undoubtedly watching things with a wary eye.  Now, a clinic that only has one doctor who is ninety nine years old will no doubt welcome the new blood and they’ll be out there recruiting them to work at their clinic. But then there are the other clinics that actually have several young doctors who will not necessarily need replacing for a good 20-30 years.  These clinics, like others, have been watching the number of abortion patients declining to begin with and all of a sudden they now have to think about the prospect of a young nurse putting together some capital to open up her own office in the same town.  It might take a little while but ultimately that nurse and her clinic will start siphoning off patients from the established clinic and, like the hot dog guy, their income and life style could be affected.

Now, the pro-lifers will scream that I’ve just admitted that the doctors are “in it for the money.”  Well, to some extent that is true.  Like any other doctor or businessperson, when you enter a field and open up shop your goal is to make enough money to pay the expenses, the staff salaries and – dare I say it – a profit for the person who invested the money in the first place.

So, while the bigger picture says to thank Jerry Brown for this new law, I’ll bet you anything that some current doctors and owners of abortion clinics are just a tad bit nervous.

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August 26, 2012

The First Assassin Strikes

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Centers, Abortion Clinic, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information | Tags: , , |
[84] Comments 
Abortion Choice

Abortion Choice

The other day I was chatting with a twenty year old neighbor that I’ve known for years and at some point we got to talking about my history in the pro-choice movement.  I talked about working for the National Abortion Rights Action League in the early 1980’s and then how I helped organize the National Coalition of Abortion Providers.  And when I related how I had seen several of our doctors murdered by pro-life terrorists, he gave me a blank stare.  “They killed the doctors?” he asked.

It’s bad enough that the younger generations have no recollection of the days of illegal abortion but now the string of murders committed over the years (and under the banner of God) may also be fading from our collective memories.  Well, if I have anything to say about it I will do all I can to make sure that the violence that has occurred will not disappear into the dustbin of history.

Anti Abortion Christian Terrorist

Anti Abortion Christian Terrorist

The first doctor to be murdered was Doctor David Gunn.

David Gunn was known as a “circuit rider.”  He spent most days on the road, working in a number of abortion clinics throughout Florida, Alabama and Georgia.  He had a Bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and an M.D. from the University of Kentucky.  At some point, anti-abortion extremists starting piecing together how he was travelling from clinic to clinic and he became a target for harassment.  Normally a laid back guy, David started expressing concern for his safety in the early 1990’s, especially after he discovered that Operation Rescue had distributed an old-fashioned “Wanted” poster with Gunn’s picture on it.  In addition to the picture, the poster included his home phone number and other identifying information.  In response, David purchased three handguns.  He kept one in his glove compartment, one under the seat and one in the trunk.

Abortion Choice

Abortion Choice

On March 10, 1993, David left his hotel room early in the morning and made his way to the Pensacola Women’s Medical Services on Bayou Boulevard, a clinic that he had helped open just a month before.  His new clinic, nestled among offices for lawyers, doctors and accountants, bore no ostensible signs and the patient load was generally rather light.  And lately, a group of protestors had started standing outside of the facility in protest.  On this day, one of them was a young man named Michael Griffin.

As always, Doctor Gunn pulled into his parking space at the back of the clinic.  When he got out of his car, David’s limp was palpable, a result of his childhood bout with polio.  He did not grab any of his guns because he did not want them in the clinic around the patients and staff.  He took a few steps towards the clinic and at 9:30 am, David Gunn’s life was snuffed out.  It came with no warning, he had no time to defend himself.  He was just gone.

It seems that when Michael Griffin saw Gunn’s car pull up, he casually left the protest, walked up behind the car then calmly shot David Gunn in the back three times.  He was heard to yell out “Don’t kill any more babies!”   After the act, he threw down his .38-caliber snub-nosed revolver and waited for the police to arrive.

Michael Griffin was immediately arrested, charged with murder and, despite alleging that he had been “brainwashed” by anti abortion activists John Burt, was quickly found guilty.  He remains in jail in Florida to this day.

The first murder of an abortion doctor made national headlines for weeks.  Prime Time specials, the Donohue Show, Nightline all covered the act.  Doctor Gunn’s son, David, Jr., became a spokesperson for abortion providers.  A number of abortion doctors left the field, concerned for their safety.  And the federal government, i.e., the Clinton Administration, did nothing.  Meanwhile, there were other assassins waiting in the wings, hatching similar plans.

This was just the first assassination of an abortion doctor.

 

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July 22, 2012

Unlimited Abortions in Your Nation’s Capital!!!

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information, Abortion Medical, Abortion Pill, Late Term Abortion, Late Term Abortions | Tags: , , |
[102] Comments 
Pro Life Violence

Pro Life Violence

I rarely read LIFENEWS, the on-line “newspaper” of the Right To Life movement, or at least the main one.  But I was recently trolling around the internet the other night when I came across this site and an article caught my eye.  The headline read:   “House Panel OKs Bill to Stop Unlimited Abortions in Nation’s Capital” and the first sentence informed us that this bill would stop the “policy of unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy for any reason in the nation’s capital.”

Abortion Washington DC

Abortion Washington DC

In the past, I’ve talked about how advocates on both sides of the abortion issue get so locked into their positions that they dare not consider that their opponents might have a point and they certainly do not question the stuff that comes down from their oh-so-sacred national organizations.  So, if Planned Parenthood announced tomorrow that they’ve learned that President Obama will soon convert to the pro-life position, their followers would take the announcement as gospel and start sending money to “help us convince the President is on the wrong track.”

Violence against Abortion Providers

Violence against Abortion Providers

So, this little nugget from LIFENEWS got my attention pretty quickly.

As my readers know, I’ve worked with abortion clinics for the last 20 years.  As such, I got to know just about every clinic, every owner and every doctor.  One thing that I paid particular attention to was how far a doctor would go in terms of weeks when terminating a pregnancy. That was important information because I would constantly get calls from women looking for an abortion and the first thing you needed to know was how many weeks pregnant they were because, if their pregnancy was rather advanced, the number of doctors who performed later abortions were few and far between.  So, I basically knew how far each clinic went.

So, when I read that there was a “policy of unlimited abortions” in the District of Columbia, I was caught short.  Unlimited?   As in, they perform abortions in our capital up to the point of birth?  Now, if there were clinics in D.C. that performed abortions up to the moment of birth, I would just say it.  Everyone knows I am unapologetic about what the clinics do and how far they go.  So, I gotta tell you that LIFENEWS and their advocates on Capitol Hill are full of it.

Violence against Abortion Providers

Violence against Abortion Providers

Years ago, there was a doctor who did third trimester abortions in D.C., but he has since cut back dramatically and is only offering the abortion pill.   Then, there is Doctor Lee Carhart, who recently relocated to Maryland where he is legally permitted to perform third trimester abortions.  Then, outside of the D.C. area, there’s a doc in Florida who performs third trimester abortions, Doctor Warren Hern in Colorado, a doctor in California then I understand there are two who do later abortions in New Mexico.  Meanwhile, I called the clinics in D.C. and found one that went to 22 weeks.

But, who cares about the facts?   Political advocates have to make their points regularly to keep the troops stirred up and, yes, to raise money.  And the troops will follow, like lemmings to the sea.

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July 8, 2012

Do the Pictures Really Matter?

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Blog, Abortion Centers, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information, Abortion Pill | Tags: , , |
[76] Comments 
Abortion

Abortion

On the previous blog by my friend, “Blogginfem,” an interesting discussion ensued about the use of graphic images by pro-life and pro-choice advocates.  We are all very familiar with the images of “aborted fetuses” that appear at pro-life rallies and protests.  In response, the pro-choice folks tend to discount the photos, suggesting that they are really “only” miscarriages, that the fetus is too far formed, that’s it’s a fetus that was found in Canada, as if that makes a difference.  At the same time, there are the images of women lying in a pool of their own blood after attempting to self abort.  The pro-lifers then dutifully pooh pooh the images as well.

The discussion made me wonder if these images have any kind of effect on the abortion debate?

Abortion

Abortion

Let’s take the fetus pictures first.  I’ll be honest.  In the years that I represented abortion providers, I never looked very closely at those pictures.  First of all, I get grossed out pretty easily.  I can’t watch horror movies, don’t like the sight of blood, don’t look at pictures of the kids starving in the Sudan.  So, I’ve never really examined those photos for “accuracy.”  But the bottom line is that I have seen in person the results of a late second trimester abortion and some of those pictures displayed by pro-lifers look pretty darn close to what I’ve seen in person.  Let’s face it – abortion is not pretty and pro-choicers would be better off just admitting that at some point in the pregnancy the fetus is rather well-developed and, despite that, the abortion doctor is still going to do what the woman has asked him to do.  Yes, the vast, vast majority of abortions are performed in the first trimester but the pro-lifers are doing what any other interest group in the country does – they focus on the extreme.

Abortion

Abortion

Today, when you go to a pro-life event, there’s always someone holding these graphic pictures (and they are usually the octogenarians in the movement) and it’s possible that someone who is passing by might be disturbed enough to “convert” right on the spot.  But the battle over abortion rights will be fought in the middle and without having conducted some kind of poll, my gut tells me that when someone who hasn’t given the issue much thought sees these pictures, their first reaction is probably to avoid looking at it and their second reaction is total disgust that a group of perhaps well-meaning advocated forced them (and perhaps the children in the car) to be dragged into this very difficult issue.  And that’s where I think the pro-lifers are making a strategic mistake.  Indeed, at the last few protests I’ve attended, I’ve seen fewer signs like these.  Perhaps their movement is getting smarter.

I’ll write about the use of “pro-choice” signs in the future but, for now, I think advocates of abortion rights should just stop wasting time on this particular issue.  First of all, it’s free speech.  The signs may be ugly, they may not represent the “normal” abortion, they may even be inaccurate.  But they are protected by the First Amendment.  Second, their use might be actually working against the pro-life movement.  And, third, we are always quick to argue that abortion is a woman’s choice.  Well, it’s a woman’s choice to look at the picture or not.  I trust women to be able to sort out the truth and to make the right decision.

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July 1, 2012

Randy, where art thou?

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Centers, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information, Abortion Medical | Tags: |
[99] Comments 
Abortion

Abortion

A short while ago, I was cable surfing when I came across a panel of speakers engaged in some kind of debate.  Suddenly, I noticed that one of them was Randy Terry, the founder of the notorious anti-abortion group, Operation Rescue.  The debate was amongst “alternative candidates for President” and, lo and behold, there was Randy who I soon learned was running for the DEMOCRATIC nomination for President.  That’s right, he is running against President Barack Obama.

My, how the mighty have fallen.

Abortion

Abortion

It was in the mid 1980’s when Randy caught our attention.  While there were others before him, Randy was the one who really perfected the art of organizing anti-abortion protests.  In 1986, he was arrested for the first time for chaining himself to a sink at an abortion clinic. In 1990, he organized the “Summer of Mercy,” a massive anti-abortion demonstration that targeted the late Doctor George Tiller and his clinic in Wichita, Kansas.  For several weeks, his minions camped out at the clinic and harassed staff and women as they entered that facility which performed late term abortions.  In 1994, he was a co-defendant in NOW v Scheidler, a class action suit compelling pro-life leaders to compensate clinics for loss of business. Terry settled out of court but, instead of paying the settlement, he filed bankruptcy.

For years, his name struck terror in the hearts of abortion providers.  They were always on red alert, tracking rumors about where OR would be heading next.  At the clinics, they often blocked the doors, stalked staff and patients and created general havoc.  However, they ultimately went overboard and, because of that (and the murders of several doctors) the Congress passed the FACE law which severely restricted their activities.  In the next few years, OR became a shell of itself but not just because of the FACE law.

Abortion

Abortion

At some point, Randy’s personal life started falling apart.  He and his wife had several foster children, including three biracial children.  One of those children, Ebony, left home at the age of 16 in 1991. She converted to Islam, a religion Terry has preached is composed of “murderers” and “terrorists.” Then, Terry banned another child from his home after she became pregnant outside of marriage twice by age 18.  Then, his son, Jamiel, publicly announced that he was gay in an article but before the article was published, Terry wrote an essay in which he wrote of the pain and disappointment.  Then, in 2000, Terry divorced his first wife and married his former church assistant (although his feelings aboutdivorce had been so strong that when his own parents divorced he refused to let his children speak with their grandfather for three years).  As a result of Terry’s divorce, the pastor of his local church tossed him out for the divorce and a “pattern of repeated and sinful relationships and conversations with both single and married women.”

Interesting set of family values, huh?

And now, the mighty Randy Terry is running a totally bogus campaign for President.  At the end of this “debate” that I happened upon, the candidate sitting next to him, who was literally wearing some kind of big silly hat, stood up and started throwing confetti onto Randy’s head.  It was the ultimate embarrassment.  At one point, he was a worthy adversary.  And now he has come to this.

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June 24, 2012

With Friends Like These

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Centers, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information, Abortion Pill | Tags: , , , |
[56] Comments 
Abortion Congress

Abortion Congress

No matter what your position on the abortion issue, I think we can all agree that our government is virtually paralyzed.  No one can get anything done and the simple explanation is those “special interests” that focus just on their particular issue.  Indeed, just about every group that does some lobbying rates Members of Congress and come election time everyone runs to see if he or she has that vaunted 100 percent voting record on their issue.  If they don’t, watch out.  Lemme give you a good example.

One of my best friends is a Congressman from Virginia.  He’s been around for many years, I’ve worked on his campaign, donated money, etc.  When he ran for Congress the first time he did something unusual – he actually ran commercials highlighting how he was pro-choice.  He won that race and in the years after that, he earned a 100 percent voting record with the National Abortion Rights Action League.   And every time a new campaign cycle came around, he received the maximum $5,000 contribution from NARAL.

Then one day, while I was at the office of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, he gave me a call.  “Pat, what the hell is this partial birth abortion thing?”   As readers of this blog know, the “partial birth abortion” procedure as dubbed by pro-lifers, entailed pulling the live fetus down the birth canal, removing the contents of the cranium to deflate the skull, then removing the fetus from the canal.  The doctor who developed this technique explained it was designed for women with small birth canals.  Well, the shit hit the fan when the anti-abortion movement discovered this procedure.  And folks like my friend in Congress, who is Catholic, were horrified.

I explained to him as much as I could about this procedure but he was clearly uncomfortable. Then, to his credit, he told me bluntly that he felt he had to vote to ban the procedure and, as much as I was disappointed, I actually admired how he had examined this issue based on the individual merits.

Ultimately, the votes were cast and he voted to ban the procedure.  At that point, it did not become law because President Clinton vetoed the bill.  The ban later became law under President Bush.

And in the next election cycle, the NARAL-PAC gave him NO money.

One vote and his 100% record was gone – and his “friends” felt they had to punish him for daring to vote against them.  As we know, several pro-choice Members of Congress did the same, including Senator Daniel Moynihan and Representative Patrick Kennedy.

This is how Washington, D.C. works folks.  Either you toe the line or watch your back.  And this is why nothing ever gets done.

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June 17, 2012

Abortion Services and the Internet – Beware!

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information | Tags: , |
[37] Comments 
Abortion.com A Directory of Offices that specialize in Abortion Care

Abortion.com A Directory of Offices that specialize in Abortion Care

The Internet is an amazing tool.  We all owe Al Gore a debt of gratitude.

Remember years ago when a woman seeking information on abortion services had to pick up her local Yellow Pages and sort through all of the listings under “Abortion?”  Not much information except for the simple listings with the clinic phone number.  Today, as we all know, the Yellow Pages are a dinosaur.  Now, a person looking for abortion services will do a Google search or go to websites like www.abortion.com, a comprehensive listing of abortion clinics throughout the country.  So, to get up to speed, I recently did a Google search and, while there was a lot of information, some of the results were a little disturbing.

I typed in the phrase “abortion clinics.”  I was immediately greeted with a number of references to clinics here in Northern Virginia.  High in the listings was also a link to www.abortion.com.  But then I noticed some other listings prominently displayed that were of concern to me.

Indeed, the first listing up top, in the “sponsored links” section, was a listing for American Women’s Medical Services.  To get a listing under “sponsored links,” you basically pay Google.  Every time someone clicks onto your ad, you “pay per click.”  The fee per click for a phrase like “abortion clinics” can be very, very expensive.  Putting that aside, AWMS is a chain of clinic that are owned and operated by the notorious Doctor Stephen Brigham.   ­­­­Brigham lost his New Jersey medical license in 2010 after regulators discovered an arrangement under which he would begin second- and third-trimester abortions in New Jersey and then have the patients drive themselves to Maryland the next day to complete the procedures.  Before that, his license was revoked in New York in 1994 after a board found him guilty of gross negligence.  The authorities have been after him for years.

Then, in the non-paying section of Google I saw a listing for the Orlando Women’s Center, a small chain of clinics run by Doctor James Pendergraft.  A short while ago, a jury awarded $36.7 million to a woman who brought a lawsuit against him for malpractice.  It seems that the woman went to his clinic for an abortion in November 2001, was given drugs to induce labor, but was never seen by a doctor. When she began inquiring about the doctor, she was told to “change her attitude or get the hell out of the clinic.”  The woman left while in active labor and later gave birth to a disabled girl, now 10, who suffers “severe cerebral palsy” and never will walk, speak or be able to care for herself.

Meanwhile, in the same Google search, I noticed several more sponsored links for “clinics” that, after a little research, I determined were actually anti-abortion facilities otherwise known as “crisis pregnancy centers.”  While some of these facilities are up front about what they do, many of them are known to pretend to be an abortion facility, the idea being that if they can get a woman who is considering abortion into their facility, they will hopefully talk her out of it and “save a baby.”  Interestingly, these listings were paid for, meaning that these facilities are willing to spend very big bucks (like Brigham) to get unsuspecting women into their office.

Years ago, the same anti-abortion centers listed under “Abortion Services” in the Yellow Pages, until the Yellow Page Publishers Association got wise to the deceptive practices and prohibited them from advertising under that category.  It’s too bad that the Internet has not caught up with this deception.  And it’s too bad that there are doctors like Brigham and Pendergraft can advertise as well.

Caveat Emptor.

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