August 2012: Abortion

Last month Tonya R– lay bleeding to death from a botched abortion at a Planned Parenthood abortion business in Chicago for five and a half hours, before the abortion giant made provisions to transport her to the hospital, where she later died. During that time, no one at the abortion business thought to call 911.

Now, however, new documents and a recording obtained by the pro-life group Operation Rescue, prove that not only did Planned Parenthood NOT call 911 about Tonya, but they ignored instructions from a 911 dispatcher during a call about a separate emergency that same day, to call 911 directly in case of emergency.

The City of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications has confirmed to Operation Rescue, in response to a FOIA request, that only one call was placed from Planned Parenthood’s location on that day, and that the call was not about Tonya.

The pro-life group was also able to obtain a recording and computer aided dispatch transcript from that call, which was placed at 12:43 p.m. on July 20.
Tonya Reaves underwent her fatal abortion at 11:00 a.m. that same day.

Visit link below for transcript of the 911 call…

Even as Reaves lay hemorrhaging to death, a Planned Parenthood employee called to report that elsewhere in the clinic a 16-year old patient was “physically assaulted” by her mother. The caller indicated that the staff had to pull the two apart after they witnessed the mother kick and pull her daughter’s hair and threaten her with further harm once her father arrived.

“This new information confirms that Planned Parenthood intentionally ignored instructions given to them earlier in the day by an Emergency Dispatcher and refused to employ the fastest means of getting help for their dying patient,” said Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor for Operation Rescue. “In addition to waiting five and a half hours to get Reaves to the hospital, the further delay caused by refusing call 911 as instructed could have been the difference between life and death.”

“This information shows gross negligence in the way Planned Parenthood managed [Tonya's] medical emergency. Delays in getting her the care she needed were intentional. It crosses the line into what is likely criminal conduct,” said Sullenger. “We renew our call for a criminal investigation into [Tonya's] death. If those responsible are not brought to justice, it is only a matter of time before another woman suffers Tonya’s tragic fate.”

Tonya died from hemorrhage caused by a uterine perforation after a second trimester abortion.
[7 Aug 12, Jalsevac, Chicago, Illinois,  http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/smoking-gun-planned-parenthood-ignored-instructions-to-call-911-on-day-abor?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=2fa06d994d-LifeSiteNews_com_US_Headlines_08_07_2012&utm_medium=email]

Abortion Business Changes Name & Moves to Avoid $36,000 Fine

There have been some interesting developments over the past few months in the ongoing saga of a notorious Chicago area abortion clinic.

The Pro-Life Action League reported earlier this year that the Women’s Aid Clinic abortion facility was inspected in 2011 by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) for the first time in 15 years.

Following the inspection, Women’s Aid — located in the northern Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood — was assessed a fine of $36,000 for “violations including the clinic’s failure to perform CPR on a patient who died after a procedure” in 2009, according to an AP article published January 21.

That article reported that Women’s Aid co-owner Larisa Rozansky “told the AP her clinic was safe and she felt victimized by the surprise inspection,” which Rozansky called “unfair.”
Horrific Conditions Force State to Take Action

Following last year’s inspection — in which IDPH inspectors also discovered such violations as dusty equipment, lack of a supervising registered nurse, and “frozen TV dinners stored in a biohazard lab refrigerator that also held placental or fetal tissue,” the state issued an order on October 21, 2011 indefinitely suspending the license of Women’s Aid to operate as a pregnancy termination specialty center (PTSC), and prohibiting the facility from performing surgical abortions.

How bad were things at Women’s Aid?  Really bad.

According to the IDPH:

    The condition of the facility has deteriorated to a point where “the public interest, health, safety, or welfare imperatively requires” that the facility’s license be suspended on an emergency basis. (210 ILCS 5/10f(c)).

Women’s Aid could have contested their license suspension, but elected not to. On the contrary, Larisa Rozansky sent a letter [PDF] to IDPH attorney Eva Byerley on November 5 indicating that Women’s Aid would be closing on November 10.

Except Women’s Aid did not, in fact, close on November 10.

Then there is the matter of the $36,000 fine, which Women’s Aid was still required to pay.  But even now, nearly ten months after the fine was assessed on October 21, 2011, Women’s Aid Clinic still hasn’t paid it.

Here’s where the story gets interesting.
State to Women’s Aid: Pay Your $36,000 Fine

On March 7, the IDPH’s William Bell took action, sending Women’s Aid a letter [PDF] via certified mail reminding the abortion facility that paying the $36,000 fine wasn’t optional. Bell also told Women’s Aid that if the facility did not pay the fine within 10 days of receiving the letter, the matter would be turned over to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office for collection proceedings…
For remainder of article — http://www.lifenews.com/2012/08/08/abortion-clinic-changes-name-moves-to-avoid-36000-fine/
[John Jansen | Chicago, IL | LifeNews.com | 8/8/12, http://www.lifenews.com/2012/08/08/abortion-clinic-changes-name-moves-to-avoid-36000-fine/]

Media Deny Scientific Fact That Unborn Children Feel Pain

Last week, a majority of House members voted in favor of the D.C. Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act which would have effectively banned abortions after 20 weeks of gestation in the nation’s capital. In response, the Washington Post ran an op-ed last Thursday by Harvard Law Professor I. Glenn Cohen entitled “The Flawed Basis Behind Fetal-Pain Abortion Laws.” Cohen attempts to make the case that these laws — which have been enacted in approximately nine states — are based on dubious science.

Unfortunately, Cohen’s analysis is flawed. Cohen, like many in the mainstream media, claims science does not support the notion that the unborn can feel pain at 20 weeks. He does his best to portray the debate as being between the scientific community and know-nothing pro-life activists. The Chronicle of Higher Education ran a useful article in the summer of 2011 detailing the debate within the scientific community on this issue. The article cited a number of prominent neonatal and pediatric researchers, none of whom are involved with the pro-life movement, who argue that the unborn can feel pain at 20 weeks.

UltrasoundCohen also states that even if the unborn can feel pain, the proper remedy would be to provide anesthesia to the unborn. But most abortion clinics do not have the equipment or expertise to supply fetal anesthesia. Requiring them to have a trained anesthesiologist pres

ent would doubtless make abortions considerably more costly. Additionally, as Laura Myers, an anesthesia researcher at Harvard Medical School has pointed out, the specialized centers that do fetal surgery have no experience providing fetal anesthesia during an abortion. So a procedure would be experimental and would inevitably carry risks for the woman, including infection and uncontrolled bleeding.

Even though Cohen’s critique of fetal-pain laws is flawed, he does get something right in his editorial. Fetal-pain laws are a shrewd strategy for the pro-life movement. The Supreme Court has ruled that preserving fetal life after viability constitutes a compelling state interest. As such, states are allowed to restrict abortion after 23–24 weeks into pregnancy — albeit with a very broad health exemption. However, the Supreme Court has never ruled that viability is the only compelling interest that could justify protecting the unborn.

Pro-lifers are hoping courts will find that preventing pain to the unborn is a compelling state interest. Alternatively, even if courts do not rule that preventing pain to the unborn is a compelling interest by itself, they could rule that it becomes a compelling interest when combined with the state’s interest in preserving fetal life before viability. Fetal pains laws thus have the potential to create another legal avenue to defend the unborn. Furthermore, abortion-rights groups often claim these laws are unconstitutional, but have been very reluctant to challenge them in court. It seems likely they too realize that fetal pain laws are a shrewd legal and political strategy for the pro-life movement.

LifeNews.com Note: Dr. Michael New is a political science professor at the University of Michigan–Dearborn and holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He is a fellow at Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, New Jersey.
[Michael New, Ph.D. | Washington, DC, 8/7/12, http://www.lifenews.com/2012/08/07/media-deny-scientific-fact-that-unborn-children-feel-pain/

Researcher Says Abortion-Preterm Birth Connection Obscured

A newly released research paper charges that medical journals and researchers are burying data that shows a link between abortion and dangerous preterm births in later pregnancies.

Dr. Byron Calhoun makes these charges in "Abortion and Preterm Birth: Why Medical Journals Aren't Giving Us The Real Picture," released by C-FAM (publisher of the Friday Fax) — http://www.c-fam.org/research/iorg/briefingpapers/abortion-and-preterm-birth-why-medical-journals-aren%E2%80%99t-giving-us-the-real-picture.html

Calhoun, Professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the West Virginia University-Charleston and a pioneer in delivering perinatal hospice care to unborn babies and their parents, cites 127 published peer review articles spanning five decades all showing an increased risk of preterm birth following an abortion. Even so, such studies tend to hide this finding and not report it in the paper’s abstract or conclusion. Not only do these tactics make it harder for readers to see the abortion-preterm birth link, but it also could be a sign of ideological preference for ignoring negative effects associated with abortion.

A case in point cited by Dr. Calhoun is an important Chinese study published in the Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, which finds that history of combined surgical-medical abortion is associated with increased preterm birth risk of over 200 percent. It also finds an increased risk of over 360 percent for women who had medical abortion with curettage, 1 in 5 women in the study.

Despite these findings, the paper’s abstract trumpets that the most important conclusion was that “history of multiple first trimester mifepristone-induced abortions is not associated with a higher risk of preterm delivery among singleton births in the first subsequent pregnancy.”

The most important results of the study are obscured, requiring the reader to dig deep into the paper to find them.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of the existence of the preterm birth-abortion connection, Calhoun writes, “the leading medical organizations for women’s healthcare, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in their online Compendium for 2011, refuse to acknowledge the increased associated risk of preterm labor or the substantial body of literature raising this concern.” ACOG’s disregard of the abortion-preterm birth link coincides with their longstanding pro-abortion advocacy.

According to the recently published World Health Organization Global Action Report on Preterm Birth, about 15 million babies are born prematurely every year. That is more than 1 in every 10 babies born around the world. Over 1 million children die every year as a result of complications related to prematurity, and many more suffer lifetime health problems and disabilities. The costs of preterm birth, both financial and in terms of human suffering, are high and rising as preterm birth rates continue to increase in virtually all countries with reliable data.

Despite the gravity of the situation, the WHO report concludes that the causes and mechanisms of preterm birth still remain largely unknown. One reason is that medical journals tend to misrepresent the truth about factors associated with preterm birth and bury the findings that show connection to abortion.

Calhoun points out that the true victims of this such misreporting are not researchers, but women who are not given appropriate counseling on the link between previous abortion and preterm birth.

 "Abortion and Preterm Birth: Why Medical Journals Aren't Giving Us The Real Picture," released by C-FAM (publisher of the Friday Fax) — http://www.c-fam.org/research/iorg/briefingpapers/abortion-and-preterm-birth-why-medical-journals-aren%E2%80%99t-giving-us-the-real-picture.html
[May 31, 2012; Lucia Muchova, DC, June 1, C-FAM, http://www.c-fam.org/fridayfax/volume-15/researcher-says-abortion-preterm-birth-connection-obscured.html]

Kansas Judge Admits Abortion Businesses Need Oversight, but Denies Motion to Dismiss Licensing Challenge Brought by Abortion Businesses: Abortion radicals deny women even the most rudimentary safety net

Shawnee County District Judge Franklin Theis denied a motion on Friday asking him to dismiss a state challenge to an abortion clinic licensing law that has been brought by two Kansas abortionists.

Despite his ruling, Judge Theis agreed with the State that abortion businesses should have some oversight.

“Abortion was originally a back alley business and obviously we don’t want the back alley brought into four walls. There’s enough concern that somebody ought to keep an eye on it,” said Judge Theis.

At issue is a law passed in 2011 that authorized the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to license clinics where abortions are done and develop a set of health and safety standards such clinics must meet. Operation Rescue testified for the need for permanent new standards at a special hearing last September, presenting KDHE with over 2,500 pages of documentation of known abortion abuses.

Representatives of Operation Rescue were in the court room on Friday to observe the proceedings.

Of the three abortion clinics in Kansas,

only one qualified for licensing before the suit blocked enforcement of the law. A Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Overland Park applied for and received licensing based on temporary regulations on July 1, 2011, when the new law was to go into effect.

A second abortion clinic in Kansas City failed to receive licensing based on its application and was never inspected. Operation Rescue later revealed documentation of numerous abortion abuses occurring at that clinic, including the refusal to report child sex abuse and the illegal dumping of private patient information and bloody refuse from abortions. That clinic is currently under investigation by the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts based on information provided by Operation Rescue.

Herbert Hodes and his daughter Tracy Nauser, a father-daughter team of abortionists from Overland Park that operate the state’s third abortion clinic, refused the mandatory inspection and instead filed suit in Federal Court. That suit was dropped by Hodes and Nauser, who then refiled their challenge in state court, resetting the suit and delaying it for nearly a year.

“It’s not that plaintiffs can’t comply; they don’t want to and don’t think they have to. This is about them thinking that abortion cannot be regulated,” said Assistant Attorney General Steve McAllister, who argued the case for the state.

Hodes and Nauser were flanked by out-of-state attorneys from the Center for Reproductive Rights. Those attorneys have asked for broad discovery that is aimed at questioning the Legislative process, and nearly everyone remotely involved in it. In other words, they plan to challenge whether the state had the authority to pass a law that provided abortion clinic oversight and regulation.
McAllister told the court that the abortionists’ requests for questioning of the Governor, Attorney General, and even the Secretary of State was over broad and that it was wrong to allow an open door to “fishing around and questioning legislative validity.”

The case is expected to eventually be appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court, which is stacked with radical abortion supporters appointed by former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Both parties estimate that the case could take four years or more to litigate.

“While this case drags on in court, at least two abortion clinics in Kansas that have never been inspected continue to endanger the health and safety of women,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue and Pro-Life Nation.

“Meanwhile abortion extremists conduct a witch hunt amongst state officers looking for their next whipping boy. It is women who are subjected to substandard, back-alley-style abortions under horrific conditions that will suffer while the abortion radicals deny women even the most rudimentary safety net. This illustrates the stark reality that abortionists care about abortion remaining unregulated more than they care about women. These people are literally fighting to keep abortion dangerous.”

View Hodes profile page at AbortionDocs.org
    [August 6, 2012, Topeka, Kansas,  http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/kansas-judge-admits-abortion-clinics-need-oversight-but-denies-motion-to-dismiss-clinic-licensing-challenge/]

Over 200 Human Fetuses Found in Russian Forest

Villagers in Russia's south Urals have stumbled upon a gruesome discovery — four barrels containing 248 human fetuses left in a forest.

Police in the Sverdlovsk region said Tuesday the fetuses, preserved in formaldehyde, were kept in barrels with tags containing surnames and numbers.
Police suspects that one of the four local hospitals is responsible for dumping the barrels.

The fetuses were found a few miles away from a highway linking the region's capital, Yekaterinburg, with another big city, Nizhny Tagil.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/07/24/over-200-human-fetuses-found-in-russian-forest-1042924070/#ixzz21ZTyYYB9

[July 24, 2012, Associated Press, Moscow, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/07/24/over-200-human-fetuses-found-in-russian-forest-1042924070/#ixzz21WyZStrO?test=latestnews]

British Women Aborted 120+ IVF Babies Diagnosed With Down Syndrome

The Daily Mail had sad news to report this week. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority found that over the last five years, 123 IVF babies were aborted because the baby was found to have Down syndrome.

For remainder of article — http://www.lifenews.com/2012/07/19/british-women-abort-123-ivf-babies-diagnosed-with-down-syndrome/

Documents Reveal Tonya R Suffered Incomplete Abortion, Perforated Uterus, and Fatal Delay in Emergency Care Access at Hands of Planned Parenthood

 New documents released in the Tonya Reaves tragedy reveal a timeline leading to her death that clearly shows Planned Parenthood delayed summoning emergency care for the dying woman for five and a half hours after a severely botched abortion.

At 11:00 a.m. on Friday, Reaves received a second-trimester dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortion at Planned Parenthood, located at 18 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago.

After the abortion, Reaves suffered bleeding. The bleeding continued at Planned Parenthood for five and a half hours before a Fire Department ambulance finally took her to Northwestern Memorial Hospital at 4:30 p.m. according to a report by Steve Miller of the CBS news affiliate WBBM.

Listen to Miller's report —  find link in article at http://www.operationrescue.org/

"It is clear that Planned Parenthood botched the procedure that resulted in uncontrolled bleeding then failed to treat the hemorrhage while Reaves was at their clinic, allowing her to bleed for over five hours before finally calling for help. There can be no doubt that this delay contributed to her death," said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue and Pro-Life Nation. "The injury and the untreated hemorrhage happened at Planned Parenthood and they are solely responsible for it."

Once at the hospital, it appears the Emergency Room staff had to start from scratch to figure out the extent of Reaves injuries.

According to Dr. James C. Anderson, M.D. , in his 30 years of experience as an Emergency Room Physician, abortion businesses never informed him about their patients' conditions.

"I have always had to evaluate the situation, come to my own conclusions, and initiate what I thought was appropriate treatment. This definitely created some time delays that were not in the patient's best interest," stated Dr. Anderson. "These delays can have life-threatening implications when dealing with hemorrhage or infection."

In Tonya's case, that delay proved fatal.

At 5:30 p.m., doctors performed an ultrasound, which revealed the abortion was incomplete, something solely the responsibility of the Planned Parenthood abortionist.

Reaves was then given a second D&E abortion procedure, but that apparently did not solve the problems and pain Reaves was experiencing.
A second ultrasound revealed a perforation in Reaves uterus.

Reaves was returned to the operating room at 10:12 p.m. for additional surgery where "an uncontrollable bleed was discovered."
At 11:20 p.m., Reaves was pronounced dead.

"Planned Parenthood butchered Tonya Reaves, delayed her access to emergency care, then left the emergency room doctors to figure out what happened to her. By the time they discovered the true extent of her injurie

s, it was too late to save her life," said Newman.

"Planned Parenthood is trying to minimize their responsibility for Reaves completely avoidable death that appears to have resulted from a combination of their negligence, delay – possibly for the purpose of cover-up – and lack of communication with emergency providers. That abortion clinic is dangerous and should be closed. The abortionist should not be allowed to continue to inflict harm on women and should have his medical license revoked.
[July 26, 2012, Chicago, IL, http://www.operationrescue.org/]

Ambulance Arrived at SAME Illinois Planned Parenthood for SECOND Patient on SAME Day

[Ed. Tonya, 24, just died in Illinois at a Planned Parenthood abortion business, and another ambulance arrived later the same day to take a second woman suffering from a botched abortion to the hospital… we do not know her condition. In January of this year in Birmingham, AL, THREE women ended up at a local hospital on one day, one in ICU for excessive bleeding. While I have not 'counted', it seems we are getting reports of women being injured and/or killed by abortion weekly… It is probably NOT that more injuries are happening lately… it is probably that more pro-life volunteers are OBSERVING & REPORTING these fairly common events.  Years ago, it was estimated by the abortion industry that LIFE-THREATENING COMPLICATIONS occur in 1 of every 500 abortions… Is this what we call "safe and legal" abortion? Women are being HURT by abortion — WOMEN DESERVE BETTER THAN ABORTION!!]

A second woman appears to have been injured at an Illinois Planned Parenthood in a likely botched abortion on Saturday, in addition to a young woman who died from the procedure the same day, reports a national pro-life group.

Pro-Life Action League, which is headquartered in Chicago, reported Monday afternoon that an ambulance was called to the Planned Parenthood in Aurora, Illinois, as several pro-life individuals prayed outside the facility.

Tonya R, 24, died after a D&E abortion.

The League’s Ann Scheidler reported that no one was removed from the clinic or transported in the ambulance. “But given that it was a Saturday morning, [Planned Parenthood’s] busiest abortion time, and they felt something was wrong enough to call for an ambulance, it seems most likely that something went awry with an abortion,” she wrote.

“We thank God there was no need to transport the victim to the hospital and we are submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to learn the reason for the ambulance call,” she added.

Later that evening, 24-year-old abortion patient Tonya R was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead following a procedure at the Planned Parenthood of Illinois in Chicago. An autopsy the same day determined that Reaves died from hemorrhage following a dilation and evacuation abortion, a procedure not performed until after the first trimester.

Scheidler criticized Planned Parenthood’s statement reacting to Reaves’ death when the affair was reported by local media: the abortion group referred to as “a tragic development at a nearby hospital.”

“Planned Parenthood had the audacity to act as if her death had nothing to do with the abortion at their clinic that caused her hemorrhage!” wrote Scheidler. “That kind of hubris is what we’ve come to expect from Planned Parenthood, but it is unacceptable.”
[24 July 12, Kathleen Gilbert, Aurora, Illinois, http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/ambulance-arrives-at-illinois-planned-parenthood-for-second-patient-on-same]

Woman Dead After Second-Trimester Abortion at Chicago Planned Parenthood: Obama Called on to Halt All Federal Funding and Personal Support for Planned Parenthood

A CBS news affiliate in Chicago is reporting that a 24-year old woman died Friday, July 20, 2012, after receiving an abortion from a Planned Parenthood clinic located at 18 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago, Illinois.

The woman was transported from the Loop Health Center Planned Parenthood abortion clinic to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 11:20 P.M.

An autopsy conducted Saturday determined that she died from hemorrhage following a Dilation and Evacuation abortion. The D&E abortion method is one employed in pregnancies that have advanced beyond the first trimester. In involves opening the cervix and removing the pre-born baby by dismembering him or her. The Loop Health Center Planned Parenthood advertizes abortions up to 18 weeks.

"Abortion deaths like this are completely avoidable. When a woman bleeds to death after an abortion, it is usually an indication of error on the part of the abortionist coupled with a delay in calling for emergency assistance. Planned Parenthood should be held accountable," said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue and Pro-Life Nation. "Our heartfelt prayers go out to the victim's family at this time of tragic loss."

This incident follows a report published in the Chicago Tribune in June, 2011, that took to task abortionists in Illinois for failing to report abortion complications and exposed the fact that some abortionists did not report complications at all, in violation of the law. At that time, Illinois officials made no attempt to enforce abortion laws in that state.

While the name of the abortionist responsible for this patient death is currently unknown, Planned Parenthood's most recent 990 Tax Forms list abortionist Caroline M. Hoke as its Medical Director.

The abortion death took place in Obama's adopted hometown of Chicago at a time when his administration is working hard to provide funding to Planned Parenthood through the federalized health care system.

"In light of this tragedy, which is yet another in a long list of Planned Parenthood abuses, we call on President Obama to immediately withdraw all Federal funding and personal support from Planned Parenthood," said Newman. "Friday's death is yet another reason why men and women of conscience across this nation cannot and will not comply with the forced funding of abortion and its intentional violation of religious liberties."

[22 July 12, Chicago, IL –  ProLifeNation.org and www.operationrescue.org]

76 Pages of Health Code Violations, But Abortion Clinic’s Decor is Nice

Mississippi’s only abortion clinic is allowed to stay open for now, and The Daily Beast ran an interview to introduce their readers to the woman who runs the clinic, Diane Derzis. We are told that she likes thrillers, has a smoker’s laugh, and is apparently a fabulous decorator. Her numerous patient safety violations? No mention.
For remainder of article — http://www.lifenews.com/2012/07/18/76-pages-of-health-code-violations-but-abortion-clinics-decor-is-nice/

The Final Revocation of the Medical License of Late-Term Abortionist Tiller Associate Neuhaus Has National Implications

Last week the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts posted the final revocation order for the medical license of abortionist Ann Kristin Neuhaus. While Neuhaus is not a household name, her revocation has national repercussions in the abortion battle.

Neuhaus was a former associate of George Tiller, who once operated the largest late-term abortion clinic outside Communist China. His business, which specialized in doing the latest of late-term abortions and drew clients from all over the globe, earned Wichita the dubious distinction as the Abortion Capital of the World.

Neuhaus’ phony mental health ev

aluations

After Neuhaus closed her own abortion business in Lawrence, she began working with Tiller to provide referrals for abortions on viable babies past 22-weeks gestation. Kansas law required that a second physician had to determine that post-viability abortions were medically necessary in that continuation of the pregnancy would result in maternal death or a “substantial and irreversible impairment to a major bodily function” of the pregnant woman. A former State Attorney General, Carla Stoval, issued an opinion that “major bodily function” must include mental health considerations.

Testimony at a Board disciplinary hearing showed that Neuhaus was regularly contacted by Tiller’s office and told to report to his Wichita abortion clinic where she conducted screenings on potential late-term abortion patients for the purpose of determining if they met the legal standard that would allow an abortion to continue. However, the Board found that Neuhaus negligently conducted those screenings. Her inadequate and poorly documented interviews led her to determine that normal life issues, such as frustration at not being able to buy a new computer, play sports, or participate in rock concerts due to pregnancies that had already advanced into the third trimester, were indications of mental illnesses that justified abortions. Many times, Neuhaus phoned in her exams. In some cases, there was no evidence that she even interviewed the patients at all.

Her mental health diagnoses were reached via a computer training program called “PsychManager Lite” wherein she would input answers to often vague yes-or-no questions and the program would calculate a diagnosis. Her phony diagnoses were rubber-stamps meant to ensure lucrative late-term abortions took place.

In short, her mental health justifications for late-term abortions were based on nothing short of medical quackery and blind radical abortion ideology.

To Neuhaus, an unexpected pregnancy caused women to become mentally ill without exception. She reflected the philosophy touted by many abortionists when she stated that she believed the fact that a woman was pregnant was in itself a life-threatening condition and justification for abortion at any stage of pregnancy.

Her revocation was a moral victory for the pro-life movement that has implications on several levels.

Exposing deceptive mental health justifications

This case exposed the gross and deceptive exploitation of the “mental health” justification for abortions in states where such exceptions exist. It is a case in point for the need for legislatures to tighten mental health loophole that permit abortion through the ninth month of pregnancy for any reason whatsoever.

As a result of the late-term abortion scandal involving Tiller and Neuhaus, Kansas has changed its laws to prevent further abuses of mental health exceptions and ban abortions after 20 weeks.

Abortionists above the law

Neuhaus’ attitude that she was above the law exposed the thinking that is indicative of today’s abortion cartel.

“I’m here to comply with the law, but once I step into the clinic, my own priorities take precedence,” she stated.

Today’s headlines are replete with abortion clinics, such as those in Mississippi, Alabama, Pennsylvania, and Virginia that resist regulation and oversight while demanding that they should not have to comply with standards that others must achieve. This unwillingness to respect the law makes abortion clinics dangerous places for women because it strips away any protections that state laws attempt to provide.

Prevented from practicing in other states

Neuhaus stated in an interview with MSNBC that she was willing to do abortions in other states, once her disciplinary case was cleared. Her license revocation will make it nearly impossible for Neuhaus to obtain licensure in another state, thus protecting women around the nation from her shoddy abortion practices.

Keeping Wichita abortion-free

Neuhaus’ license revocation has likely thwarted efforts to reopen an abortion clinic in Wichita, which has been abortion-free since the closure of Tiller’s clinic in 2009. At the same time that a former Tiller spokesperson announced in 2010 the procurement of a medical director for her proposed Wichita abortion clinic, Neuhaus petitioned the Board to have her license status changed from “exempt” to “active.”

It was clear that Neuhaus planned to return to the abortion business. Her petition was deferred until after her revocation hearing, which has rendered her request moot. Since then, all efforts to open an abortion clinic in Wichita appear to have ceased.

Letting the system work

In spite of serious obstacles faced in procuring any kind of prosecution against Tiller and Neuhaus, including open governmental corruption and obstruction, in the end the system proved to have worked.

Much has been reported in the mainstream news of Tiller’s acquittal of criminal charges related to his improper business relationship with Neuhaus as the basis for vindication of Tiller and proof that he operated a legitimate abortion business. That is actually a misrepresentation of fact.

On the day Tiller was acquitted, the Kansas Board of Healing Arts released an 11-count petition charging Tiller with violations of the Healing Arts Act. That petition was based on evidence gathered during an investigation prompted by an Operation Rescue complaint – the same complaint that resulted in Neuhaus’ license revocation. That petition against him was pending at the time Tiller was regrettably murdered in 2009. In it, the Board called for discipline that included license revocation.

There is little doubt now that Tiller conducted late-term abortions under the guise of phony mental health justifications based on findings that were negligently determined by a now disgraced abortionist. His entire late-term abortion operation was little more than a scam that took the lives of viable, often health babies, for no legitimate medical reason in violation of the law.

If he had lived, Tiller’s medical license would likely have been revoked along with that of Neuhaus. It is regrettable that the process was not allowed to run its course in his case. If it had, Tiller would surely be alive today, but out of business just the same.

Successful tactics

Neuhaus’s revocation is the result of new tactics employed by Operation Rescue that are now starting to be used by other pro-life groups.

There are many pro-life laws on the books, not to mention regulations that provide standards for medical conduct, health facilities, medical waste disposal, and billing practices. More and more, pro-life activists are documenting abortion abuses, filing the appropriate complaints, and demanding enforcement. We are using the law as a tool to prosecute abortionists, revoke medical licenses, fine and close abortion clinics, and most importantly, save lives.

Not only does this action reduce abortions but it also helps change public opinion about abortion and abortion clinics by documenting abortion abuses through official channels. Once the truth is told about the dangerous and exploitative nature of abortion clinics today, it becomes more difficult to politically justify protecting abortionists who violate the law.

Tiller and Neuhaus went from operating what was once considered the “best” late-term abortion clinic in the world to being disgraced quacks who exploited vulnerable women for financial and political gain. The end of Neuhaus’ medical career closes the book on Kansas’ long involvement as the World’s Abortion Capital and opens the doors for continued progress for th

e pro-life movement.

The Abortion Whistleblowers Program and AbortionDocs.org

Operation Rescue and Pro-Life Nation have two programs that can assist activists in the documentation of abortion abuses on the local level.

The Abortion Whistleblowers Program offers a reward of $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of abortionists that are breaking the law. Clinic workers are an excellent source of information and can use the money to help them come out of the abortion industry. For more information on this program and for reproducible flyers that can be distributed to the public please click here — http://operationrescue.org/archives/abortion-whistleblowers-earn-a-10000-reward/

AbortionDocs.org is a searchable website that posts documentation of abortion abuses on abortion clinics and providers around the nation. It can be used by activists to document abuses in their areas as well as serve as a clearing house of information where pro-life supporters can share documentation they may have gathered to help propagate the truth about abortion abuses that are so rampant today. For more information, please visit AbortionDocs.org.

The Neuhaus revocation illustrates how effective Operation Rescue’s tactics have become and how they can be used nationwide to speed the end of Abortion in America.
 [July 20, 2012,  Cheryl Sullenger, Wichita, KS  http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/final-revocation-of-tiller-associate-has-national-implications/]

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ABORTIFACIENTS

ASK Your Pharmacist to NOT STOCK 'ELLA'…  http://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF10I20.pdf

Ask Your Pharmacist to NOT STOCK 'NEXT CHOICE ONE DOSE'

FDA Approves Watson's Abortifacient Next Choice as Plan B One Step Generic

The FDA has given final approval to Watson's Next Choice generic equivalent to Teva's abortifacient Plan B One Step, PFLI E-News has learned.

The dose of the levonorgestrel in Next Choice is significantly higher than in a single so-called birth control pill, but it prevents or ends a pregnancy the same way that birth control pills do. It is thought that Next Choice works with one of the following mechanisms of action:

    Release of oocyte from the ovary (ovulation)
    Preventing oocyte from being fertilized by the sperm
    Preventing Implanting of the newly created human baby to the uteruine wall

Next Choice can terminate an existing pregnancy when operating under the latter mechanism of action. It will often do so with the latter since it is used often after conception or fertilization occurs.

For more information go to this link…

For more information on fetal development and the Carnegie Stages of Development click here…

[28 July 12, Columbus, OH, PFLI E-News, http://www.pfli.org/articles/20120724nextchoice.html]

The Morning-After-Pill Gets Generic Name: 'Next Choice One Dose'

A Pennsylvania pharmaceutical company has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to start producing a generic version of the morning after pill. "Next Choice One Dose" will begin shipping immediately. It is reported in the following article that one brand of the morning-after-pill had sales close to $90 million.

As abstinence educators, it is increasingly important that we know what we're up against. It is our calling to bring the truth to young people who feel like the morning-after-pill is just the easy way out. 

[Ed. Progestin can be abortifacient… if we must err, we should err on the side of life and AVOID USING THESE POTENTIAL LIFE-DESTROYING DRUGS. ]

Watson Will Market Generic (Abortifacient) Morning-After Pill

Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday that it is preparing to sell a generic version of the "morning after" pill.

Watson said the Food and Drug Administration approved its generic version of Plan B One-Step, an emergency contraceptive made by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

The company said it will start shipping its generic version immediately, and will market the drug under the name Next Choice One Dose.

The pill contains progestin, and it is an emergency contraceptive [Ed. can be abortifacient] used to prevent pregnancy following intercourse. Watson said U.S. sales of Plan B One-Step totaled $88 million over the 12 months ended May 31.

Shares of Watson Pharmaceuticals rose 22 cents to $75.39 in morning trading Friday. Shares of Teva picked up 23 cents to $40.30.

[Ed. So, apparently, as usual, profits are more important than protecting women's lives, protecting tiny babies' lives, or protecting our environment and water supplies from massive hormonal pollution (which increases with every flush…)]

[13 July 12, AP, Parsippany, NJ,  http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/jul/13/watson-will-market-generic-morning-after-pill/ ;   http://www.abstinence.net/our-blog/contraception-hormonal/the-morning-after-pill-gets-new-generic-name/
 

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CONSCIENCE

Commentary: HHS Mandate Begins

"1 August 2012, is the day for you to bury you conscience. After all, in January the current government gave us all about 6 months to beat our conscience to death (in favor of the federal government conscience). Time's Up! Today we must bury the dead thing, and become a clone of the HHS conscience, and a clone of the President's conscience as well on this issue—6 months ago, he made the speech about "accommodation" to the Contraceptive Mandate, and gave us about 6 months to cleanse ourselves of our troublesome prolife leanings, and dispense abortifacient medications to patients who request them.

"Religious doctors, religious individuals, and religious institutions were told in January they could maintain their freedom of religion—until Aug 1, and from that day on, leave it at the door.

"If you aren't touched by this Mandate yet, you will be. And whatever you do, do NOT read the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees you and me the right to freely exercise our religion.

"If you read it, you may become confused. The current leaders prefer to pretend Article One does not refer to this part of your religious freedom. And they are in charge. You are a Hippocratic physician? Well, Government says erase out the line about not doing abortion.

"Are you ready to stand for your freedom of conscience and freedom of religion? Be active, stand with AAPLOG, stand with CMDA, stand with Catholic Med Assn. Oh yes, and stand at the ballot box in Nov and vote your conscience values

.

"And check out www.freedom2care.org   "
[Aug 1. 2012, Jdc/AAPLOG]
 

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COURT CASES

8th Circuit Court Rules that Doctors Must Inform Patients Seeking Abortions of Suicide Risk  /  Suicide & Informed Consent  /  All Abortion Risks Must Be Disclosed, Appeals Court Rules: Argument to Invert Traditional Medical Standards Rejected  /  Media Alert

Court Rules that Doctors Must Inform Patients Seeking Abortions of Suicide Risk

Summary: The Wall Street Journal reports that in South Dakota, a federal appellate court — 8th Circuit Court of Appeals http://www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/12/07/093231P.pdf — has ruled this Tuesday that doctors "must advise patients seeking an abortion of the increased risk of suicidal thoughts and suicide that comes with it." Planned Parenthood was the plaintiff in this case against the state and two crisis pregnancy centers.

While a U.S. District Court had originally ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood, an 11-judge en banc panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has now reversed the decision. The WSJ reports that "The court acknowledged 'medical and scientific uncertainty' about the link between abortion and suicide, but said that because the link has not been ruled out, advising about an 'increased risk' is not constitutionally misleading and would be relevant to a patient’s decision."

Wrote Judge Raymond Gruender, for the majority:

"[A]lthough the record reflects 'medical and scientific uncertainty,' as to whether abortion itself is a causal factor in the observed correlation between abortion and suicide, there is nothing in the record to suggest that abortion as a cause per se has been ruled out with certainty. As a result, the disclosure of the observed correlation as an 'increased risk' is not unconstitutionally misleading or irrelevant under Casey and Gonzales.
To read decisions:  8th Circuit Court of Appeals http://www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/12/07/093231P.pdf

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Suicide & Informed Consent

One of the most disgusting and harmful aspects of the American abortion scene is the marked inadequacy of informed consent generally associated with the grisly abortion business.

For those who believe in "evidence based medicine," the evidence for abortion associated complications is abundant. Increased mental health effects (depression, PTSD, anxiety), preterm birth, breast cancer, placenta previa, and SUICIDE all have a well documented evidence trail.

SUICIDE?? ARE YOU KIDDING?? NO, WE ARE NOT KIDDING!
Did you not know about abortion and suicide? You do now. 2 huge studies are noted on our website, both with prospective data, computer based. The Finnish study by Gissler includes 697,000 pregnancies, and looks at maternal health status 1 year after delivery and 1 year after abortion.

The suicide rate is six times higher after abortion. SIX TIMES HIGHER. A second study by Reardon in southern Calfornia , involving 173,000 pregnant women over an 8 year period, showed the suicide rate for women who had abortions to be 3.1 times higher than women who delivered. 3.1 TIMES HIGHER.
Why are these suicide statistics not a part of your medical education (or general public knowledge)? Ask your professors.

Find both studies at http://www.aaplog.org/complications-of-induced-abortion/induced-abortion-and-maternal-mortality/induced-abortion-and-maternal-suicide/

A light from South Dakota on the horizon? YES! In a South Dakota informed consent case, the 8th Circuit Court agrees with us. This is one of the most significant federal court decisions on the risks to women since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion on demand in l973. Below are snippets.

The 8th Circuit decision holds that:
"In conclusion, we hold that the requirements of S.D.C.L. § 34-23A-10.1(1)(e)(ii) are satisfied by a disclosure that the relative risk of suicide and suicide ideation is higher for women who abort compared to women in other relevant groups, as described in the relevant medical research. ….. The disclosure is truthful, as evidenced by a multitude of studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals that found an increased risk of suicide for women who had received abortions compared to women who gave birth, miscarried, or never became pregnant….. Moreover, the suicide advisory is non-misleading and relevant to the patient's decision to have an abortion, as required by Casey. It is a typical medical practice to inform patients of statistically significant risks that have been associated with a procedure through medical research, even if causation has not been proved definitively….. the State merely is using "its regulatory authority to require a physician to provide truthful, non-misleading information relevant to a patient's decision to have an abortion,…

"……On its face, the suicide advisory presents neither an undue burden on abortion rights nor a violation of physicians' free speech rights. Accordingly, we reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment to Planned Parenthood……. these risks…. are well-documented in the scientific literature……

"…Also significant is the Court's overwhelming acceptance of the medical literature demonstrating a link between abortion and suicide. The Court stated that the studies submitted by South Dakota "are sufficiently reliable to support the truth of the proposition that the relative risk of suicide and suicide ideation is higher for women who abort their pregnancies compared to women who give birth or have not become pregnant," and that this risk is "generally 'known.'

"…… The Court also described at length the potential methodological flaws in a report by the American Psychological Association, which illegitimately refuted the link between abortion and suicide……"

COMMENT:
Overall, the opinion contains a wealth of significant holdings which will work to protect women in South Dakota, the Eighth Circuit, and potentially beyond. The Eighth Circuit has started to pull the veil off the abortion industry's dirty little secret: that abortion harms women.
[26 July 2012, aaplog.org]

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All Abortion Risks Must Be Disclosed, Appeals Court Rules: Argument to Invert Traditional Medical Standards Rejected

A U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that abortion providers can be required to disclose risks associated with abortion, even if the attending doctor believes the associated risk is only incidental to the abortion and not a direct result of it.

At issue was a South Dakota statute requiring abortionists to disclose to patients that women who have abortions are "at increased risk for suicide ideation and suicide." This provision was challenged by Planned Parenthood, which argued that such a disclosure was untrue and misleading in the absence of irrefutable evidence that abortion is the direct cause of suicidal behavior.

Planned Parenthood admitted that numerous studies show a statistical association between abortion and suicid

e. For example, an eight-year study of the entire population of women in Finland found that the risk of suicide among women who aborted was six times higher in the following year than that of women who had given birth and three times higher than that of women who had not been pregnant.

But Planned Parenthood's experts argued that such statistical associations did not prove a direct causal link between abortion and suicide. They argued that the higher rate of suicides might be due to prior psychological issues that predispose women who were already suicidal to have more abortions. If that were true, the observed statistical association would be incidental, not causal.

In an en banc ruling — a ruling from the entire bench instead of a panel of judges — the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Planned Parenthood's argument in an 8-4 decision, observing that "[i]t is a typical medical practice to inform patients of statistically significant risks that have been associated with a procedure through medical research, even if causation has not been proved definitively."

The court noted that federal rules for labeling of prescription drugs require a warning to be included "as soon as there is reasonable evidence of an association of a serious hazard with a drug; a causal relationship need not have been proved." (emphasis added, 21 C.F.R. § 201.80(e))

The "standard practice" in medicine, the court wrote, is to "recognize a strongly correlated adverse outcome as a 'risk,' even while further studies are being conducted to investigate which factors play causal roles." The court went on to sharply criticize Planned Parenthood's "contravention of that standard practice," concluding that "there is no constitutional requirement to invert the traditional understanding of 'risk' by requiring, where abortion is involved, that conclusive understanding of causation be obtained first."

"This is an extremely important ruling," said David Reardon, director of the Elliot Institute and an advocate for new laws requiring abortionists to screen for risk factors associated with abortion complications.

"It not only upholds the right of states to require full disclosure of risks, it rejects the widespread practice within the abortion industry of concealing risks which, they claim, have not been conclusively proven to be solely due to the abortion itself," he said. "Nowhere else in medicine is this the standard for disclosing risks. Only abortion providers claim that their treatment must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."

According to Reardon, the ideological claim that a "woman's right to abortion" trumps all other medical considerations has caused abortion providers to disregard the standard requirements surrounding not just risk disclosure but also any evidence-based risk-benefit assessment.

Ignoring Risk-Benefits Analysis Is Malpractice

"Everywhere else in medicine, it is the obligation of proponents of a treatment to first prove that the treatment is effective in achieving health goals for specific groups of patients," Reardon said. "Doctor are then expected to compare these proven benefits with the risks associated with each patient's unique risk profile. Only in cases where this risk-benefits assessment favors treatment should the doctor then recommend the treatment."

But when it comes to the abortion decision, risk-benefits assessments have been displaced by a radical view of a woman's unhindered "right to choose," even if the abortion decision is pressured, coerced or ill-informed, Reardon said.

"Abortion counselors are trained to facilitate what they presume is a woman's choice, not to question it," he said. "As they see it, any efforts to second guess this are themselves a threat to the purity of an unfettered 'freedom of choice.'"

This institutional perspective, he said, has made abortion providers "completely indifferent" as to whether or not abortion actually helps women in any specific ways.

"After 30 years of abortion on request, there are literally no studies showing that abortion produces any statistically significant benefits in women's lives," said Reardon, whose studies of abortion's effects on women have been published in numerous medical journals. "There are no measurable benefits for women in general or for specific groups of women. This makes it impossible for doctors to fulfill their traditional role of providing medical advice based on a reasonable risk-benefits assessment."

Reardon said that this is why this new ruling is especially important and may eventually bring an end to one-size-fits-all, assembly-line abortion practices.

"The appeals court soundly rejected Planned Parenthood's claim that normal medical standards regarding risk disclosure don't apply to abortion," he said. "In doing so, it laid the foundation for states to reassert all the normal standards of medicine in regard to abortion. This ruling specifically acknowledges the obligation to disclose all significantly associated risks."

Reardon said the ruling was a major step toward reforming the inadequate disclosure practices in the abortion industry.

"The rationale provided for this reform also lays the groundwork to require abortion providers to practice all the steps normally involved in medical decision making," he said. "This means efforts to require screening for significantly associated risk factors and for providing each woman with a risk-benefits assessment are also likely to be upheld by the federal courts."

He said that "once women are finally given an evidence-based risk-benefits assessment,  the number of unsafe and unnecessary abortions performed each year will plummet."

RESOURCES
Information about the Elliot Institute's model legislation can be found at the Stop Forced Abortions web site — http://stopforcedabortions.org/

Contacting Your Lobbyists and Legislators About Our Model Bill — http://afterabortion.org/2012/contacting-your-lobbyists-and-legislators-about-our-model-bill/

Pre-Abortion Screening Law to Take Effect in South Dakota — http://afterabortion.org/2012/pre-abortion-screening-law-to-take-effect-in-south-dakota/

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The Elliot Institute is dedicated to conducting original research on the impact of abortion on women, raising awareness that most abortions are unwanted or coerced, and exposing the risks of abortion to all involved. The Stop Forced Abortions Alliance is a project of the Elliot Institute.

Link to this article — http://afterabortion.org/2012/all-abortion-risks-must-be-disclosed/
[Press Release, Springfield, IL, July 26, 2012, http://afterabortion.org/2012/all-abortion-risks-must-be-disclosed/]

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The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a severe blow to Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS) today by deciding in favor of the South Dakota law giving information to pregnant women prior to consenting to abort their babies alive in their wombs. The press release from the lawyer representing the Intervenors on this case is below. The virulent attack of this informed consent law reveals PPMNS’s disdain for women and their ability to think for themselves. So much for the “pro-choice” mantra.

MEDIA ALERT

July 24, 2012

Re: Decision of the en banc Court of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit:
Planned Parenthood v. Rounds, Alpha Center, et al
Docket Nos.: 09-3231/3233/3362
What: US Court of Appeals en banc Court declares that South Dakota’s statute that requires abortion doctors to disclose to pregnant mothers that an abortion places the mother at increased risk for suicide ideation and suicide constitutional because the disclosure is truthful, non-misleading, and relevant to the pregnant mother’s decision of whether or not to consent to an abortion.