by Robert Kumpel
Murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, torture, kidnapping, rape, stalking, death threats, bomb threats (including false-threat reports from alleged pro-lifers), sex crimes, conspiracy, drug crimes, property crimes, medical crimes and fraud-related crimes — are these the fruits of legal abortion?
The Abortion Crime Report, published by California Right to Life demonstrates not only that they are, but that abortionists themselves are responsible for such crimes. The report, addressed to the governor, California legislature and attorney general, came out in July and went to every major newspaper in California, as well as to legislators on committees reviewing related bills.
In a summary of pro-abortion violence in the United States, the report lists a total of 2,297 incidents of pro-abortion violence and illegal activities. The report then goes on to list crimes committed by abortionists in California by city, citing the original sources of information. The source for much of the information came from the Medical Board of California, which is responsible for licensing and bringing disciplinary action against state physicians.
The Abortion Crime Report was written as a response to a legislative report written by Gregory De Giere, a state senate staffer, entitled Crimes Against Reproductive Rights in California. The report alleges that pro-life people are violent, and supplies examples. The De Giere report was submitted to bolster support for a bill by State Senator Debbie Ortiz of Sacramento, which would make sidewalk counseling at abortion clinics or attempting to dissuade patients from procuring abortions an act of harassment and would add the charge of “hate crime” to these activities. (The Ortiz bill was signed into law by Governor Davis on Monday, October 15.)
Particularly revealing is the first part of the [Abortion Crimes] report, entitled “THE FRANK MENDIOLA PHENOMENON: Prone to Lying: Two key Incidents Omitted in De Giere's Report.” In the two incidents described, militant pro-abortion activists, Frank Mendiola and David Friedman, created a media frenzy by falsely reporting acts of violence and bomb threats made against them, clinics and pro-abortion legislators by pro-lifers.
In Mendiola's case, the police concluded that he had made the threatening phone calls himself — to which he later confessed. The Los Angeles Times, based on Mendiola's testimony, even reported the tragic details of an illegal abortion endured by his twin sister. Mendiola later confessed that he had no twin sister.
David Friedman, a National Organization for Women organizer from Palm Springs, claimed that he endured phoned death threats, ammunition left on his car and even assault. He appeared at a news conference wearing an ace bandage over his arm. Palm Springs police suspended the investigation for lack of leads and eventually documents were found revealing Friedman's history of phony police reports and false allegations of violence while a
resident of Concord.
The report contains 76 detailed descriptions of single or multiple incidents with abortion providers. Of those 76 descriptions, 40 involve physicians, clinics or pro-abortion activists in the Los Angeles area. They include the story of Alicia Ruiz Hanna, an abortionist convicted in 1994 of murder and of impersonating a doctor.
Another disturbing case involves Bruce Steir, an abortionist with a track record of botched abortions and disciplinary actions. While on medical probation, he perforated the uterus of Sharon Hamptlon while performing an abortion on her at A Lady's Choice Women's Medical Center on December 13, 1996. She later bled to death after arriving home in Barstow. Steir surrendered his medical license in March of 1997 and was charged with murder.
Though buried in various other complaints of shoddy medical practice from his patients — many of whom required surgery by other physicians to remedy Steir's bad work — Steir's cause was taken up by the National Organization for Women, the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, the National Abortion Federation, and Refuse and Resist. All of these groups argued against filing any charges against Steir.
Of all the doctors in Los Angeles charged with malpractice, murder, fraud and various other crimes, the runaway leader in professional incompetence and callous disregard is probably Dr. Ivan Namihas. Charged with four incidents of rape, 45 incidents of sexual abuse, gross negligence and mail fraud, Namihas' record speaks of a sexual predator who used his medical license like a hunting license. He impregnated one of his patients, repeatedly raped his half-sister and has more than 100 patients and former patients who have reported allegations of medical misconduct or sexual abuse — some of which date back to 1969.
The complaints against Namihas include: raping patients with foreign objects, inducing patients to perform oral sex on him, sexual conduct with a nurse while a patient was in labor, performing oral sex on his patients, soliciting a date with a patient’s friend while performing an exam, using verbally sexual comments (many of an extremely crude nature), and giving false information to patients regarding their conditions and/or necessary treatments.
According to one complaint, Namihas told the patient she had genital warts and showed her photo examples from a book. He then gave a vivid description of a long, painful course of treatment. When the patient's stepmother questioned him, he slammed the book shut and defensively raised his voice. Namihas then left to attend to another patient. When the stepmother was about to sign the consent form, a nurse stopped her. The test was negative, said the nurse; Namihas, she said, “was misdiagnosing many women because he needed the money.”
Namihas was found guilty by the medical board of sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, gross negligence, incompetence and immorality. He had his license revoked. He was also charged with mail fraud for billing patients for unneeded treatments.
Pro-abortion violence and villainy in Los Angeles is not restricted to doctors. The report lists several incidents of pro-life protesters being viciously mocked, kicked, beaten and bitten.
Especially noteworthy is the March 1989 case of an Orange city police officer who dragged a pro-life demonstrator behind a wall at Family Planning Associates in Cypress to savagely beat him, even though the pro-lifer was offering no resistance. That same month three pro-abortionists were arrested after igniting an incendiary device in a church filled with 2,500 pro-life activists. Concussion grenades were also found beneath the speaking platform where the pro-life leaders were supposed to speak. A detonation would have gravely injured and probably killed anyone standing on the platform.
A Southern California consultant who assisted in compiling the report said that Ortiz's bill is based on the assumption that pro-life people are “terrorists” and the state must maximize the law in order to protect “good abortionists” from violent people. “Of course De Giere's report got tremendous media publicity, but it was absolutely bogus,” said the consultant. “Everyone took it at face value without even checking the sources. The media's response to our report on abortion crimes was zero. And the legislative people? They don't read. We gave it to [Senator] Ray Haynes [Republican, Riverside], but what's he going to do — pass it out? Everybody is pro-abortion. They understand the game. They're not going to bother to read it. Our pro-life people are not really that pro-life. They've given up. They don't have a vote anyway, so what can they do?”
The California Right to Life consultant said that every major daily in California received a copy of the Abortion Crime Report. Not only was every major daily sent one copy, but they also received a copy directed to their medical writer and another copy was sent to every one of their bureau chiefs in Sacramento.
In a phone call to The Los Angeles Times, a city desk staffer (who would not identify herself) repeatedly interrupted questions concerning the publicity given DeGiere's report while ignoring The Abortion Crime Report. She impatiently insisted on transferring the call to “the editor” and then connected the call to the reader's representative's recorded message line.
Diana Peyton, assistant to the city editor at the Los Angeles Daily News, was more patient, but dismissed the question why The Abortion Crime Report was ignored. “I think what you're saying is that it was misrepresented or that the issue wasn't given as much attention as you feel it needed. The best thing you can do is write a letter to the editor.”
A copy of The Abortion Crime Report can be obtained by writing California Right to Life Inc., 1610 Oak Park Boulevard, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523.
(This article courtesy of Steven Ertelt and the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email [email protected].)
