Kansas City
Murder
Abortionist Lynn D. Weller of Kansas City was shot to death in his home in September 1973 by two masked gunmen who were hired by rival abortionist William Carlos. Carlos was angry that Weller was having an affair with his ex-wife.
References: Paul Likoudis. "Investigators Cast a Wide Net To Find Abortionist's Murderer." The Wanderer, December 10, 1998, pages 1 and 10.
Fatal Botched Abortion and Malpractice (11 incidents)
Abortionist Dennis W. Miller killed 18-year-old Erna Fisher, the mother of an 11-month old girl, during an abortion in his office on March 30, 1988. Fisher's mother, who was holding her hand, said Erna jerked upright and went rigid during the abortion. A medical assistant ran for smelling salts, and Miller continued with abortion while Erna choked to death on her own vomit. Miller admitted prescribing a painkiller that could cause vomiting and failing to ascertain when Erna had last eaten. An ambulance paramedic reported that he found Miller holding Erna in his arms rather than performing CPR, checking her airway, or providing oxygen. A judge ordered a $475,000 settlement for Erna's survivors.
During the time period 1980 to 1990, Miller settled no fewer than eleven malpractice lawsuits for more than four million dollars. Miller failed the Kansas medical licensing exams eight times, the Missouri medical licensing exam three times, and the OB/GYN board certification exam twice.
References: Kansas City Star, June 3, 1990; and Associated Press, May 10, 1988 and March 5, 1995.
Burglary [Kansas City, Kansas]
Volunteers at the Pregnancy Resource Center in Kansas City, Kansas, were excited at the prospect of opening up their center and helping women in just a few days.
But pro-abortionists, who want only one choice to be available to women, delayed the opening with their vandalism and theft.
The pro-aborts broke into the CPC and stole a phone system, televisions, and a VCR that would have been used to show educational videos to women facing unintended pregnancies.
Deborah Schilling, the center's director, said "It's disappointing, but we've just got to move on and get past it."
Schilling said she's been helping to man a smaller center in Kansas City for the past two years, but that the need for pregnancy counseling is so great in the area that she felt the need to expand. For months, Schilling and volunteers worked to open a new, larger center.
Schilling noted that the crisis pregnancy center is located near an abortion mill, making it a convenient location for women who would like to explore alternatives to abortion.
"We have three abortion clinics right here, but there's been nobody down here to give alternatives," Schilling said.
The break-in actually led to some favorable coverage of the Pregnancy Resource Center by the news media.
One television station, KCTV, ran a story on its Web site. The lead of the article read, "Bad guys dashed the plans of a group trying to do some good."
As a result of the publicity, Schilling received a donation of three computers. "Hopefully, we'll be up and running by next week," Schilling said.
References: "Thieves Steal from Pregnancy Center." KCTV Television 5 [Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas], July 24, 2003; Maria Gallagher. "Kansas City CPC Robbed of Technical Equipment." Steven Ertelt's LifeNews at http://www.lifenews.com, July 28, 2003; "Kansas City CPC Robbed, Tech Equipment Stolen." Steven Ertelt's LifeNews, July 29, 2003.
Death Threat and Malpractice
On Saturday, January 13, 2001, about 25 pro-lifers had just finished quietly praying in front of the Planned Parenthood abortion mill at 4401 West 109th Street in Overland Park, a suburb of Kansas City, when a man and a woman slowly drove by about 10 A.M. The man, who was driving, rolled down his window, made baby noises and swore at the demonstrators. Then he pulled out a pistol, pointed it at the group, and drove away.
Two men followed the car long enough to give police a description, which was used in the subsequent investigation.
In November 2000, a 27-year-old mother of four fell into a coma following a tubal ligation done at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Overland Park.
References: Richard Espinoza. "Man With Gun Threatened Abortion Opponents, Witnesses Say." The Kansas City Star, January 15, 2001; Tony Gosgnach. "Planned Parenthood Exposed." The Interim, February 2003.
Lamar
Second-Degree Murder, First-Degree Assault and Second-Degree Assault
Leah Hawkins testified that her husband Jason beat her with a log from a woodpile while she was pregnant and after she refused to have an abortion. Her son was born three months premature as a result of the beating and died December 26, 1999, at a Kansas City hospital.
Jackson County Medical Examiner Thomas Young said the baby died from complications of placental abruptio and prematurity due to injuries to his mother. Barton County Sheriff Bill Griffitt said the defendant told him he lost his temper and beat, hit and kicked Leah Hawkins for about an hour on December 11.
Leah Hawkins said her husband beat her several times between September and December 11. On that date, she said, he hit her repeatedly with a heavy log as their 10-month-old daughter watched.
Jason Hawkins was bound over on charges of second-degree murder and was arraigned April 17, 2000 in the trial division of Barton County Circuit Court.
In addition to the second-degree murder count, Associate Judge Charles Curless ordered Jason Hawkins bound over for trial on one count each of first-degree assault, for the period between September and December 11, and second-degree assault specifically related to the December 11 incident.
Leah Hawkins said the couple had a history of violence. "He would usually end up hitting me with a closed fist," she said. She testified that he had kicked her in the back, stomach and sometimes in the head. "I'd try to protect myself just by curling up in a ball," she said. She also said he had hit her several times with an arrow and a fishing pole.
Leah Hawkins described a prison-like existence while the couple lived at her mother-in-law's home in Barton County. She said her husband isolated her from family and friends. She said she could not get away from Hawkins, and that he would not let her stay in the house alone.
References: "Man Charged For Beating Wife Who Refused Abortion." Joplin Globe [Missouri], April 12, 2000; Steven Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet at http://www.prolifeinfo.org/infonet.html, April 13, 2000.
Springfield
First-Degree Murder (5 counts)
On January 19, 1999, Harold R. Lingle, Richard Delong and Stacie Y. Leffingwell committed the worst mass murder in Springfield history. They drove to the home of 36-year-old Erin Vanderhoef, who was just days away from giving birth. Lingle drove Erin to a nearby grocery store to buy donuts with food stamps. While they were gone, Lingle's friends strangled Erin's children, eight-year old Darlene, ten-year old Chris, and eleven-year-old Jimmy. Delong found that it was not easy to strangle Jimmy with his bare hands , so he shoved clothes down the boy's throat to silence him, then strangled with an electrical cord. Then Delong murdered the other two children in the same fashion.
When Lingle brought Erin back to her home, the three strangled her with an electrical cord as well, and her full-term preborn baby died as a result. DeLong kicked Erin in the head so hard that he limped for several days.
Lingle was arraigned on five counts of first-degree murder by Greene County Circuit Judge Max Bacon. Delong was also indicted by a Greene County grand jury on five counts of first-degree murder. Leffingwell was also ordered to stand trial.
Lingle, who had agreed to participate in the killings for $250 worth of methamphetamine, was convicted on all five counts, and was ordered to serve five life sentences. Richard Delong was found guilty of all counts and sentenced to life in prison in July 2001.
Leffingwell was Delong's live-in girlfriend. She had contracted full-blown AIDS before telling Delong she was infected, and he became HIV positive as well. Leffingwell died of AIDS before she could stand trial.
Renee Allen, a friend of the defendants and the victims, said Leffingwell was upset because DeLong also was dating Vanderhoef. She said "Stacie hated Erin because Erin was the 'other woman'." Allen said Leffingwell also resented the fact that DeLong had less money for their methamphetamine habit because he was paying Vanderhoef child support. She said Leffingwell told her that she and DeLong were going to a hospital appointment in Columbia on the day of the mass murder. When Leffingwell and DeLong returned, Leffingwell was hysterical, Allen testified, and told her that she and DeLong had killed Vanderhoef and her children. Allen said "She said (Erin Vanderhoef) got what she deserved but that the children did not deserve to die."
References: "Second Suspect Charged, Third Arrested in Springfield Killings." Hannibal [Missouri] Courier-Post, January 28, 1999; Oscar Avila. "Two Defendants Ordered to Stand Trial in Springfield Killings." The Kansas City Star, February 17, 1999; Jaclyn O'Malley. "Slayings Deserve Ultimate Punishment." The Garden City Telegram, July 10, 2001; Jefferson City [Missouri] News Tribune, March 18, 2004.
Felony Drug Possession and Threats
Police found 30 pounds of marijuana in a storage bin leased by the Women's Community Health Center abortion mill. The former administrator of the abortuary, Kathie Murray, and her mother, Blanche Murray, were charged with felony marijuana possession. Kathie's brother, Ronnie Murray, was charged with threatening to hurt a clinic employee if she informed law enforcement officials of the facts surrounding the case.
Reference: November 7, 1996. "Drug Ring." Life Activist News [Life Dynamics, Inc.], Fall 1997, page 13.
St. Louis
Murder (2 counts) and Attempted Murder
29-year-old pro-abortionist Mark Boyd hired Malik J. Nettles, 21, of Hillsdale, to do a little job for him. His 15-year-old girlfriend, Kyunia Taylor, was pregnant with his child, and he did not want the child because he had two other children and did not want a third. So Nettles killed Kyunia as she rode home on a school bus on February 29, 1996. He boarded the bus and began firing, killing Kyunia and her preborn baby, named Diamond, who was delivered by Caesarean section three months premature. The baby lived for 23 days but died. He also shot the bus driver, Richard Lanman, three times, but he survived.
Boyd was arrested after being indicted on murder charges in both deaths.
Reference: "Man, 29, Hired Killer to Shoot Girl, 15, Pregnant with His Child, Police Say." The Detroit News, June 2, 1996.
Involuntary Manslaughter
On January 3, 2004, Lawrence Green savagely beat his pregnant girlfriend, 21-year-old Rashawn Peterson. He kicked her twice in the abdomen and then beat her with a broomstick and his fists at their home, causing her to go into premature labor at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Medical examiner Dr. Michael Graham testified that the beating resulted in bleeding behind the placenta, resulting in the baby's premature birth. He ruled the death a homicide. The 17-ounce baby was not sufficiently developed to live long outside the womb, and survived for only eight minutes. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce said that "A fetus living for eight minutes is a baby. That's pretty clear-cut."
Rashawn named her dead baby Rosie.
Missouri has an unborn victims law that allows prosecutors to charge criminals who attack pregnant women and kill their preborn children. The applies throughout pregnancy and the killing of a baby before birth is involuntary manslaughter or first degree murder. Green was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Reference: Maria Gallagher. "Missouri Man Faces Charges of Killing His Unborn Daughter." Steven Ertelt's Pro-Life News Report at http://www.lifenews.com, February 11, 2004.
Attempted Murder (2 counts)
In 1997, George Villarreal III was convicted of causing the death of his preborn twin daughters after assaulting his then girlfriend and, after plea bargaining, was sentenced to five years in prison. After serving two years of the sentence he was released, and has now been charged with a second attempt to murder the same woman, now his wife, who is currently five or six months pregnant according to news reports.
References: "Man Is Accused of Second Attack on Pregnant Wife." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 14, 1999; and American Life League's Communiqu‚, January 21, 2000.
Fatal Botched Abortion and Gross Malpractice
On February 20, 1988, Stacy Ruckman went to Scott Barrett for an abortion. She didn't know how he anesthetized his patients. According to Barrett's staff, Barrett would not have general anesthesia administered to his abortion patients for late-term abortions. Instead, he would inject them with excessive amounts of the local anesthetic Lidocaine. The overdose would cause the woman to lose consciousness. Sometimes, staff reported, a woman would stop breathing, and Barrett would simply resuscitate her. But when Stacy stopped breathing, Barrett and his staff were unable to revive her. An autopsy found lethal concentrations of Lidocaine in Stacy's blood. Her parents sued, and a jury awarded them $25.3 million for the wrongful death of their daughter.
During its investigation, the medical board noted that "Barrett would rapidly push the lidocaine into each side of the patient's cervical region, waiting no more than one to two seconds between injecting each side. ... approximately two patients per day would experience seizure activity where they would become nonresponsive, their respirations would cease and their body would shake. ... the patient would be disoriented, unresponsive and almost asleep. ... Barrett, during a conversation with another employee ... commented that when his patients have a toxic reaction to the lidocaine it made the procedure go more quickly because the patient was more relaxed. ... Barrett purposefully and deliberately injected these patients with more than the acceptable dosage ... to create a general anesthetic effect so he could more quickly and easily perform the abortion procedure."
Other medical board documents indicate the following: Barrett's abortion mill, housed in the basement of a used-car sales building, had never been licensed as abortion facility or ambulatory surgical center, despite the fact that Barrett performed a reported 2,103 abortions there; Barrett lacked privileges at any area hospital; his abortion mill was not equipped properly to treat adverse reactions to Lidocaine; pre-signed prescription forms for use by office staff were kept in a fishing tackle box; Barrett kept controlled substances in an office accessible to his staff; and his abortion mill failed to retain necessary records.
Despite these appalling practices, and all of the evidence that piled up against him, Barrett took the usual road for abortionists in trouble and blamed everyone but himself for his troubles. He told a local reporter that the investigation of his abortuary constituted "just another tactic by the governor and the attorney general to further eliminate [abortion providers]."
Barrett had also been arrested twice for drunk driving, in 1984 and in 1988.
References: Southeast Missourian, March 1990; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 5, 1990 and August 2, 1992; Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission #90-000255HA; Greene County (Missouri) Circuit Court Case #CV188-675CC2; Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, January 29, 1991; Columbia Daily Tribune, January 29, 1991; Springfield News-Leader, June 9, 1991 and March 18, 1992; St. Louis County Circuit Court Cause #502545; Greene County Circuit Court Case #CV188-67SCC2; Kansas City Star, August 7, 1992; "Scott Barrett Wrap-Up." Pro-Life Views with Christina Dunigan on About.com, July 23, 2001.
Vandalism, Attempted Bombing, and Death Threats (3 incidents) [LeClaire, Illinois]
Rev. Timothy Groves intended to make a strong pro-life statement by displaying a sign in his yard showing the bodiless head of a third-trimester aborted baby with the message "Does this offend you? It should! Stop the killing! Vote George Bush and pro-life candidates."
He put it up eleven days before the 2004 national elections and had promised to take it down the day after the elections. But, even though he had received permission to erect the sign, city officials thought that the sign was so graphic, they wanted to protect children from it. So they barricaded the street in front of the New Life Community Church parsonage, where Groves lives with his wife, Bethany, and their four young children.
Immediately, pro-abortionist tried to destroy the sign, threw an explosive device onto Groves' yard, and threatened several of the members of his congregation.
Rev. Groves said "They violated my Constitutional right and the Constitutional right of many others. Many people wanted to see the sign, but they couldn't see it. .. There are double standards there. Protecting the rights of children is a smoke screen. If they only wanted the children not to see it, they could have put up warning signs," said Groves, who noted that the City did not place any restrictions on gruesome Halloween displays.
Reference: "Controversial Anti-Abortion Sign Raises LeClaire's Ire." Eldridge North Scott Press, November 8, 2004.
Assault (2 incidents) and Death Threat
During a January 16, 1988 rescue mission at the Regency Park abortion mill, a security guard physically assaulted two pro-lifers and threatened others with his gun.
Reference: "Rescuers Assaulted During Rescue," Direct Action News, March 1988, page 4.
Felony Assault and Threat [O'Fallon]
Michael Travis Bullock got his 19-year old girlfriend pregnant and didn't want the baby. So, when she was four months pregnant, he laced her Kool-Aid with ant killer in an effort to make her miscarry, and then boasted to several friends that he had poisoned her.
Police are not sure how many times the woman was given the pesticide, but they said the poisonings probably occurred from mid-September until November of 2001. Bullock is believed to have mixed Spectracide Ant Shield in with Kool-Aid that hid the poison's odor.
Capt. Jerry Schulte of the O'Fallon police said the woman was taken to St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint Louis for ultrasound and blood tests. "So far, everything has checked out OK," Schulte said, adding that the results of toxicology tests are pending.
On November 25, 2001, Bullock was taken into custody on warrants charging him with felony assault. Police said he has threatened to harm at least one potential witness.
On May 20, 2002, Bullock pled guilty to first-degree assault charges, and St. Charles County Circuit Court Judge Nancy Schneider handed down a five-year prison sentence.
References: Susan Weich. "Man Tried to Poison Girlfriend to Kill Fetus, Police Say." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 27, 2001; "Man Drugs Girlfriend's Drink In Forced Abortion Attempt." Steven Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet at http://www.prolifeinfo.org/infonet.html, November 29, 2001; "Missouri Man Gets 5 Years for Attempted Forced Abortion." St. Louis Post Dispatch, May 22, 2002; Steven Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet, May 23, 2002.
Assault and Destruction of Property [University City]
In August 1983, Ingrid Smith, director of the Ladies Center for Abortion, struck pro-lifer John Ryan and knocked his movie camera to the ground. The pro-abortionist was convicted of assault and of destruction of property.
Reference: Mary Meehan, "Abortionist Found Guilty of Assault." National Catholic Register, page 6.
Theft (2 incidents) and Vandalism (2 incidents)
Sometime during the night on October 16, 2001, pro-abortionists stole a display of 180 crosses, meant to memorialize aborted babies, stolen from the lawn of a Lutheran church in south St. Louis County. St. Louis County police said the crosses were taken from Christ Memorial Lutheran Church, 9712 Tesson Ferry Road in St. Louis.
The 2-foot-tall white plastic crosses represented the number of abortions performed each hour in the United States, said Diane Albers, president of Lutherans for Life Missouri, which owns the display. "I just couldn't believe it," Albers said. "It's kind of low to steal crosses from a church."
Albers noticed them missing when she drove by the church Monday night. Groundskeepers said the display was gone when they mowed the church lawn that morning. "I assume it is someone who doesn't agree with our stand on abortion," Albers said.
Two signs posted with the display were also taken. They read: "180 crosses = 180 abortions an hour in the United States" and "In Jesus there is healing and forgiveness."
This is the second set of crosses stolen from the organization since 1996. The other set, which was stolen in rural Missouri several years ago, was never recovered, Albers said.
References: "Pro-Life Display Stolen From St. Louis Church." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 17, 2001; Steven Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet at http://www.prolifeinfo.org/infonet.html, October 18, 2001.
Child Abandonment, Assault (17 incidents), Cruelty to Animals, Destruction of Property, and Filing a False Police Report [Granite City]
Pro-abortionists have been committing violence against pro-lifers for many years at the ironically-named Hope Clinic for Women abortion mill in Granite City. This high-volume $2 million abortion mill kills between 10,000 and 13,000 preborn babies every year, many of them by the brutal and inhuman partial-birth abortion procedure.
On May 31, 2002, one female sidewalk counselor was speaking to a young mother and her boyfriend, who were sitting in their car with the door open. The car was located on public property, not property belonging to the abortion mill. One of the clinic escorts became agitated and slammed the car door against the counselor and elbowed another female sidewalk counselor in the stomach. The young mother began to cry and say that she did not want to have the abortion, but her boyfriend commanded her to "get inside" the abortuary. The boyfriend and clinic escort pulled her out of the car and led her into the abortion mill, but she exited 10 minutes later, saying that she could not go through with the abortion. Police filed a report on the assaults.
On August 22, 2002, on a torridly-hot day, a man took his girlfriend into the abortion mill to have his child brutally murdered. Meanwhile, he left his dog, named Marcus, in the car, endangering its life. Someone called the Granite City police, who responded instantly and quickly and efficiently freed the dog. Pro-lifers were keenly aware of the irony of police mobilizing all of their resources to save the life of a dog while, just a few feet away, more than fifty human babies were dying brutal and unnecessary deaths. When the owner of the dog came out of the abortion mill, he cursed at the pro-lifers and called them names.
On September 3, 2002, a driver pulled onto the abortion clinic parking lot, and the female passenger immediately got out and lunged at one of the pro-lifers, trying to grab her throat. However, the pro-lifer put her microphone right in the attacker's face and said "You're live on air. If you grab me that's assault and battery." Naturally, the enraged attacker calmed down very quickly.
The week prior to Thanksgiving 2002, a praying pro-lifer was physically attacked by a pro-abortionist while an abortion mill guard stood by and did nothing to intervene. Then the guard filed a false police report stating that he came to the aid of the pro-lifer. Fortunately, the entire incident was caught on tape.
On October 5, 2002, two young parents left their baby inside their car for hours while they went into the abortion mill. They left the car engine running and the doors locked. Eventually, the car shifted into reverse and ran through the abortion mill's fence. Pro-lifers found a crying baby in the back seat. Meanwhile, abortion clinic guards and escorts and a Granite City police officer all stood around the car, laughing and joking, while the crying infant was still trapped inside the crashed car. Police refused to press any charges against these parents, who obviously killed one of their children while leaving the other in a situation of extreme danger.
On November 20, 2002, a young man tried to browbeat his girlfriend into having an abortion. The couple went into the abortion mill, then came back out, and the girl announced to the pro-lifers present on the sidewalk that she did not want to go through with the abortion. One of the pro-lifers told the young couple that "Jesus loves the little babies," and the man turned and charged towards him, knocking him hard onto the pavement. The attacker then began chasing the women pro-lifers, trying to tear up their signs. The signs were well-made and would not tear, so the cowardly pro-abortionist began to chase and threaten the most helpless person he could find, an ill 78-year-old pro-life woman. Meanwhile, an abortion clinic guard watched the entire scene unfold and did absolutely nothing to intervene, even when the boyfriend was chasing the elderly woman. All this was caught on video. The Granite City police filled out a report, and said they would have their detective investigate the claims. The witnesses got the man's car plate and description. The pro-lifer who was knocked to the pavement was treated at a nearby hospital for his injuries.
On February 8, 2003, two abortion mill escorts viciously attacked four pro-lifers, including a five-year-old girl. None of the pro-lifers were blocking access to the clinic or were on its property; the escorts simply did not like what they were saying. Both were arrested.
On July 26, 2003, a huge pro-abortionist weighing at least 500 pounds tackled pro-life prayer warrior Angela Michaels and tried to choke her by attempting to stuff a Bible down her throat. A short time later, abortion mill guard Nathaniel Lang threatened to physically attack another pro-lifer for placing a Christian tract on his car, which was deliberately parked in front of the abortuary to block the Small Victories ultrasound van from being accessible to abortion-minded mothers entering the abortuary. It appeared that Lang was going to try to beat up the pro-lifer, so another pro-lifer snapped his picture. Lang then attacked the second pro-lifer, grabbed the camera out of his hand, then threw it as hard as he could at his leg. The camera was completely destroyed. Several Granite City police arrived on the scene and appeared as if they would do nothing about this attack. Only after the crowd of about forty Christians threatened a citizen's arrest of Lang was he arrested by the Granite City police. They let him drive himself to the police station to be booked. Two hospital guards outside the Gateway Regional Hospital, across the street from the Hope[less] abortuary, came across the street to tell the pro-lifers they saw what happened and they had it on video. When the pro-lifers arrived at the police station within minutes, the police had already released Nathaniel Lang and had only charged him with damage to property. After the video taken by the Gateway Regional Hospital was submitted to the police department, they promptly lost the evidence. This is typical, as pro-lifers know; police all over the country seem to simply "lose" evidence against pro-abortionists at an alarming rate.
Also on July 26, 2003, a sidewalk counselor was assaulted by a huge female passerby who was estimated to weigh in the vicinity of 500 pounds. She sneaked up behind him, smashed him to the ground, and tried to ram a Gideon Bible down his throat.
On May 24, 2003, abortuary staff refused to allow one patient to see the ultrasound pictures of her baby. Disgusted, she got up off the table. She got dressed and went outside to speak to sidewalk counselors Donna and Angela. The escorts tried to block the conversation with their bodies, and one hard-core pro-abortionist deliberately slammed into Angela and then shouted at her (Angela) not to hit her, a tactic right out of the BACAOR manual. This manual, by the Bay Area Coalition Against Operation Rescue, shows pro-aborts how to physically assault pro-lifers, all the time screaming "Don't you dare touch me!"
On February 10, 2003, one escort, recruited from Washington University, was handcuffed and arrested outside the Hope abortion mill for hitting and shoving sidewalk counselors. One the same day, Natalie Pettus, the president of the Missouri chapter of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), was handcuffed and arrested for pushing a little 5-year-old girl down, and for shoulder-blocking the mother of the little girl.
References: Operation Save America (OSA) quarterly reports entitled Small Victories: Reporting from the Streets of Granite City, second quarter 2002 (April - June 2002); third quarter 2002 (July - September 2002); fourth quarter 2002 (October - December 2002); first quarter 2003 (January - March 2003), second quarter 2003 (April - June 2003), and third quarter 2003 (July - September 2003). Downloaded from the Web site of Operation Save America at Directory http://www.operationsaveamerica.org/streets/il/. Also downloaded from this Web site: Angela Michaels. "Two Saints Assaulted in Granite City, IL."
Gross Negligence [Granite City]
On March 26, 1998, abortionist Yogendra Shah performed an abortion on Melanie Mills of St. Charles County at the Hope Clinic for Women abortion mill in Granite City. He failed to confirm that she was pregnant. Shah said he relied on Mills' statements that she had tested positive on a home pregnancy test and again at her physician's office. He also claims he confirmed her pregnancy with an ultrasound. Mills said she later discovered from pathology reports that she was not pregnant but had a 'blighted ovum,' a fertilized egg that attaches to the uterine wall but doesn't develop.
The Illinois Department of Professional Regulation filed a complaint against the abortionist on March 25, 2003, seeking a reprimand or suspension or revocation of his medical license. The complaint alleged gross negligence on Shah's part.
Mills is also pursuing a civil case against Shah pending in Madison County Circuit Court. After the abortion, she said, she suffered flashbacks, nightmares and severe depression. She also claimed that an abortion shouldn't have been an option for her, because she informed the clinic she had a history of endometriosis, a leading cause of infertility in which tissue from the womb lining grows elsewhere in the body.
Shah was the object of an ongoing protest by Catholic pro-lifers in Granite City Illinois where he operated an abortuary across the street from a Catholic Hospital, Saint Elizabeth's Medical Center, in which he was employed as head of the OB-GYN Department. Shah had owned and operated the abortuary some 20 years while simultaneously working for the St. Elizabeth Medical Center. After the issue of Shah's double practice reached the media, the Catholic hospital was forced to remove him.
As always, pro-abortionists forgot all about the woman in trouble and instead supported the abortion 'right' and the abortionist. While Shah was being tried, pro-aborts working at his clinic wore yellow and green T-shirts that proclaimed "WE LOVE DR. SHAH" and "DR. SHAH IS OUR HERO."
The Hope abortion mill, located on the Illinois side of the Illinois-Missouri border, and just minutes from St. Louis, has been criticized often for luring teens for abortions without their parent's notification. Illinois has no law requiring parents to be notified when an abortion is done on a teenage girl, while Missouri's law mandates parental involvement.
References: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 1, 2003; Brian Brueggemann. "Woman Had Abortion — But Says She Wasn't Pregnant." Belleville News-Democrat, May 2, 2003; "Abortionist Under Fire for Abortion on Woman Not Pregnant." Steve Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet at http://www.prolifeinfo.org, May 4, 2003; Operation Save America's 2nd Quarter 2003 (April-June) picketing report, week of May 5-10, 2003; "Doctor Formerly Associated with Catholic Hospital in Trouble Over Fake Abortion." LifeSite Daily News at http://www.lifesite.net, May 6, 2003; "Doctor Allegedly Performed Unnecessary Abortion." WQAD-TV Channel 8 [Granite City, Illinois], May 7, 2003; Trisha L. Howard. "Doctor Appeals Board's Abortion Censure." St. Louis Post Dispatch, June 2, 2003; "Abortion Practitioner Appeals State Board's Censure." Steve Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet, June 4, 2003.
Battery [Granite City]
On November 25, 2000, police arrested abortion clinic guard Selma Owens Jr., 65, after he assaulted Daniel Michael at the Hope Clinic for Women abortion mill. Authorities said the incident was recorded on a surveillance video camera across the street.
Michael, his wife, Angela, and their 11 children lead an area pro-life organization. They have been offering abortion alternatives to women going to the abortion mill for almost seven years. "I've never witnessed anything that violent," Angela Michael said.
The abortion mill executive director claimed that Michael was leveling racial insults at Owens, an African-American, and that his assault was justified. There was no proof of this charge, and nobody else had heard any such insults. The abortion mill director could not explain why she had not mentioned these slurs before, if they had been going on for months as she claimed.
The incident began after several abortuary employees walked a woman to her car about. Daniel Michael's 10-year-old daughter walked up to the woman to give her some literature about adoption. The abortion mill workers physically pushed the girl away, said Granite City Police Chief Dave Ruebhausen.
Daniel Michael aproached the employees and Owens to talk about his daughter. When Michael turned to walk away, Owens hit him over the head several times, all parties in the incident agree. Owens declined to comment on the incident. He will remain a guard at the abortion mill, its manager said. Owens was released from custody Saturday after mill workers posted the bond for him on the misdemeanor battery charge.
References: "Abortion Facility Guard Charged With Assault of Pro-Life Advocate." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 22, 2000; Steve Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet at http://www.prolifeinfo.org/infonet.html, November 25, 2000; Heather Ratcliffe. "Abortion Clinic Guard Faces Charges After Striking Man." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 29, 2000.
Fraud, Practicing Medicine Without a License, Negligence, Gross Neglect and Misconduct
Abortionist Bolivar M. Escobedo has had at least a dozen major malpractice suits filed against him.
Substantiated allegations included negligently performing abortions, misuse and mishandling of controlled drugs, ingesting controlled substances from his supplies without prescription, operating abortion clinic without a license, performing surgery without adequate equipment or blood supply to handle potential complications such as seizures, bleeding, anaphylactic shock, respiratory arrest and cardiac arrest, fraud, and signing insurance forms when he did not perform procedures.
Escobedo was investigated by the State regarding allegations of "negligence, gross neglect, misconduct and violation of state laws that require abortion clinics to be licensed and physicians who perform abortions to secure hospital privileges in case complications occur." State inspections found pre-signed prescription forms, four containing patient names, evidently intended to allow staff to write prescriptions including prescriptions for controlled substances in Escobedo's absence.
References: Springfield News Leader, October 14, 1992; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 22, 1986 and March 5, 1992; Southeast Missourian, March 1990; Springfield Post-Dispatch, March 5, 1990; Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission Case #90-00256HA; St. Louis County Circuit Court Cases Numbers 477348, 479694, 490433, 500339, 542086, 581390, 593718 and 599876; and St. Louis City Circuit Court Case #77-104).
Vandalism [Brentwood]
On September 7, 1997, pro-abortionists vandalized the regional headquarters for Missouri Right to Life. They smashed windows with bricks, glued the door locks and sprayed "Abortion on Demand" on the building. This was probably an attempt to bully MRTL into not participating in its attempts to persuade the Missouri legislature to override Governor Mel Carnahan's veto of a bill banning gruesome and inhumane partial-birth abortions.
Reference: Kristina Sauerwain. "Vandals Hit Right to Life Office Here: Police to Step Up Patrols; Attack May Be Tied to Vote." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 9, 1997.
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