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LA Times Reveals Horrific New Details about Raided Abortion Clinics

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

LOS ANGELES, February 8, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An article published today in the LA Times gives new details about five abortion mills in southern California, owned by Bertha Bugarin, that were raided last summer by a special unit of the Los Angeles Police Department, the Health Authority Law Enforcement Task Force (HALT).

At the time of the raids Bertha Bugarin and her sister were arrested and then released on bail. They have now been charged with practicing medicine without a license on five patients in February and March 2007. The LAPD charges Bertha Bugarin "with five felony counts of practicing medicine without certification and two misdemeanor counts of dispensing medication without a license," while Raquel "is charged in the same complaint with five felony counts of aiding or abetting the practice of medicine without certification."

When arrested last summer, both women were ordered to stay away from the LA county abortion mills in the Clinica Medica Para La Mujer De Hoy abortion chain; however, Bertha Bugarin was later photographed at the abortion chain's Chula Vista office in San Diego County, wearing a stethoscope around her neck.

Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who helped expose the dangerous abortion practices at the clinics, said, "Bugarin has had a heck of a time keeping abortionists over the years and has always hired the very bottom of the barrel. It looks like when she couldn't get one of her quack abortionists in the office, she did the job herself. Bertha is a predator who has a mercenary attitude about abortions. Laws mean nothing to her, as is the case with so many abortionists. She has been quoted as preferring to target Hispanic communities with her mills, presumably since women there may not be in the country legally and will be less likely to report problems. The sooner Bertha and all of her cohorts are behind bars, the better."

According to the Times report a woman, identified only as Angela P., had gone to the Clinica Medica Para la Mujer de Hoy in Santa Ana in the summer of 2004 for an abortion. Dr. Phillip Rand, then in his early 80s, performed a vaginal suction procedure, despite having determined that Angela was about 20 weeks pregnant, well into her second trimester. She was given no anesthesia or painkillers.

According to the National Abortion Federation, vacuum aspiration procedures are normally performed on women who are up to 14 weeks pregnant. After 14 weeks, a more complicated procedure, known as dilation and evacuation, is standard.

"A suction abortion is not appropriate at 20 weeks," said Vicki Saporta, president of the federation.

By the time paramedics arrived, the patient was lying in a pool of her own blood, her pulse racing and her blood pressure dangerously low.

Rand was among a number of abortionists employed by Bugarin with histories of malpractice complaints, criminal convictions, drug or alcohol addictions or medical board actions.

Rand's negligence was called "barbaric" and a "severe departure" from a reasonable standard of care by the medical board, which revoked his license in 2005. He had previously been involved in 40 malpractice suits, numerous botched abortions, and several license suspensions for gross negligence.

The Times report names other doctors who performed abortions at the clinics:

- Nicholas Braemer, who lost his medical license after numerous botched abortions, one of which resulted in a woman's death.

- Laurence Reich, who lost his license after a second conviction of sexually molesting his abortion patients. Sherman Oaks resident Yvette Chambers said that Reich groped her breasts and asked explicit questions during an abortion. Accusations which led the medical board to put Reich on probation for 10 years included Riech asking women to masturbate and rubbing their genital areas while examining them.

- Mohammed Dia surrendered his license after charges of malpractice and billing fraud. He admitted to the medical board that he used a van to bring a bleeding patient to a hospital after perforating her uterus and leaving part of the fetus in her body.

- Glenn Edward Miller, an admitted alcoholic whose license was revoked by the medical board in 2005 due to repeated substance abuse relapses. Miller was on probation for performing obstetrical procedures while under the influence of alcohol.

- George Dalton Flanigan, who was put on probation for five years for delivering a dead baby using a vacuum procedure, after refusing to perform a cesarean section.

Miller and Rand had settled a malpractice lawsuit filed by a woman who said they gave her an abortion at a non-Bugarin clinic in 2002, even though she was not pregnant, rupturing her uterus in the process.

The Bugarin sisters are scheduled to appear in court on March 3, 2008. Each could face up to six years in state prison if convicted.

Related LifeSiteNews.com articles:

Even Pro-Abortion Senator Wants this Abortion Doc's Licence Suspended
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/dec/05122005.html

Prominent Abortionist Pleads Guilty to Child Porn - Many Abortionists Involved in Sexual Abuse
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/nov/07113003.html

California Abortion Doc Convicted of Sexual Abuse Continues to Practice
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/nov/05110111.html

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