Monday November 8, 2010
It’s Not Over: Convicted Felon Abortionists Keep Embattled NJ Abortion Empire Running
By Kathleen Gilbert
VOORHEES, New Jersey, November 8, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Even after authorities unveiled a New Jersey abortionist’s illegal interstate abortion scheme, several of his locations continue to operate with the help of abortionists sporting considerable criminal and malpractice records, including one who is a convicted sex offender, according to a new report by Operation Rescue.
Several locations of the American Women’s Services (AWS) abortion chain, owned by abortionist Stephen Chase Brigham, are still committing abortions after Brigham was stripped of his last state medical license last month. Brigham came under scrutiny in September when one of his patients suffered an abortion in Elkton, MD that was so badly botched she had to be flown to the Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore. It was then revealed that the patient, like countless others, had been ferried from New Jersey to Maryland mid-abortion in order to evade restrictions on Brigham’s practice of late-term abortions.
New Jersey’s Board of Medical Examiners concluded that Brigham’s scheme amounted to “manipulative and deceptive behavior” designed to “eviscerate the protections that [state] regulations seek to afford to New Jersey patients.”
Now Operation Rescue (OR) is calling on health authorities to investigate all operating AWS branches, where they say Brigham’s shady legacy continues to endanger women.
OR President Troy Newman pointed out that the current setup lures women into obtaining abortions in remote locations even though several branches have closed.
“Even though these clinics remain closed, phone numbers in those locations still ring in to a central office. Women are led to believe that abortion services are available locally, when they are not. Patients are then shuttled to other clinics controlled by Brigham,” said Operation Rescue president Troy Newman. “It is a way to draw in abortion customers from areas they no longer service.”
Newman’s group is also spotlighting the suspicious backgrounds of the abortionists who work at AWS offices. A glance at AWS abortionists’ records show several state licenses revoked, drug violations, and criminal charges such as Medicaid fraud, billing fraud, and obstruction of justice, as reported by Operation Rescue.
One such abortionist, Vikram Hiralal Kaji, was convicted by New Jersey’s medical board in 1993 for sexually touching three patients. He also reportedly had sex with a young patient, a victim of child sex abuse with a history of psychiatric hospitalization. His medical license was revoked in New York on sexual charges. Kaji continues to perform abortions in two New Jersey clinics.
Operation Rescue notes that the clinics continue to operate thanks to the secrecy shrouding the abortionists’ records, in addition to the legal difficulties of shutting down an interstate chain.
“We have a message for the authorities in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia: For the love of God, please close these abortion clinics!” said Newman. “As relieved as we were by the suspensions and clinic closures, the authorities really need to do more and close AWS down permanently.”
Click here to read Operation Rescue’s report.