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EL PASO, TX, August 25, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An abortion doctor in El Paso has become the tenth abortionist in Texas to be summoned to a disciplinary hearing by the state’s medical board due to an undercover investigation by Operation Rescue, the pro-life organization announced in a press release yesterday.

Pro-lifers may remember Dr. Franz Theard’s clinic from earlier this year, when it made the news after the remains of aborted babies were found in a parking lot outside. The bodies were taken into police custody. That incident was also reported to the Medical Board by Operation Rescue. (See news coverage: Good Friday shock: Aborted baby parts found exposed in clinic parking lot)

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During Operation Rescue’s undercover investigation a caller who presented herself as a minor seeking an abortion was told by one of Dr. Franz Theard’s employees to cross state lines to get an abortion in order to avoid Texas’ parental notification laws.

The incident was just one one of many violations uncovered by Operation Rescue at Texas abortion facilities during a three-month investigation that concluded this past February. The organization found evidence of numerous violations of medical privacy laws, informed consent laws, and illegal dumping of medical waste at clinics across the state. 

As a result of complaints lodged with the Medical Board, Dr. Theard now joins William Watkins West, Jr., Robert E. Hanson, Jr., Pedro J. Kowalyszyn, Sherwood C. Lynn, Margaret Kini, Alan Molson, Robert L. Prince, Douglas Karpen, and H. Brook Randal as abortionists who must appear before the Board for an Informal Settlement Conference/Show of Compliance (ISC).

Hearings for all ten are scheduled for October 28th, at half hour intervals. Depending on the outcome, the abortionists may face disciplinary action.

Two abortion clinics have also been cited for the illegal dumping of aborted baby remains.

“Theard and the other abortionists have played fast and loose with the law for far too long. Their actions have endangered women, created public health hazards, and misled young women into having preventable abortions. We look forward to seeing them held accountable to the law,” said Troy Newman, who heads the pro-life watchdog organization.

The Texas Medical Board sent Newman a letter last week informing him that Theard would be included in the hearing, and inviting him to submit a written statement or appear in person.

Newman told LifeSiteNews that he intends to appear in person to testify. Another representative of Operation Rescue, who is the complainant in some of the cases, would also be present.

“My desire is they lose their medical license,” he said. “They have no respect for the law. They break it every chance they get.”