News video from Albuquerque’s Channel 13 reveals that threatening man had a trunk full of firearms

Albuquerque, NM – Additional information has come out concerning the incident on August 25, 2010, where a man threatened to shoot two pro-life women outside Curtis Boyd’s late-term abortion mill in Albuquerque, New Mexico. That information raises questions of coerced and/or forced abortions there.

The man, identified in police reports as Hal Cox of Arizona, brought his 16-year old daughter to Boyd’s Southwestern Women’s Options for an abortion and became upset when his wife and daughter voluntarily approached two sidewalk counselors that spoke with them about abortion alternatives. He flashed what appeared to be a gun and threatened to shoot them if they said anything else to his daughter.

Police were called to the scene where they discovered that Cox was in immediate possession of a magazine filled with bullets. They also discovered a number of firearms in the trunk of his vehicle. Police confiscated the weapons.

“This raises an important question of whether or not this young lady held any fear for her armed father, and whether she was seeking an abortion of her own free will,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “We know that there is a silent epidemic of coerced abortions and even forced abortions going on in this country.”

“Pregnancy is a vulnerable time for women,” said Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor for Operation Rescue. “After over two decades of working with abortion-bound women, it has been my experience that a high percentage of them feel like they have no other choice than to abort because of pressure from family and even because of fear of domestic violence.”

Two cases in point are the dramatic stories of Michelle Armesto-Berg from Kansas and Caitlin Bruce from Michigan.

Armesto-Berg was coerced into an abortion she did not want out of fear that her family would disown her. Her abortion was started before the clinic staff obtained written consent. She gave stunning testimony of her ordeal before a Kansas Legislative Committee in 2007.

Bruce filed a lawsuit against abortionist Alberto Hodari for a forced abortion she endured in 2008. She says she withdrew her consent for an abortion after viewing an ultrasound image of her pre-born baby. According to Bruce, Hodari ordered a male clinic worker to hold her down while Hodari forced the abortion on her. Her mouth was covered to muffle her screams.

These stories are just the tip of a very large iceberg. More needs to be done to insure that vulnerable women do not have to endure abortions they do not want.

Boyd’s clinic is of particular concern because women come to it from all over the country for late-term abortions that are not legal or available in their home states. Studies show that domestic violence against women actually increases in their last four months of pregnancy, a time during which Boyd particularly solicits women for abortions.

“We hope that the police thoroughly investigate the Cox case to determine if the young woman was coerced or aborted out of fear for her safety. But unfortunately, in New Mexico abortion laws are so permissive that there is likely no statute that could punish a person for forcing or coercing an abortion on an unwilling woman,” said Sullenger. “This lax attitude toward abortion coercion and accompanying domestic violence places women and their wanted babies in grave risk. It is really outrageous that more hasn’t already been done to protect women at this vulnerable time of their lives.”

As for Cox, his case has been referred to the district attorney, who will evaluate it to see if charges should be filed.

“If they let this man walk away without charges this will send the wrong message to bullies who want to threaten peaceful pro-lifers and coerce young girls into unwanted abortions, as we suspect may have been the case in this instance,” said Newman. “They need to make an example out of Mr. Cox in order to stem the violence inside and outside the abortion clinic.”

See original story with photos

[Note: The news video incorrectly identifies Bud Shaver as a member of Operation Rescue. Mr. Shaver is a former intern with Operation Rescue, but currently works with Project Defending Life in Albuquerque, NM.]

Operation Rescue plans to file a complaint demanding criminal charges against scofflaw abortionist Stephen C. Brigham

Elkton, Maryland – Troubled abortionist Steven Chase Brigham has been issued a cease and desist order by the Maryland State Board of Physicians ordering him to stop the illegal practice of medicine, including abortions, at five locations throughout Maryland because he does not and never has been licensed in that state.

The order, dated August 25, 2010, indicates that Brigham has been practicing illegally in Maryland since January, 2010.

It referred to an incident that occurred on August 13, 2010, where Brigham had begun a surgical procedure presumed to be an abortion, since that is the sole focus of his business. However, something went wrong and Brigham instructed the woman to travel to his abortion clinic in Elkton to complete the procedure “on an urgent basis.”

“The health of Maryland patients is being endangered by the Respondent’s unlicensed practice of medicine in this State,” the order read.

The Maryland locations involved are located in Baltimore, Cheverly, Fredrick, College Park, and Elkton. Currently, all the clinics remain open and staffed by other abortionists.

Brigham operates a number of abortion mills in several states under the name American Women’s Services.

Brigham has been under investigation and discipline throughout his entire 20-year career. He voluntarily retired his medical license in Pennsylvania while under investigation just six years after graduating from medical school. Since then, Brigham had medical licenses revoked in New York and Florida, and received disciplinary action in California and New Jersey. He served 120 days in jail in 1998 for Medicaid fraud.

A judge once ordered him to stop advertising his abortions as “painless” and “safe.”

“The only thing that will stop Brigham from committing illegal abortions that endanger the lives of women is to toss him in jail for a long time,” said Operation Rescue Senior Policy Advisor Cheryl Sullenger. “Traditional means of discipline simply don’t work with this guy. He has found that he can get away with just about anything without much more than a slap on the wrist. The only way to protect women from Brigham’s predatory and unsafe abortion business is to criminally charge him and order all his mills closed. We plan to file a complaint with the authorities and demand criminal charges before the end of the week.”

Read the Order

Abortion clinic cleared “SWAT style” by police, stopping abortions for nearly two hours

Albuquerque, NM – A man was arrested Saturday, August 28, outside Southwestern Women’s Options, a late-term abortion clinic operated by Curtis Boyd in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after he threatened to shoot two pro-life women who were offering help to abortion-bound women.

The unidentified man and his wife were escorting their daughter into the abortion clinic when the wife and daughter walked over to the pro-life women to discuss alternatives to abortion. The man became angry and ushered his family members toward the clinic.

“When we come out, I’m going to put a bullet in your head if you talk to her,” the man told the pro-life women, whose identities are being withheld for their security.

Witnesses said that the man then lifted his shirt to show the women a dark object that was partially tucked into his trousers. The women recognized the object as a gun and called the police.

“The police responded appropriately and took him away in handcuffs,” said former Operation Rescue intern Bud Shaver, who arrived on the scene in time to witness the arrest and the clearing of the clinic by police.

“They cleared Boyd’s clinic to search for the gun SWAT style. Everyone, including staff, had to come out with their hands up.”

The area was cordoned off and the clinic was closed to patients for nearly two hours while police conducted their investigation.

It is currently unknown if a gun was recovered by police or what charges were brought against the man.

Death threats against pro-lifers have been viewed with greater concern in the wake of the shooting death of activist Jim Pouillon of Owosso, Michigan, who was gunned down last year as he held a pro-life sign outside a local high school. The killer admitted that he murdered Pouillon because he did not agree with his public abortion protests.

Shaver told Operation Rescue that he has been threatened a number of times since he has been in Albuquerque, but the police never responded in the way they did on Saturday.

“We are thankful that no one was injured and that the police took appropriate action,” said Newman. “Violence against pro-lifers has become something that we have to guard against every day. Those who reach out to women in front of abortion clinics should not be afraid to continue to do so, but should always have security and an awareness of their surroundings in mind.”

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