National Pro-Life Leaders Stand in Unified Defiance of Abortion Funding in Obamacare; Every Citizen Invited to Sign On

September 27, 2013 By 4 Comments

Note updated list of signers.

Washington, DC — For several months now, prominent pro-life leaders have been meeting to discuss what action must be taken when, on October 1, 2013, the Exchanges open and a large majority of health insurance policies are found to contain direct or indirect funding for abortion.

Through long meetings and meticulous discussion, a coalition of pro-life leaders has developed a unified response to the Affordable Care Act’s relentless endeavors to guarantee funding for abortion through everything from individual citizens to private businesses and non-profit organizations – with absolutely no regard to any religious liberty or conscientious objections.

One pro-life leader notes, “This healthcare reform strikes at the very heart of the pro-life movement. Our religious liberty, our constitutional freedoms – those are things that allow us to be a voice for the preborn. The ACA intentionally strips that away from us, then goes even a step further, saying, ‘Either you play ball and fund abortion, or we hit you with heavy fines until you wish you did pay.’ We, as leaders, are not going to stand down and let that happen in silence. We will not, and cannot, participate in any program that tramples our freedoms and directly earmarks money for abortion – and that is exactly what the ACA is doing.”

Beginning immediately, pro-life citizens are invited to join national leaders like Troy Newman, Joe Scheidler, Fr. Frank Pavone, and many others in signing “A Pledge for the Preservation of Life and Liberty.”

This Pledge has been carefully crafted to stand as a ‘line in the sand’ regarding any scenario in which the ACA forces individuals to participate – whether directly or indirectly – in the destruction of human life. In short, pro-life leaders have chosen one answer: We will not comply.

In its final paragraph, the Pledge states very clearly:

“We declare that we will not comply with any regulation of the ACA wherein we are forced to pay for abortion or forced to willfully participate in the killing of innocent children.

“In practicality, this means we will not choose an insurance policy that contains abortion funding, whether directly or indirectly, even to the point of choosing no insurance, at all. Furthermore, we support any citizen who chooses to act in peaceful protest, including non-violent civil disobedience, as the government has no authority to force us, as free citizens, to violate our conscience or forfeit our religious freedoms.”

The following pro-life leaders have already signed the Pledge:

  • Joe Scheidler, Pro-Life Action League
  • Troy Newman, Operation Rescue
  • Cheryl Sullenger, Operation Rescue
  • Rev. Terry Gensemer
  • Fr. Frank Pavone
  • Monica Migliorino Miller, Ph. D.
  • Bryan Kemper
  • Rev. Patrick Mahoney
  • Georgette Forney
  • Sarah Howell
  • Dana Cody
  • Judie Brown, American Life League
  • Jim Sedlak, American Life League
  • Day Gardner, National Black Pro-Life Union
  • Denise Cocciolone
  • Walter B. Hoye, Issues4Life Foundation
  • Brian Gibson, Pro-Life Action Ministries
  • Brian Fisher
  • Bethany and Ryan Bomberger, The Radiance Foundation
  • Steven Ertelt
  • Jeff White, Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust
  • Kristina Garza, Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust
  • Rev. Joe Young, Heroic Media
  • Mark Harrington
  • Catherine Davis, The Restoration Project
  • Steve Koob, One More Soul
  • Jill Stanek
  • Jennifer Bowen, Iowa Right to Life
  • Jeanneane Maxon
  • Mary Maschmeier, Defenders of the Unborn
  • Terri Herring, Pro-Life America Network
  • Edmund B. Miller, Guadalupe Partners
  • Sam Casey, The Jubilee Campaign’s Law of Life Project
  • Bud and Tara Shaver
  • Scott Klusendorf, Life Training Institute
  • Abby Johnson
  • Brandi Swindell
  • Rebecca Kiessling, Save the One
  • Greg Cunningham, Center for Bioethical Reform
  • Jo Tolck, Human Life Alliance
  • Brian Fisher, Online for Life
  • Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com
  • Carol Everett, Heidi Group
  • Mary L Davenport, MD, FACOG, American Association of ProLife Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  • Andy Moore, AbortionWiki
  • Rev. Jim Harden, CompassCare Pregnancy Services
  • Richard Lane
  • Jim Nolan

    • For more information on signing the Pledge and a list of spokespersons, please visit http://www.prolifenation.org/pledge/.

    Filed Under: Featured, Press Releases, Pro-Life Tagged With: , ,

    Complaints Filed Against Wichita Abortion Clinic Owner Over Missing $37,000 in PAC Contributions

    July 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

    Trust Women PAC money, employees also used to operate a “for profit” abortion business

    UPDATE: FEC Issues Two New Deficiency Letters to Wichita Abortion Clinic Owner

    An Operation Rescue Special Report
    By Cheryl Sullenger and Deborah Myers

    Wichita, KS – Operation Rescue has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and the Kansas Bureau of Investigations (KBI) against Trust Women PAC demanding a full investigation of the political action committee that appears to be partially funding a “for-profit” abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas. The complaint lists eight classes of violations of the Federal Campaign Election Laws and Commission Regulations. It also documents possible criminal conduct.

    Operation Rescue staff poured over volumes of Trust Women PAC filings and discovered that from July 2011 to present, not one report has been acceptably filed. The FEC has issued 12 separate Requests for Additional Information (RFAI) letters to Trust Women PAC in regard to errors, inconsistencies, and failure to file.

    In fact, documentation shows that Trust Women’s bookkeeping is so shoddy that it has thus far resulted in FEC fines totaling $4,268, not counting steep fees imposed for collection attempts.

    Over $37,000 vanishes

    But perhaps most troubling is the discovery that at least $37,118 of PAC money has simply vanished without a trace. In addition, here is at least $72,000 more – a quarter of all contributions made to the Trust Women PAC since 2011 – for which there has been no proper accounting.

    Operation Rescue is demanding full investigations to determine if financial crimes, such as embezzlement and/or money laundering, have occurred.

    PAC money pays for abortion business expenses

    Trust Women PAC is operated by Julie Burkhart, who also is the Executive Director of South Wind Women’s Center (SWWC), a new abortion clinic located in the building that was once owned by late-term abortionist George Tiller. Burkhart employs two fly-in abortionists, Cheryl Chastine of Chicago, Illinois, and Valencia Stevens of Arizona. Burkhart has used PAC funds to pay operating expenses for her abortion business. She has also used employees on the payroll of the PAC to staff her abortion clinic.

    There is no record that the SWWC has ever reimbursed the Trust Women PAC even one cent of the money it spent to operate the for-profit business. One had to wonder how much Chastine and Stephens know about the Wichita abortion business’ shoddy bookkeeping.

    “It looks like Burkhart might be ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul,’” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “If her abortion business was profitable, surely she would not have to dip into PAC funds to pay for abortion clinic business expenditures. This is an indication that South Wind Women’s Center is on the ropes financially with the blame falling on Burhart’s mismanagement.”

    Eight Categories of Violations

    The complaint’s alleged violations include:

    1. Failure to report contributions to Federal Candidates/Committees and Other Political Committees in a proper manner
    2. Failure to classify disbursements in a proper manner
    3. Failure to file a single acceptable report since July 2011
    4. Consistent error in calculation and reporting of cash on hand and disbursements
    5. Engaging in political advocacy within the state of Kansas without registering with the state
    6. Submission of reports through a non-authorized treasurer
    7. Use of PAC funds and resources to operate a for-profit business (South Wind Women’s Center abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas)
    8. Disbursements of funds to non-existent entities sharing the Trust Women PAC address.

    “Is this gross incompetence on the part of Burkhart, or is it criminal conduct? We think it is the latter, and that’s why we are asking for a full investigation into financial malfeasance,” said Newman.

    Money flows one way

    Burkhart has used PAC funds to pay for items for the abortion clinic such as a washer and dryer. That expenditure was listed as a disbursement for the Primary 2012 election cycle, which ended seven months prior to the purchase.

    The Trust Women PAC also paid for SWWC’s web hosting, internet marketing, and even robes for the use by the abortion business. SWWC’s abortion consent forms are sent to potential customers via a Trust Women PAC e-mail address belonging to a PAC paid employee, Katie Knutter.

    “Money only flows one way: from the Trust Women PAC into the coffers of South Wind Women’s Center. Profits from South Wind are pocketed by private individuals. It is all very irregular,” said Newman.

    Where did the money go?

    But there are literally thousands of Trust Women PAC dollars for which there is no accounting. In the Trust Women PAC filings, it is common for the beginning balance for one reporting period to be several thousand dollars less than the ending balance for the previous reporting period. In all, Operation Rescue has discovered that $37,118.13 has simply disappeared.

    There are questions that must be answered. Is this a matter of incompetent accounting or unlawful activity? The shoddy FEC reports raise suspicions that South West Women’s Center could be acting as a money laundering scheme for PAC employees through which they embezzle funds, without suspicion of malfeasance.

    “We have to wonder what happened to all that cash. One day the money is there and the next day it’s gone,” said Newman. “If someone is pocketing the money, it could be embezzlement, which is a serious crime. We are turning all the evidence over to the FEC, FBI, and Kansas Bureau of Investigation for further inspection to determine if laws have indeed been broken.”

    Unauthorized to file

    Part of the problem is that Burkhart associate Amber Lockner has attempted to file reports on behalf of Trust Women PAC, but none have been accepted since Lockner is not the treasurer of record and has no authority to file. Burkhart made attempts to file Amended Statements of Organization, but all have been rejected due to the fact that Burkhart and Lockner did not submit the statements electronically, as required. In fact, the two appear not to have mastered the electronic submission process, resulting in reports that have been repeatedly rejected by the FEC.

    Shadowy political groups get funds

    Documents show that Trust Women PAC spent thousands of dollars on political mailings and GOTV calls in Wichita, as well as a contribution to the Kansas Senate campaign of leftist Tim Snow. These expenditures would constitute illegal campaign activity since Trust Women PAC never registered with the State of Kansas as required by law.

    However, that is not the only thing suspicious about Trust Women PAC’s illicit involvement in Kansas politics.

    In the 2012 year-end report, Trust Women PAC lists a disbursement to American Action League for $2,000 for GOTV calls. The address listed as belonging to American Action League is the same as that used by Trust Women PAC. However, there is no business called “American Action League” registered with the Kansas Secretary of State. Where did the $2,000 really go?

    Another disbursement entry found in the same report indicated that Trust Women PAC paid $9,750 to an entity called “Trust Women PAC (Non-Federal)” for more GOTV calls. However, no such committee exists. The Trust Women PAC is not registered as a “non-federal” entity. This represents yet another block of cash that appears to have gone to a non-existent entity for which there is no accounting.

    Modus Operandi

    This is a documented pattern of behavior for Burkhart. In 2006, during the hotly contested race for office of Attorney General between incumbent Republican Phill Kline and Democratic challenger Paul Morrison, Burkhart was the director of a political action committee founded and funded by late-term abortionist George Tiller called “ProKanDo.” It was no secret that ProKanDo opposed abortion clinic investigations underway in Kline’s office, especially since Tiller was a target. The election was influenced by a glut of mailings worth about $1 million attacking Kline that were put out by a “non-profit” organization called, “Kansans for Consumer Privacy Protection.” Soon after the election, which was Kline lost, the “non-profit” organization closed down, ending efforts to investigate it for improper political activity.

    Burkhart was listed as a co-chair for Kansans for Consumer Privacy Protection, which shared the same address as Burkhart’s ProKanDo.

    The entire matter of Burkhart’s unregistered political organizations operating in the shadows of unaccountability – funded by other Burkhart groups – is completely irregular. In order to protect the integrity of elections, a thorough investigation into this shady practice must be conducted.

    Who gave and who received?

    Another apparent violation discovered in the volumes of FEC reports is the failure to itemize many political contributions and disbursements. This means that thousands of dollars from unknown sources are flowing in and out of the PAC to unknown pockets for unknown reasons. In the past two years, over $72,000 in receipts were non-itemized – more than half of all PAC contributions! This amount is in addition to the funds that simply went missing.

    “The reason that PACs must file detailed financial reports with the FEC is to ensure that illegal contributions are not taking place and that the money is being used legitimately,” said Newman. “It appears very much like regulations are in fact being broken by Burkhart and Lockner on a routine basis.”

    Competency in question

    The incompetence – and perhaps criminality – reflected in the Trust Women PAC reports also raises serious questions about the competency of Burkhart to operate an abortion clinic, where women entrust their lives and health. However, given Burkhart’s PAC filings and her history of double-dealing, it is difficult to put much trust in any endeavor in which she is involved.

    It has become apparent that South Wind Women’s Center is financially “under water” and must access PAC funds to stay afloat. In fact, Burkhart is delinquent $2,900 in property taxes for the clinic facility – another indication that Burkhart’s PAC and abortion clinic are suffering financial difficulties.

    “If these people cannot figure out how properly add and subtract, file a form online, or pay their bills, we question their overall competency in every other business matter,” said Newman. “The shoddy reports are a red flag alerting us that their incompetence is likely a systemic problem. If that is found to be true, women are in grave danger at South Wind Women’s Center.”

    Read the letter of complaint (with links to referenced documents)
    Read the 434 pages of Documentation

    Filed Under: Featured, Pro-Life, Special Investigative Reports Tagged With: ,

    Abortionist with Criminal Background Flouts the Law, Operates Illegal Unlicensed Abortion Clinic

    June 28, 2013 By 6 Comments

    This is the second installment in an investigative series about Maryland abortionists who have taken their abortion clinics underground to avoid compliance with new abortion licensing laws.

    By Cheryl Sullenger

    Bladensburg, MD – The Annapolis Road Medical Center is an innocuous, non-descript name that would not merit a second thought from the casual observer — and owner Mehradad Aalai likes it that way.

    Located at 5632 Annapolis Road, Suite 7 in Bladensburg, Maryland, it is actually the name of a run-down medical office complex that houses an illegal abortion clinic, operating without licensing under new Maryland laws meant to protect women from shoddy conditions and substandard medical care in the aftermath of the Kermit Gosnell murder trial and the Steven Chase Brigham scandal.

    In fact, Aalai worked for Brigham at his now-closed Cheverly and College Park abortion clinics, and if there is one thing that is known about Brigham abortionists it’s that they are the bottom of a very nasty barrel. Certainly Aalai is no exception.

    On May 31, 1994, Aalai pled guilty to one count of Medicaid fraud in a case involving destruction and/or alteration of medical records and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to three years in jail, which was suspended in lieu of fines and three years of probation.

    Based on his criminal conviction, Aalai’s Maryland medical license was revoked.

    In 1996, the Maryland Board of Physicians reinstated his medical license and placed it on three years of probation. That is a decision that would have dire future consequences, especially for a woman known only as Patient A.

    On October 23, 2007, Patient A presented at the Brigham-owned American Women’s Services in College Park, Maryland, for an abortion after having been referred there by another Brigham clinic near her home in Virginia Beach. She was 22 weeks pregnant.

    Patient A saw Aalai, who began her abortion by packing her cervix with laminaria and told to return the next day. On October 24, Patient A returned to Aalai, who removed the laminaria and inserted another round. At some point, which was never recorded in her medical record, her water broke. Aalai sent her back to her hotel and told her to return again the following day.

    On Day 3 of her procedure, Aalai delivered her baby. It is unclear whether the baby was alive or dead at the time of the delivery. While medical board documents detail every other aspect of the abortion, they do not indicate that any drugs were injected into the fetus to ensure death prior to the abortion. There is a curious note about “CNS decompression using a 6 mm vacurette” used as a measure to deliver the fetus. This refers to the suctioning of the brain and decompressing of the baby’s skull prior delivery. That notation, along with the lack of mention of any use of drugs to “ensure fetal demise” leaves questions about whether this was an illegal Partial Birth Abortion done on a live baby. The process described in his disciplinary documents appeared to be Aalai’s standard procedure for second trimester abortions, but for whatever reasons, the Board did not address the partial-birth abortion concern.

    After the baby was delivered, Aalai had difficulty delivering the placenta. The procedure reached well into the evening hours without a successful removal of the placenta. Aalai gave up trying. He indicated to Patient A that her placenta was never removed. He recommended that she visit a local hospital for further treatment, but never explained that her condition was urgent and life-threatening. She told Aalai that she preferred to return to her home 4 hours away and see her regular physician. Aalai agreed she could go. She was given no discharge instructions.

    Patient A’s mother loaded her into the car and began the long drive back to Virginia. Along the way, Patient A fell asleep and her mother reached over to awaken her. It was then she noticed that her daughter was soaked in blood. Her mother pulled over to the nearest gas station and told her daughter to go to the restroom and clean herself up. When Patient A did not return to the car, her mother went to the bathroom and discovered her slumped over the toilet with blood everywhere.

    Her mother called 911. When the paramedics arrived, they were shocked at what they saw. Because the scene was so bloody, they called police, thinking that Patient A had tried to give herself an abortion in that gas station restroom. Once police arrived and discovered the truth, Patient A was transported to a local hospital shortly before midnight where she was found to be in hemorrhagic shock from massive blood loss. She received emergency surgery to remove the placenta and other “products of conception” still inside her. She was also given two units of blood.

    The physician that treated Patient A at the hospital filed a medical board complaint against Aalai for endangering the woman’s life. A disciplinary judge who heard Aalai’s case found him to be not credible and ruled he was guilty of immoral and unprofessional conduct in his treatment of Patient A. He issued a recommendation that Aalai’s license once again be revoked.

    Instead, the Board suspended his medical license for six months and placed him on two years of probation. That order was signed on December 28, 2011. Aalai remains on probation as of this writing.

    To make matters worse, after Aalai completed only three months of his suspension, the Board ordered that the remainder of his suspension be stayed.

    Aalai was back in business.

    Aalai quit working for Brigham and concentrated on his own business, the Maryland Women’s Abortion Clinic in Bladensburg. Upon the passage of Maryland’s clinic licensing provisions last year, Aalai dropped that name and simply adopted the name of the business complex Annapolis Road Medical Center, but little had changed of his practice besides a shuffling of paperwork. He continued to operate his abortion business full time at the same address and phone number while failing to apply for licensure.

    There is also no record of either business name on file with the Maryland Secretary of State. In fact, the only business ever properly registered by Aalai was the now-defunct Aalai Medical Services, PC, which was forfeited in 2005 for failure to file a property return the previous year.

    Operation Rescue’s investigator called the Annapolis Road Medical Center on June 20, 2013, posing as a woman who was eight weeks pregnant and seeking an abortion. Aalai answered the phone using yet another business name.

    Aalai: Aalai Clinic, can I help you?
    Caller: Yes, I was wondering, do you do abortions there?
    Aalai: Yes, yes. That’s the only thing I do is abortion. I’m an Ob/Gyn doctor, uh-huh.

    Maryland law clearly requires that anyone doing regular abortions must be licensed as an abortion clinic. Certainly under Aalai’s previous business name, Maryland Women’s Abortion Clinic, he would have had a very hard time avoiding licensure. The name change shows a purposeful attempt to evade the law.

    The caller told Aalai that she was eight weeks pregnant and he recommended an abortion via medication for the fee of $335 then began a high pressure sales pitch to get his customer in the door as soon as possible.

    “I can do it today, if you want to come,” he stated.

    Aalai asked a few questions and learned that the caller had no children and never had an abortion before. He again recommended the medication abortion and urged her to come to him that day.

    Caller: Where are you located?
    Aalai: Okay, you can to write the address. Write down the office. If you want to come I can do it today right now.

    Aalai gave the caller detailed directions to his office at 5632 Annapolis Road, Suite 7 in Bladensburg the same location as is listed for the former Maryland Women’s Abortion Clinic as advertized on a video with the online Yellow Pages.

    Aalai’s business is also a cash-only one, which is ripe for financial malfeasance by someone like Aalai who has a documented predilection for fraud.

    Caller: And what forms of payment do you take? Like–
    Aalai: What?
    Caller: –like, should I use – do you take cash or –
    Aalai: Yeah, cash. Cash.
    Caller: Cash. Okay.
    Aalai: You have to bring cash. Okay?
    Caller: And you’re the doctor who’s going to see me?
    Aalai: What is what?
    Caller: And you’re the person who’s going to be seeing me. Is that right?
    Aalai: Right. I am the person that’s going to see you. I am the owner of this clinic. Okay?
    Caller: Okay, and what’s your name?
    Aalai: I’m Dr. Aalai. This is a private doctor’s office. An Ob/Gyn doctor. If you’re my patient you have to make your [unintelligible] share you. Okay?

    The caller indicated that she had to speak with her mother first before scheduling since her mother would be paying for the abortion. Aalai seemed determined not to let this customer slip away.

    Aalai: Are you going to call me back?
    Caller: Yes, I’ll call you back.
    Aalai: Okay. Today, tomorrow, or when?
    Caller: Um, prob—what days are you open?
    Aalai: I’m open every day.

    It is clear from the undercover call that Mehrdad Aalai is operating a full-time abortion clinic open every day that only provides abortions and no other service. Yet this abortion business is not licensed as the law requires and continues to operate illegally.

    Aalai’s medical license is currently under probationary status, which requires him to comply with all local, state, and Federal laws. It is clear that his unlicensed abortion business and perhaps his late-term abortion method place him in violation of that probation.

    Operation Rescue is asking the Maryland Department of Health Office of Health Care Quality to shut down Aalai’s illegal abortion operation and has filed a complaint with the Maryland Board of Physicians notifying them that we believe Aalai is in violation of his probation.

    However, Aalai certainly is not the only abortionist flying under the state’s licensing radar. Previously, Operation Rescue reported on Harold O. Alexander, who is also operating an unlicensed abortion clinic under the guise of a “doctor’s office.” Alexander also has a long disciplinary history.

    It is clear that abortionists like Aalai and Alexander engage in shoddy practices at clinics that would not pass muster under the new state requirements, even though the Maryland regulations are among the most lax in the nation. That means women are subjected to a lower standard of care that places their health and lives at unacceptable risk.

    “The worst of the worst abortionists in Maryland – the ones who need the most scrutiny – are not just ignoring the licensing laws, but are actively evading them. The OHCQ has been slow to act to close these illegal abortion businesses, and that is something that needs to change quickly for the sake of public safety,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue.

    Please contact the Office of Health Care Quality and ask them to close Aalai’s abortion business for providing regular abortion services illegally without proper licensing:

    Phone Number: (410) 402-8000
    Toll-free: 1-877-402-8218
    Email: ohcq.web@maryland.gov

    Read Part 1: Troubled Abortionist Caught Evading New Maryland Abortion Laws

    Filed Under: Featured, Pro-Life, Special Investigative Reports Tagged With: , , ,
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