Des Moines, Iowa – A reporter has told Operation Rescue that the Iowa Attorney General’s office is making several excuses for not pursuing a criminal complaint filed against Planned Parenthood over their telemed abortion scheme even though no one in the office had yet read the complaint.

UPDATE: Read today’s article about this in the Des Moines Register.

Des Moines Register reporter Tony Leys engaged in an e-mail exchange with Troy Newman and Cheryl Sullenger Thursday evening when he asked for reaction to comments made by an unnamed representative in the Attorney General’s office. The current Attorney General is Tom Miller, a pro-abortion Democrat who is up for re-election in November.

“The Iowa attorney general’s office is pointing out to me that they generally wouldn’t decide on criminal charges in such matters. It would be up to the county attorney,” said Leys in an e-mail to Sullenger.

Ley also indicated to Newman that no one in the Attorney General’s office had yet read the complaint, yet the representative thought that the Iowa Board of Medicine should first decide if law had been violated before their office became involved.

“It sounds like the fix is in. The Attorney General already making excuses for why he will not investigate possible illegal abortions by Planned Parenthood and is passing the buck onto others without having even read the complaint,” said Newman. “This smacks of political corruption and cronyism. I have to wonder how close of a relationship Miller has with Planned Parenthood.”

“Because Planned Parenthood’s telemed abortion scheme involves remotely dispensing dangerous abortion drugs at the push of a button in as many as twelve Iowa counties, it was only logical to file our complaint with the Attorney General’s office since he would be the only one to have jurisdiction in all of the locations involved,” said Sullenger. “There is a jurisdictional question since the licensed physician never leaves Polk County, yet distributes abortion drugs to remote counties over 100 miles away. In which county is the crime committed, the county where the button is pushed or the county where the drugs are actually dispensed? Filing with the AG solves the obvious jurisdictional problems.

“As for waiting until the Iowa Medical Board acts, it is irresponsible for the state’s ‘top cop’ to continue to allow women to be placed at risk while they delay law enforcement on the outcome of an investigation of a Board that very likely operates under different burdens of proof.”

In many other states, the medical boards usually act in response to evidence gathered in criminal complaints.

For example, in California, the Board of Osteopathy revoked the license of abortionist Laurence Reich only after his conviction on two counts of sexual assault on his patients. In Kansas, the Attorney General’s office charged and tried abortionist George Tiller before the Board of Healing Arts even made their intentions to discipline him public. In Nebraska, abortionist LeRoy Carhart is simultaneously under investigation by the Department of Health and the Attorney General’s office based on complaints filed by Operation Rescue.

“There is more than enough precedent for the Iowa Attorney General to investigate illegal abortions in his state, with or without the direction of the Iowa Medical Board,” said Newman. “It is troubling that he would so flippantly blow off such a serious matter when the lives and health of women are at stake without ever having laid eyes on the complaint. It makes me wonder what he is trying to hide.”

Contact Attorney General Tom Miller and ask him to investigate Planned Parenthood for their remote-controlled telemed abortion pill scheme.

Voice: 515-281-5164
Email: webteam@ag.state.ia.us

Los Angeles, CA – Operation Rescue President Troy Newman will be speaking this weekend to over 80 young people at a pro-life training camp put on by the Survivors.

“I am excited to be a part of training up young activists, who are the thriving future of the pro-life movement,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “I want to invite our friends in Southern California to meet up with us for a weekend of activism and training. If you are in the area, stop by and say hello.”

There was a huge interest in this year’s camp. In fact, some young people had to be turned away after the maximum number of campers had registered.

“The interest in pro-life activism among today’s youth is greater than ever. Our movement is vibrant and alive and will continue into the next generation. Contrast that with the abortion movement. Their side is aging with little interest from the youth,” said Newman. “By providing training to these young men and women, we are assuring that one day, abortion will be tragedy relegated to the history books.”

Survivors and Operation Rescue invite you to join with Survivors Pro-Life Training Camp for a day of activism in Los Angeles, on Saturday, June 26, 2010. For more details and meeting times and places please contact timmerie@survivors.la.

On Sunday, June 27, 2010, you are invited to join the Survivors from 2:00-9:00 PM for a special day of pro-life encouragement. You will hear a diverse group of prominent pro-life speakers from across the Unites States, including Troy Newman, and also meet the Survivors campers personally and hear what camp is all about.

All Sunday activities will be held at St. Joseph’s Salesian Youth Renewal Center, 8301 Arroyo Dr., Rose Mead, CA 91770.

You are also invited to join us for dinner on Sunday. Please be sure to RSVP for dinner since space is limited. If you plan to come for dinner, please RSVP to camp@survivors.la or call (951)750-1114. This is a free event. A free-will offering will be taken to help defray expenses.

For more information and a complete schedule, contact timmerie@survivors.la.

Omaha, NE — Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, announced that it will be opening up a new abortion clinic in Omaha, Nebraska, “late this year.” The clinic will be in direct competition with LeRoy Carhart’s Abortion and Contraception Clinic of Nebraska, located in nearby Bellevue, and with its own “telemed abortion” clinic across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

“Planned Parenthood is over-saturating the market with abortion services. We know that Carhart’s clinic only breaks even. They already operate a surgical abortion mill in Lincoln, a short drive away. The last abortion clinic in Omaha closed because the community would not allow it to relocate. I predict that at least one of these abortion clinics will got out of business within the next year for lack of business or for unsafe abortion practices,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.

The city of Omaha has been abortion-free since 2006 when the shoddy Women’s Services PC was shuttered. The clinic’s property had been purchased by the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which gave the clinic several months to move. However, the abortion business was unable to find a property owner who was willing to lease to them and was forced to close. That clinic’s troubled abortionist, C.J. LaBenz, who made headlines for violently attacking a pro-life activist in 2002, now works for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland in Lincoln.

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland is currently under investigation by the Iowa Medical Board for offering remote-controlled, push-button RU 486 abortions through an automated process known as “telemed abortion.” A complaint with the Iowa Attorney General asking for a criminal investigation has also been filed.

It is unknown if the new Omaha clinic will commit surgical abortions or represents an expansion of PPH’s telemed abortion scheme.

“With Carhart also facing a Health Department investigation along with possible criminal charges for his run-down abortion operation, Planned Parenthood may be trying to squeeze him out of business. We’ve seen Planned Parenthood organizations in other areas engage in this kind of guerilla tactic an effort to eliminate the competition and corner the abortion market. With the demand for abortion dropping nationwide, there is strong competition for every abortion dollar,” said Newman.

“Omaha has already proven to be unfriendly to abortion and we have great faith that strong pro-life community there will take all peaceful, legal action necessary to protect women and their babies from Planned Parenthood’s predatory practices and insure that Omaha remains abortion-free.”