Baltimore, Maryland – Earlier this year, Operation Rescue released the results of a six-month undercover investigation that revealed that Florida abortionist James S. Pendergraft IV was operating a dubious late-term abortion scheme in Maryland where he is not licensed to practice.
Operation Rescue has received confirmation from the Maryland Board of Physicians that Pendergraft’s late-term abortion enterprise in Maryland has been stopped and that he is not working in association with any other office in that state.
“We are celebrating the fact that a dangerous multi-state late-term abortion scam is no longer operating in Maryland,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue and Pro-Life Nation.
Operation Rescue filed complaints against Pendergraft and his secret Maryland associate, Harold O. Alexander after uncovering details of their abortion enterprise that included the frighteningly dangerous “intracardiac injection” option.
Alexander’s medical license was suspended in part due to the Operation Rescue complaint. Alexander was disciplined for unprofessional conduct in the practice of medicine, failure to meet the standards of quality medical care and failure to keep adequate medical records. Alexander admitted he shredded medical records under subpoena by the Board related to his association with Pendergraft.
Intracardiac injection is a procedure that involves injecting the pre-born baby through the woman’s abdomen with a poison that stops the baby’s heart. According to Pendergraft’s website, the injection process takes only 2-3 minutes. The patient is monitored for approximately 15 minutes before being released. Carrying a dead child, the woman is sent away to her personal physician or other facility to have the dead fetus surgically removed. Delivery of the dead baby takes place at a separate location, which may be in another state or country. This process presents extreme risks to the life of the mother.
Pendergraft was also serving a license suspension in his home state of Florida during Operation Rescue’s investigation, which documented his shady late-term business through hours of audio recordings. Since then, Pendergraft has been reinstated and is now operating his chain of Florida abortion clinics under probation.
Pendergraft’s self-inflicted troubles continue to hound him. His Ocala abortion clinic is up for sale, and he continues to resist paying a $37 million malpractice judgment levied against him last year. In addition, the Florida Board is attempting to collect $121,000 in fines that Pendergraft has failed to pay.
Meanwhile the Maryland Board of Physicians has informed Operation Rescue that the complaint against Pendergraft has been closed without action after a full investigation.
“Because Pendergraft is not licensed in Maryland, the Board had limited jurisdiction over him,” said Newman. “Nevertheless, our complaint served to alert the authorities and resulted in running him out of the state. That is a victory for the women and viable babies he unscrupulously targeted with his predatory abortion scheme.”
Read OR’s Investigative Report
