ARTICLES

Death in the Valley

Abortion Clinics' Paper Trail

By Maggie Garcia

In the shadow of Silicon Valley lie abortion clinics, which prey on poor and minority women. Some may be in the business of providing fetal tissue to the biotechnology firms that dot the Silicon Valley.

One crisis pregnancy center counselor who works near a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in a largely Latino area of San Jose said that women frequently come to her after going to the Planned Parenthood clinic. "Many women come to us thinking that we are Planned Parenthood. Sometimes Planned Parenthood sends them to us. The Planned Parenthood clinic charges Medi-Cal $35 for a pregnancy test. If the girls don't have Medi-Cal, then they are charged $15 for the test. If the girls don't have the money for the test, they send them to us." The counselor says that the center provides free pregnancy tests to anyone who comes to the center.

The women coming to the crisis center complain about a questionnaire that Planned Parenthood makes them fill out. "The questionnaire asks extremely personal questions regarding their sex lives, how many partners they have, they want to know their sexual habits. The crisis pregnancy center's newsletter had a story written by a young woman who had undergone an abortion at Planned Parenthood. "How degrading [being lined up with other women]. Where was my privacy? This was such a personal thing ... they told me to get up on this horrible bed.... I wasn't ready yet. I cried and asked, 'where is the doctor?.' I had questions that I needed to ask but I never saw [the abortionist's] face.... As I left the room, I saw a bag full of blood and tissue in the corner. I screamed at the nurse, 'Why did you leave that there? She was placing the label on the bag. She answered "You don't know what this is. Go lie down."

According to pro-life sidewalk counselors, the Planned Parenthood clinic on the Alameda in San Jose is currently employing Dr. Jesse James Joplin. A review of Dr. Joplin's California Medical Board records reveals that he is currently on probation with the medical board for killing a woman who was under his care at the Kaiser Permanente facility in Santa Theresa. In spite of various warning signs that something was wrong with the woman, Dr. Joplin ignored the signs of the woman's distress. After giving birth to a "viable male infant, Y.G. (the mother) died on April 10, 1990." According to the accusation, Dr. Joplin's actions made him "guilty of gross negligence and/or incompetence in the practice of his profession."

A second cause of action against Dr. Joplin was filed by the medical board for his negligence in killing a viable, 27-week-old fetus. Again the medical board accusation outlines the indifferent manner in which Dr. Joplin cared for his patient, "On July 17, 1993 patient M.M. presented [herself] to Respondent for examination at the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Seaside, California. M.M. was a 15-year-old Spanish-speaking female.... Respondent performed a pelvic examination at that time and recorded that [the fetus] was 11-12 weeks in size ... on July 17, 1993, respondent undertook to perform an abortion...." The accusation goes on to describe how Dr. Joplin believed that the baby was "20+ weeks gestation.... Respondent ordered MM transferred to Natividad Medical Center where ultrasound demonstrated the fetus to be 27 weeks. Labor was induced and the female stillborn was taken for evaluation by the County Coroner." The medical board pointed out that "respondent knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have know that M.M.'s fetus was 27 weeks old and viable." The medical board put Dr. Joplin on 5 years' probation for his actions. Given the fact that his probation began in January of 1997, he will be on probation with the medical board until January of 2002.

The indifference shown by Dr. Joplin towards his former patients is not an isolated case. According to one pro-lifer who spoke with a former employee of the Women's Community Medical Clinic in San Jose, conditions at the clinic are not good. This former clinic worker said that doctors come during their lunch hour on Fridays to perform abortions. Apparently, according to this source, a lady comes to the clinic on Fridays to look at the baby parts, which have been aborted. This lady then takes them to Menlo Park.

According to fictitious name permit records filed with the state of California, the Women's Community Medical Clinic is owned by Dr. David Paul Goldstein of Portola Valley and Dr. David Mendelson of San Jose. The facility's website states: "By using our clinic facilities rather than an expensive hospital setting for most treatments, we are able to give care economically." A call to California's department of health revealed that the clinic is not a licensed facility. The two doctors have filed a fictitious name permit with the medical board. One Sacramento expert on state regulation of medical facilities, said that this was purposely deceptive. "The general public obviously believes that this is a clinic ... that comes up to some standards. The word 'clinic' implies to the public high standards of care. In this case, it's fraudulent, there's no monitoring or standards." This expert said that this is not an isolated incident but is very typical of the abortion industry.

Sometimes abortionists leave a trail documenting problems at the clinics that have resulted in litigation. Gary Pomroy is a pro-lifer who was attacked by Dr. Johnathan Belcher while outside of the Women's Community Medical Clinic. Because the San Jose police department was unwilling to take any action against Dr. Belcher, in June of 1999 Pomroy sued Dr. Belcher in small claims court. The court ordered Belcher to pay Pomroy court costs plus a symbolic $1 in damages. One pro-lifer who counseled at the clinic one Halloween day said that Belcher came to the clinic dressed as the Grim Reaper. The California Medical Board records show that in January 31, 2000 Belcher neglected to renew his medical license rending it delinquent. Pro-life activists report that they have not seen Belcher in months, fueling speculation that he is now out of the abortion business.

Another San Jose abortionist is Dr. Henry Thomas Gunter, who owned Abortion Acceptance Medical Office in San Jose. Earlier this year, an Internet search for Henry Thomas Gunter yielded a web page that gave his phone number. A call revealed that the number was for his home phone. His wife Sandra answered and became alarmed when told that their home phone number was available on the Internet. "This is not good," she said. "There are a lot of crazies out there." In spite of her misgivings, she gave me her husband's office number. When directory assistance in San Jose was contacted to get the phone number for the Abortion Acceptance Medical Office, the operator said that the number is no longer listed. Court records show that the Abortion Acceptance Medical Office filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy on March 16, 1995. The total assets of the clinic were $433,934 and the liabilities it had amounted to $380,550.

In addition to the bankruptcy proceeding, in 1974 Dr. Gunter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after pleading no contest. The charges stemmed from a then new sterilization procedure know as "transcervical intra-uterine tubal fulguration via hysteroscope." According to the California Medical Board, an accusation was filed against Dr. Gunter due to the manner in which he performed the operation as it "was an extreme departure from the standard of practice of medicine." A call to Dr. Gunter's office revealed that he is no longer performing abortions. "The doctor has retired," the woman who answered the phone said.

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