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Elusive Prey

San Francisco Abortionist Can't Hide From Protestors

By Maria Elena Kennedy and Eric Reslock

A group of pro-life sidewalk counselors have been picketing the Buena Vista Women's Surgery Center in San Francisco for the last four years. Every Saturday morning, the group prayed the rosary out in front of the clinic located at 3000 California Street in San Francisco. To the group's surprise, one morning in February, a sign was posted on the door of the building. "Effective February 1st, 2002, the Buena Vista Women's Consultation Center is no longer at this location." According to the sidewalk counselors, one of the tenants told them that, "the doctor who owns the building decided not to renew the lease, it was a mistake," they were told. Thinking they had been victorious, the group decided to move their prayer group to the nearby Planned Parenthood clinic, thinking that the abortionist, David Finkelstein, was no longer in business.

Buena Vista Women's Consultation Center has not closed down but has instead moved to another location. An Internet search revealed that Buena Vista Women's Consultation Center moved to 815 Hyde Street in San Francisco. What is unusual about this move is that Finkelstein owns the building at 3000 California Street where the notice was posted. Finkelstein bought the building in April of 2001, according to public records. Finkelstein purchased the property for $1,960,000 with a $1,000,000 loan. Public records also reveal that Finkelstein used a holding company called Brown Bear Trust Co. in Sausalito for the real estate transaction. When told this, sidewalk counselors are baffled as to why Finkelstein would relocate the clinic to a building he does not own when he owns a building "built like a fortress," according to the counselors. "Maybe he doesn't want us praying in front of the clinic, so he's trying to fool us" one offered.

In a San Francisco Yellow Pages ad, the clinic bills itself as "Northern California's oldest [abortion] center. The clinic's website also boasts of proving non-surgical abortions for women since 1995, "when it was apparent that RU-486 was not going to make it in this country." Before RU-486 was approved in 1999 by the Federal Food and Drug Administration, Buena Vista used methotrexate to perform abortions on women. This drug had been used to abort entopic pregnancies successfully and was the drug of choice prior to the availability of RU 486. The clinic stills offers methotrexate as an abortion option.

Pharmacists for Life International's executive director B.M. Kuhar said, "The use of methotrexate as an abortifacient is legal, it's probably not ethical." Kuhar said that methotrexate was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in cancer treatments as well as treating severe arthritis. Kuhar noted the the drug was not intended to be used as an abortifacient but abortionists used it because, he says, "It has a knack for killing rapidly dividing cells". Kuhar called it "chemical warfare against the unborn". A call to the clinic revealed that the cost for methotrexate is $550. "It takes three visits," the receptionist explained. When asked what the cost for RU 486 was, she replied, "$800. It just came out last year. It's quicker than the methotrexate but it's expensive". A first trimester surgical abortion is $450 and can be scheduled Monday through Friday according to the receptionist. The clinic offers a 20 per cent discount for college students, "with current ID."

Finkelstein has used his holding company, Brown Bear Trust Co., to purchase other properties in Northern California. In May of 2001, Finkelstein bought a duplex on Oak Street in San Francisco. Similarly, in April of 2001, the Brown Bear Trust Company bought another property at 33 Merwin Avenue in San Francisco. In September of 2000, the company acquired a property in Bolinas, a trendy farming community in Marin County, listed as a second home in the Marin County tax records.

According to pro-lifers who are sidewalk counselors at Finkelstein's clinic, at one point Finkelstein was working at an abortion clinic owned by fellow abortionist, Paxton Beale. The building located at 1801 Bush Street is owned by Paxton Beale. Public records show that in 2000, Beale sold himself the building as part of an intra-family sale. The building is zoned for medical use and is currently assessed at over two million dollars after Beale made improvements to the property.

Brian Kavanagh of San Francisco remembers when he first started protesting at 1801 Bush Street. "It was 1989. I remember that first Saturday because the Tiannamen Square massacre happened at the same time." Kavanagh remembers Finkelstein as one of the practicing abortionists there. Kavanagh has missed few first Saturdays since in the last 13 years. "I missed one recently for my son's wedding. But I pretty much have to be sick in bed or in the hospital to not be there."

Over the years, Kavanagh has dealt with all kinds of behavior in response to his picketing. In the early 90s, Kavanagh believes Finkelstein hired what Kavanagh describes as, "a group of thugs," calling themselves the Coalition Against Operation Rescue. Kavanagh says this group was into physical confrontation with the protestors and counselors. "They tried some of the rough stuff," but the protestors stayed. Kavanagh remembers one of these well. "His name was George Nixon. On the fourth of July in 1994, he shot himself. I'll never forget it." Since Finkelstein's move from Bush Street, Kavanagh believes the abortionist has called off the muscle because the newer location is in a better neighborhood and Kavanagh believes the residents wouldn't tolerate them. Now, he says, the most typical response from the pro-abortion workers is they come out of the clinics and take their pictures. "As if that's going intimidate us," he said.

Kavanagh continued, "About a year ago, a guy who lives in the neighborhood [of an abortion clinic] -- he was practically an invalid he was so obese, and a real anti-Catholic loud-mouth -- I was out there and he came over to me and grabbed my sign, which said, "abortion kills children." The sign tore and he fell on his back. It was kind of amusing, he looked like a turtle on its back. And he couldn't even get up. I went over to him to give him a hand and he cussed me out and told me he didn't need any help, so I went back to picketing."

Asked if he remembers any potential abortion clients that his group talked out of an abortion. Kavanagh said, "Yes. I remember a girl at 3000 California Street last month. She was Brazilian and was here studying English. After she came out of the clinic for a consultation, we talked to her. She spent a lot of time at my office and I gave her a ride home."

One sidewalk counselor said that she had inadvertently been inside Finkelstein's clinic on California Street. "I was arrived early on a Saturday before anyone arrived," she said. "I wanted to go to the bathroom so I went into the building. The clinic occupied an entire floor. When I was inside, I noticed that all of the rooms were named after artists; he had the Monet room, the Rembrandt room. It was odd." The sidewalk counselor said that she thought it was unusual that Finkelstein never seemed to drive to and from the clinic, "We wondered if he was living there," she said.

According to counselors, Finkelstein's personnel were typically rude. "He had a staff person named Rocky. She seemed to be doing everything in the clinic. Whenever we called, she would answer -- she was always there. Occasionally she came out and was nasty to us. She once came out and blew cigarette smoke in my face. We suspected that she may have being doing abortions herself."

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