Ex-Employees Note Unsafe, Illegal Conditions at LeRoy Carhart’s Abortion Center
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 28, 2009
Omaha, NE (LifeNews.com) — Earlier this week, Nebraska-based late-term abortion practitioner LeRoy Carhart laid off nearly half his staff as he faces a potential investigation from state officials. Now, the former staffers are coming forward to describe what they call illegal and unsafe conditions at his Bellevue abortion center.
The former abortion facility employees say they participated in abortions that were done without proper licensing.
Two of the unnamed women who assisted in Carhart’s abortions say they started IVs for him even though they are not registered nurses or certified licensed practical nurses, as required by state law.
A third former employee, who was fired about six years ago, also confirmed that she frequently administered medication intravenously although she wasn’t a certified LPN.
Three of the women directly contacted pro-life groups, including Operation Rescue and Rescue the Heartland and a fourth woman is working directly with a pro-life attorney to tell her knowledge of illegal and unsafe conditions at Carhart’s clinic.
The women also allege that general unclean conditions, including dried blood on surgical instruments, were the norm at Carhart’s center. The women also told of missing narcotics, illicit drug use by employees, and illegal post-viability abortions.
The women worked for Carhart at various times, yet they all made similar, if not identical allegations when interviewed.
Carhart told the Omaha World-Herald newspaper Friday that nothing at his abortion business is out of step will state law.
“We have not done anything that was improper,” Carhart said.
But, Operation Rescue tells LifeNews.com the former employees tell a different story.
"One former employee told of incidents where Carhart falsified the gestational age of viable babies in order to circumvent the law. This account matches information uncovered by Operation Rescue during an undercover investigation at the now-closed Women’s Health Care Services in Wichita, Kansas, where Carhart once worked," the group said.
"The worker caught falsifying gestational ages in Kansas now works for Carhart at his Bellevue, Nebraska, abortion clinic," the organization added.
The women have given sworn statements about illegal and unsafe activity at Carhart’s abortion clinic, which will be turned over to the Attorney General’s office and the Nebraska Department of Health, which is investigating Carhart.
"We commend these brave women for coming forward to tell of unsafe and illegal conditions that exist," said Operation Rescue president Troy Newman. "Their courage will help protect women whose health and safety at currently at risk."
"These allegations are serious and demand immediate action on the part of the authorities in the interest of public safety," Newman added. "We pray that Carhart’s abortion career, which has cost untold thousands of innocent lives and led to the exploitation of thousands of women, will be brought to a speedy and peaceful end through legal channels."
Nebraska Right to Life director Julie Schmit-Albin told LifeNews.com today she is not surprised by the revelations.
"In 2002, when the former Planned Parenthood Lincoln clinic director turned insider information over to us, he made the same allegation," she said.
Those allegations included "that untrained people off the street were doing medical procedures there for which they were not licensed."
Schmit-Albin hopes Nebraska officials will do more now against Carhart than they did against Planned Parenthood.
"We turned that info, along with other concerns he had about OSHA violations, Medicare fraud, etc. over to Nebraska DHHS [and other state officials]," she said. "DHHS came back with a cursory slap on the wrist for Planned Parenthood."
"None of the stuff about unlicensed workers ever came out nor was it revealed if their ‘investigation’ found anything," she said. "In other words, in Nebraska, nursing homes and group homes are inspected on a regular schedule some by unannounced visits, but not so with abortion facilities."
The state health department has said it can’t confirm if it is conducting an investigation yet into Carhart, but it has received materials from the attorney general to do so.
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