Woman Testifies How Abortion Practitioner Abused Her
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 19, 2003
Phoenix, AZ (LifeNews.com) — On Monday, a woman tearfully testified how abortion practitioner Brian Finkel abused her before an abortion in early 2000. Finkel, who is accused of sexually abusing 35 women since 1986, pinched her breast and made other inappropriate advances, the woman said.
Kathe Kalmansohn, 39, testified that she asked Dr. Brian Finkel, 53, "What the hell are you doing?" She said she was in a panic after the suspected groping and asked to see her boyfriend, who was in the other room, "because I needed a hug."
Finkel, who is on trial for 67 counts of abuse against the women, denies the charges.
Kalmansohn says she awoke from a sedative Finkel gave her for the abortion, and he then administered more. When she awoke the second time, she says Finkel was lying on top of her nude body fondling her breasts.
"I pushed against him and he said, ‘I thought you said you needed a hug," she testified.
But Richard Gierloff, Finkel’s defense attorney, attacked her testimony by using her statements to Phoenix police, the Arizona Republic reports. He says Kalmansohn told police that another abortion facility employee was in the room when Finkel allegedly fondled her breasts.
Gierloff also got Kalmansohn to admit she didn’t remember Finkel touching her inappropriately during a pelvic exam, though she initially said otherwise.
He attacked her testimony and claimed she was faking crying.
"You seem very upset today," he told her. "But you’ve told this story a lot of times, haven’t you?"
Kalmansohn acknowledged she had shared her story several times with police and media.
