Abortion Practitioner in Pennsylvania Loses Medical License Over Abuses 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 14, 2006
Erie, PA (LifeNews.com) — An embattled abortion practitioner in Pennsylvania who has had numerous run-ins with state health officials has lost his medical license and been fined $50,000. Harvey Brookman of Yardley had been doing abortions at four locations in King of Prussia, Pittsburgh, State College and Erie.
The state health department said it revoked Brookman’s license for “unprofessional conduct due to actions that departed from the quality standards of the profession.”
According to the state, Brookman’s unprofessional conduct included injuring one woman when an abortion perforated her uterus and colon. The woman later was forced to undergo emergency surgery at a hospital in Philadelphia.
Last year, Brookman was charged with unprofessional conduct and negligence. He was accused of not having medical malpractice insurance to cover cases of botched abortions that injure or kill women.
The Erie abortion business where he worked, American Women’s Services, reopened in March after being closed since April 2005 following a previous suspension of his license.
Brookman was charged by the state with practicing without malpractice insurance, giving expired drugs to patients, permitting unlicensed staff to administer drugs, failing to check his patients’ age and identity, and conducting abortions without a licensed registered nurse present.
He also apparently skipped a hearing on the matters in December.
Brookman had a long history of disciplinary action. In 1996, his medical license was revoked in New York and he voluntarily surrendered his license in New Jersey to avoid revocation.
According to the New York Department of Health, Brookman routinely examined the uteruses of pregnant women without a medical reason. He was also found guilty of maintaining inadequate patient records and altering others.
The abortion practitioner became the target of a state inquiry after Centre County Citizens Concerned for Human Life, a pro-life group, filed complaints with the state Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs and the state Department of Health.
Susan Rogacs of Centre County Citizens told the local press that Brookman was not licensed to offer medical services to the public.
"We checked the state department website. It said he only had an active-retired license," meaning that he could treat only himself and family members, Rogacs said earlier this year.
The abortion practitioner had worked at the American Women’s Services abortion business in Erie from the time it opened in September of 2003. He also worked at an abortion facility in the Philadelphia suburb of King of Prussia.
Brookman also worked for two years as an “independent contractor physician” at the State College Medical Services abortion business in State College.
Related web sites:
People for Life – https://www.peopleforlife.org
