Late-Term Abortion Practitioner LeRoy Carhart Misses Deadline for Kansas Center
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 2, 2009
Wichita, KS (LifeNews.com) — Late-term abortion practitioner LeRoy Carhart said in September after the shooting death of colleague George Tiller that he would open a new abortion center within 25 miles of Wichita. Yet, as December has rolled around, pro-life advocates are delighted he has failed to relocate to Tiller’s home base.
Carhart originally said he would replace the abortion business Tiller ran that his family shut down in the aftermath of the shooting that claimed his life.
“I feel I’m doing it for him because that’s what he would’ve wanted,” Carhart said in late September. “I’m not proud I’m doing abortions, I’m proud that I’m willing to do abortions when women need them done."
Carhart said the new abortion center would not be located in Wichita itself but within 25 miles of the large central Kansas city.
Today, Operation Rescue president Troy Newman said his group’s campaign to keep Carhart from opening a new abortion center in Kansas has been successful.
"We are happy to announce that as of today, there are no late-term abortions being done in the state of Kansas," he said. "We worked diligently to prevent Carhart from returning his late-term abortion operation to Kansas, and so far, our efforts have been successful."
Not only has Carhart not opened in Kansas, he faces problems in his home state of Nebraska.
Operation Rescue and other pro-life groups, including Nebraska Right to Life, Rescue the Heartland, Nebraskans United for Life, and the Christian Defense Coalition have requested a criminal investigation of Carhart’s Omaha-area abortion business.
Carhart fired half of his staff in August after the groups announced they were seeking an investigation into the shoddy and possibly illegal practices occurring at his abortion center, as made public by several former staffers.
Three of them provided sworn affidavits with their allegations to the groups, who turned the affidavits over to Attorney General Jon Bruning in September. Both the Attorney General and the Department of Health investigations are active in probing Carhart.
Meanwhile, Operation Rescue was successful in launching a petition that resulted in a written promise from Wesley Medical Center in Wichita that it would not grant hospital privileges or a transfer agreement to Carhart should he open a new abortion center there. Wesley had arrangements with Tiller to take the many women he transported there for emergency medical care following botched abortions.
"In addition to his mounting legal and financial problems, his lack of access to hospital privileges in Kansas may very well be keeping him from opening a late-term abortion mill here," Newman told LifeNews.com today. "We continue our vigilance and will work to block any future efforts – if any – by Carhart to resume his grisly late-term abortion business in Kansas."
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