Most US abortions involve coercion or pressure, group says 20-year-old Caitlin Bruce wanted to keep her child after seeing its ultrasound image. The Elliot Institute, an Illinois organization dedicated to helping women recover from the aftermath of abortions, suggests that "probably the majority of abortions in the United States are unwanted or coerced in one way or another." The group cites studies that show many women procure abortion under pressure from their families or boyfriends, while some feel pressure from their employers to end their pregnancies. More ominously, the group notes that homicide is the leading cause of death among pregnant women in the US. The Elliott Institute made its findings public as an abortionist in Michigan admitted that he had forcibly restrained a woman who tried to leave his operating room after he began an abortion. Dr. Abraham Alberto Hodari said that although Caitlin Bruce told him she had changed her mind about the procedure after seeing an ultrasound image of her unborn child, he could not stop the procedure safely. Michigan Abortionist Admits to Forcing Client into Abortion Michigan abortionist Abraham Alberto Hodari has admitted to having an assistant forcibly restrain a woman who changed her mind about having an abortion, claiming he had already begun the procedure and wanted to guarantee a "safe abortion." Local station NBC 25, which has determinedly pursued this story of forced abortion at Hodari's Flint's Feminine Health Care Clinic, reports that 20-year-old Caitlin Bruce wanted to keep her child after seeing its ultrasound image. Bruce said that Hodari was in the midst of inserting a speculum, a medical tool used for the dilation and examination of the vagina and cervix, when she pleaded with him to stop the abortion. "I just told him stop please," she told the news station. "I'm really nervous and I don't want to do this anymore." Hodari insisted to NBC 25 that it was "too late" for him to stop. The abortionist, who was vacationing in Italy at the time of the interview, told the station that "there was blood and tissue on [his instruments] from pregnancy." He thought Bruce would have suffered complications, such as infection or severe bleeding, if he had listened to her. However, the trustworthiness of the Michigan abortionist has been called into question by comments he made at Wayne University in 2007, where he told medical students that doctors have a license to "lie" to their patients. Flint obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Mona Hardas, M.D., found Hodari's medical ethics abhorrent. She told NBC 25 that Hodari had an obligation to stop the abortion, and could have had Bruce transported to the emergency room for a second opinion as to whether the fetus could be saved. "I am shocked," Hardas said. "I can't believe this is still happening in this day and age." Hodari faces civil charges over the alleged forced abortion. Although Bruce filed a police report, the Genesee County prosecutor has yet to press criminal charges against the abortionist. Bruce's story aligns with testimonies from other women who have described similar horror stories of coerced abortions at Hodari's hands. A report by Operation Rescue shows Hodari has a record of 49 documented lawsuits over a span of decades. The history of Hodari's abortion practice also does not fit in with the story he told NBC 25 that he provides women "safe abortions." The abortionist has been implicated in the deaths of at least four women from abortion-related complications. In June 2009, the Disciplinary Subcommittee of Michigan's Board of Medicine fined Hodari $10,000 for negligence in connection with the botched abortion death of Regina Johnson. Numerous complaints have been filed against the abortionist for improper disposal of human remains and abortion records found in Hodari's dumpster. Hodari received a sentence of six months' probation on one such count in February. In November, Hodari put his abortion clinics on the market along with his collection of expensive classic cars and hastily filed for divorce from his wife of 29 years. Local activists told Operation Rescue that it appeared that he was attempting to liquidate his assets so he could flee the country, possibly to his former home in Argentina. Source: CWNews LifeSiteNews.com Publish Date: June 2, 2010 Link to this article. Send this article to a friend. |