Posted on 08/05/2004 6:30:30 AM PDT by wagglebee
NEW ORLEANS – A man accused of running a sham abortion clinic and tricking women in order to keep them from getting abortions was ordered Wednesday to disconnect his phone and stop giving advice.
U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit against William A. Graham, who was accused of listing the business phone of his Causeway Center for Women under "Abortion Services" and making misleading statements aimed at delaying women until it was too late for them to get legal abortions.
Among other accusations, the lawsuit brought by an abortion rights organization alleges trademark infringement because Graham lists his phone number directly below the listing for the similarly named Causeway Medical Clinic, which has provided abortion services since 1978.
"I still don't see that we've done anything wrong," said Graham, who earns his living through a tax preparation service but makes no income from Causeway Center for Women.
Graham, who represented himself at the hearing, referred to abortion as "a very controversial procedure."
"It's not a matter of whether we're for or against a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy," Graham said. "There's a lot of orchestration going on with those with an agenda."
Suzanne Novak, attorney for Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the lawsuit, said the judge's ruling would set a precedent for similar situations in which abortion opponents mislead women.
The lawsuit accused Graham of pretending to refer women to abortion providers at bargain prices, then telling them their appointments had been postponed. Louisiana law allows abortions only during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.
One plaintiff said Graham told her that if an abortion were "performed too early, it could be harmful to her health," according to the lawsuit.
No date was set for a hearing on whether the judge should make the injunction permanent.
Yeah, even giving misleading advice over the phone.
Must be a helluva cause if you have to lie & mislead those you are trying to convert.
It's so much harder to murder your baby these days... What's a mother who wants to murder her baby to do?
I am an abortion opponent.
If the man was lying about setting up abortions for people, then the bottom line is that he was lying.
He should have asked them in for consultation and simply given them honest advice from a different perspective.
I doubt that that could be censured in any way. AND...I see nothing wrong with that advice being considered abortion services.
Certainly no less so than some place that called itself a "center for reproductive choice."
Yeah........sort of like telling young girls that getting an abortion is no different than having a tooth pulled, or attempt to keep one's parents out of the loop.
I can hardly see where this is illegal.
and making misleading statements aimed at delaying women until it was too late for them to get legal abortions.
I would want to hear the statements and decide for myself if they were misleading.
the lawsuit brought by an abortion rights organization alleges trademark infringement because Graham lists his phone number directly below the listing for the similarly named Causeway Medical Clinic, which has provided abortion services since 1978.
Crack open a phonebook and you'll find this to be a common thing. Many businesses have similar names.
Suzanne Novak, attorney for Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the lawsuit, said the judge's ruling would set a precedent for similar situations in which abortion opponents mislead women.
What she means is that she wants to make it illegal to have any person counsel someone against having an abortion.
Must be a helluva cause if you have to lie & mislead those you are trying to convert.
Every cause has their extremists ... and/or those who choose a questionable methodology to achieve their goals ... including yours.
This guy's lucky he's not being charged with practicing medicine without a license.
Abortion uber alles
How so.....?
Is telling pregnant women lies the way to fight it?
The abortionist do? What's being done about that?
If this comment is true:
One plaintiff said Graham told her that if an abortion were "performed too early, it could be harmful to her health," according to the lawsuit.
He was certainly pushing the line.
Which is why I'm an advocate of televising an abortion, particularly a partial-birth abortion. Let America see. It's just a "medical procedure" so nobody should object. From the left's point of view, it's no different than the facelifts they show on TV.
Coming from a crowd who operates like this:
Here's some RU-486....AND REMEMBER, DON'T TELL YOUR PARENTS.
When you have to lie and mislead, the cause can't be that righteous.
If he's so proud of his stance, let him say it openly.
It's true that many businesses have similar names, but to choose a business name with the intent of causing confusion (or if a reasonable person might be confused) is not legal.
If any of the allegations are true, from either dispensing phony medical device (telling a woman that "performed too early, (an abortion) could be harmful to her health") to outright lying about the services the company offered ("pretending to refer women to abortion providers at bargain prices, then telling them their appointments had been postponed" in order for the women to miss the legal window for abortion), he ought to be shut down.
Right does not need to lie. If you need to lie to make your point, your point is wrong.
With all due respect, Tonto, I see no where in the article where it's been proven that this man lied about anything. What I see are charges from an attorney for the 'Center for Reproductive Rights'.
I'm inclined to believe one of our own before I believe 'Suzanne Novak, hired gun for baby-killers'.
George Bush lies all the time also, so I hear from this same crowd.
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