Thread by me.
DETROIT, Michigan, May 25, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Michigan abortionist is under renewed scrutiny over comments he made over two years ago, in which he said that doctors have a license to “lie” to their patients.
The comments were made by Dr. Abraham Alberto Hodari to medical students at Wayne University. Hodari currently is facing a lawsuit for allegedly forcing a woman to submit to an abortion after she had changed her mind, killing the unborn baby that she had decided she wanted.
“My wife says we doctors have a license to lie, and it’s true, it’s absolutely true. Sometimes you need to lie to a patient about things that they want to do or no,” Hodari told a gathering at Wayne State University on November 9, 2007.
He said it was not so much the case today, saying that the reason is that women “are more educated, between CNN and the internet, the patients are more educated about what we do.”
He then added, “I have great satisfaction about what I do, and I never feel bad or worried about doing abortions.”
Hodari’s remarks have only added more ammunition to the lawsuit pending against him in Genessee County Circuit Court.
NBC25 reported on the comments and asked for an explanation from the abortionist. Hodari claimed that he was only referring to situations where the woman’s life would be in danger, and said that a doctor must “never” tell a patient “you’re going to die.”
“And in that respect, yes, we lie,” insisted Hodari.
However, the context of Hodari’s remarks, in which he mentioned how proud he was to be an abortionist, had nothing to do with telling women that they were dying.
Caitlin Bruce is one ex-client of Hodari, who claims he did exactly to her what he told the Wayne medical students: lied to her, and forced her to abort a baby she wanted. Bruce that Hodari and his assistant forcibly held her down to the operating table and "ripped the life out of me that day."
Bruce’s alleged forced abortion happened at Hodari’s Flint abortion center, the Feminine Health Care Clinic.
Tom R. Pabst, Bruce’s attorney, told NBC25 that Hodari violated Bruce’s right to back out of a medical procedure and the video will serve as evidence against him.
"Whether it's a sexual advance or a medical procedure, if she says, ‘No, stop,’ that's the end of it," Pabst told the local news station.
"What he’s saying is that he knows what’s better for your body than you do, and he’s going to go ahead and do what he thinks is best for a woman’s body, not the woman. To me he’s got it flipped."
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.
Hodari's practice has also 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.
See related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:
Abortionist Hodari Officially Under Investigation for Forced Abortions
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/feb/10020106.html
Alleged Forced Abortion Victim Says Abortionist "Ripped the Life" Out of Her
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/nov/09112412.html
Forced Abortion, Rape Victim Comes Forward After Abortionist Given Slap on the Wrist
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09021102.html
Thread by me.
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- President Barack Obama has appointed another nominee for an influential government position who will upset pro-life advocates. But, this time, the nominee poses concerns not on abortion but on end-of-life issues like euthanasia, and rationing of health care.
Obama selected Dr. Donald Berwick to become the director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the office that oversees government health care programs.
Berwick is an outspoken admirer of the British National Health Service and its rationing arm, the National Institute for Clinical Effectiveness (NICE). Other critics have predicted since the earliest days of the Obama administration that NICE-style health care was coming.
That includes Wesley J. Smith, who has frequently condemned the approach.
During a 2008 speech to British physicians, Berwick said “I am romantic about the National Health Service. I love it," and calling it “generous, hopeful, confident, joyous, and just.”
Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, wrote more about the problems with Berwick in an opinion column at the Daily Caller.
Recalling that opponents of the government-run health care bill were blasted for bringing up "death panels," Tanner writes: "But if President Obama wanted to keep a lid on that particular controversy, he just selected about the worst possible nominee."
In his comments lauding the British health care system, Tanner says "Berwick was referring to a British health care system where 750,000 patients are awaiting admission to NHS hospitals."
" The government’s official target for diagnostic testing was a wait of no more than 18 weeks by 2008. The reality doesn't come close. The latest estimates suggest that for most specialties, only 30 to 50 percent of patients are treated within 18 weeks. For trauma and orthopedics patients, the figure is only 20 percent," he writes.
"Overall, more than half of British patients wait more than 18 weeks for care. Every year, 50,000 surgeries are canceled because patients become too sick on the waiting list to proceed,' he continues.
"The one thing the NHS is good at is saving money. After all, it is far cheaper to let the sick die than to provide care," Tanner adds.
NICE is at the forefront of the rationing in the British health care system.
"It acts as a comparative-effectiveness tool for NHS, comparing various treatments and determining whether the benefits the patient receives, such as prolonged life, are cost-efficient for the government," Tanner explains. "NICE, however, is not simply a government agency that helps bureaucrats decide if one treatment is better than another. With the creation of NICE, the U.K. government has effectively put a dollar amount to how much a citizen’s life is worth."
Tanner points out that Berwick has already admitted health care rationing is coming.
“It’s not a question of whether we will ration care,” the Obama nominee said in a magazine interview for Biotechnology Healthcare, “It is whether we will ration with our eyes open.”
Tanner concludes: "Recent reports suggest that the recently passed health care bill will be far more expensive than originally projected. As it becomes apparent that that ObamaCare is unsustainable, the calls for controlling its costs through rationing will grow louder. With Donald Berwick running the government’s health care efforts, those voices will have a ready ear."