Pro-Choice Violence in Colorado
A report by Dr. Brian Clowes, Director of Research and Training at Human Life International, for the website www.prochoiceviolence.com.
Content
“Pro-Choice” Violence and Illegal Activities in Colorado
Boulder Colorado Springs Denver Durango Grand Junction Boulder, Colorado
Malpractice (8 incidents) The Colorado Board of Medical Examiners suspended abortionist Braxton Tabb's medical license on April 10, 1987 because "Respondent's omissions and failures ... are by no means insubstantial since they placed various patients, particularly patients A, F., G, and H, in substantial jeopardy of experiencing severe complications or sustaining serious further problems which respondent could perhaps have prevented or alleviated had he acted appropriately." His skills were so shoddy that he was actually fired from three abortion mills: The Boulder Abortion Clinic, the Boulder Valley Clinic, and the Mayfair Clinic. References: Colorado Board of Medical Examiners Case #ME86-07 and Arapahoe County District Court Case #A87-CV-547.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
First-Degree Murder, Assault (3 incidents), Death Threats (3 incidents) and Drug Pushing 47-year-old Daniel Garrison Self was a drug pusher and supplied heroin to his girlfriend Leah Kathleen Gee, who was half his age. She was also seven months pregnant with another man's child. This man's name was Phillip Lear, who also considered Leah to be his girlfriend. Several times, Self had punched and kicked her in the abdomen in attempts to make her miscarry, and had threatened to kill her. On March 27, 2003, Self made good on his threats. He shot Leah in the head, and she died two days later. Doctors delivered her son by Caesarean section, but he died two weeks later due to oxygen
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deprivation caused by his mother's death. He claimed that Leah committed suicide at his home, but police didn't buy his story. While he sat in jail awaiting trial, he boasted to another inmate that he had murdered Leah. When he learned that he could not be charged with the murder of Leah's viable preborn child, he said "At least they can't charge me with killing that little bastard." When Colorado tried to pass an Unborn Victims of Violence Act in 2006, Warren Hern, who commits partial-birth abortions at his Boulder Abortion Clinic, testified against it and it was killed by a committee. Hern claimed that the law would allow him to be prosecuted for doing third-trimester abortions. On June 11, 2004, a jury convicted Self of first-degree murder. Self was sentenced to an automatic term of life in prison. Leah's older brother Shane Neal said that his sister had started using drugs at the age of sixteen and could never be free of them. He said "That was the one hold that Dan had on her — he could provide the drugs. It finally killed her. She was at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person." Prosecutors could not charge Self with any crime resulting in the death of Leah's preborn child under Colorado law. Leah's mother, Carla Neal, said "This man should be accountable for my grandson's death as well as my daughter's." References: "Man Faces Trial for Death of Girlfriend, Unborn Baby: Precedent Setting Legal Case Unlike Any Other in Colorado." ABC Channel 7 News [Denver, Colorado], July 11, 2003; "Man to be Tried in Newborn's Death." Rocky Mountain News, July 12, 2003; Bill Hethcock. "Man Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder in Girlfriend's Shooting." Colorado Springs Gazette, June 12, 2004; Steven Ertelt. "Colorado Cmte Kills Bill to Protect Pregnant Women from Violence." LifeNews, February 9, 2006.
Denver, Colorado
Manslaughter, Criminal Abortion and Malpractice (18 incidents) On February 25, 1980, abortionist James Franklin killed 26-year old Betty Jane Zellers Damato during a botched criminal abortion and was sentenced to three years for manslaughter and criminal abortion. His medical license was revoked in 1982 after the abortion at his ABCD abortion mill. The indictment charged that he failed to extract the entire 7-month fetus, packed her vagina with gauze, gave her shots and pills, and instructed her to place any discharged fetal remnants in a bag and bring them to him later. The medical board investigative documents state that [Franklin] performed an incomplete abortion at his clinic, and then sent her home still bleeding ... provided and offered no post-operative care ... failed to recognize an emergency and arrange for hospitalization, when her condition clearly required it ... records are substandard giving an inaccurate reflection of the course of events, raising a substantial question of the adequacy and integrity of medical records and recordkeeping procedures. ... The panel is extremely concerned that if the Respondent truly believed that the procedures which he followed in his treatment of Betty Damato and to which he testified before the Grand Jury were 'accepted medical practice,' that belief is shocking to the panel and is, in itself, a demonstration of this Respondent's unfitness to practice medicine.
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Damato died due to massive infection after transfer by ambulance to a hospital three days following the abortion. Franklin reportedly claimed that when she first came to him, the fetus was already dead so he instructed her to go to a hospital. A news article quotes Franklin as saying: "I feel that the conviction is the product of cool, calculated perjury — spoken in an atmosphere of prejudice and hysteria." Franklin was the subject of 24 lawsuits in three states. He filed for bankruptcy in 1979 while facing $2 million in judgments from other malpractice suits. References: Denver Post, May 22, 1981; Rocky Mountain News, December 4, 1981; Colorado Medical Board Case #81-JEF. Assault (7 incidents) On October 5, 1994, at the Denver Planned Parenthood abortion mill, Gary Jamieson, the number two person of Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood, and Mike Newell, a private investigator for Planned Parenthood, shoved pro-lifer David Lane. The two pro-abortionists threw pro-lifer Terry Sullivan to the ground, and then Jamieson started hitting Terry with his fists. Newell struck Lane with a metal baton, and then struck pro-lifer Cliff Powell once on top of his head, once behind the head, and twice on his body. Powell bled profusely, and Lane suffered a gash requiring ten stitches and lost his sight in his left eye for a while. Newell then dragged and handcuffed Lane to the fence. Two pro-life women, Bernadette and Dianne Cordova, tried to protect the men. Newell struck Dianne with his metal baton, and Jamieson slugged Bernadette. Neither Newell nor Jamieson were charged, despite all the evidence. References: Terry Sullivan, October 15, 1994 personal communication with Lynn K. Murphy, Life Research Institute; Paul deParrie. "Denver Clinic Declares Open Season on Picketers." Life Advocate, November 1994, pages 16 and 17; News Notes. "Clinic Violence On The Rise." The Wanderer, October 20, 1994, page 3; National Pro-Life Newsline, October 1994; Craig Jones and Lynn Bartels. "Melee Breaks Out at Abortion-Clinic Protest." Rocky Mountain News, October 6, 1994, page 4A; October 6, 1994 interview by Denver radio talk-show host Steve Kelly with Bernadette Cordova and Clifton Powell. Assault (2 incidents), Menacing and Death Threat On April 20, 2002, 300-pound pro-abortionist Christopher Smith, wielding a large hunting knife, attacked a 79-year-old peaceful abortion protestor outside a Planned Parenthood abortion mill in Denver. Pro-lifer Jo Scott, who witnessed the attack, said Today at Planned Parenthood in Denver, we were attacked. A woman showed up with a young girl and her boyfriend and they went into the abortuary. The usual things happened as they entered PP. We talked to them, the woman got angry, and the girl was crying. A few minutes later the woman left PP alone in her car. About 30 minutes later she came back with two guys who were irate. The main guy was spit fire mad and made a bee line for us. We were standing at the entrance of PP. He weighed about 250 pounds, was about 5' 10" tall, had long hair, he was heavily tattooed and dirty looking. I don't know exactly how old he is, but I'd say early thirties. He began to spew the usual obscenities along with the usual lies, such as she'll die if she doesn't have this abortion. When Ken and Jason called his bluff, he hit Ken, then said he was a paid up member of the "Sons of Silence" and he was going to kill us all. The man then headed back to his
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truck which was parked up against the back fence of PP. That's where Paul is every Saturday. Paul, age 79, began to talk to the man and the mad man pulled a knife out of his truck and plunged it at Paul two maybe three times saying, "You want to die too?" That's when Paul fell off the chair he was standing on. The man with the knife then saw the gate in the fence and went through it after Paul. At that point Ken, Jason and I were running to the back alley to help Paul. When we arrived Paul was on the ground hurt and the man with the knife was back on the PP side of the fence, but not for long. As soon as Paul was able to get to his feet, the man with the knife came back out to the alley. This time Jason and Ken met him. Apparently, the man with the knife knew that the police were on the way, so he and his friend took off down the alley in an attempt to get away. Ken and Jason stayed on them for eight blocks witnessing to them the whole way. Then Ken saw a couple of cops eating in a restaurant and pulled them out to arrest the guys. They stopped him and arrested him. The man missed Paul with the knife, but he did throw Paul to the ground, scuffing him up pretty good. His knees were bleeding and his elbow was in tough shape. The man with the knife was charged with a felony. At this point I'm not sure which one, but I do know that he's charged with assault on an elderly person and from what I understand, that doubles his punishment. PP had two of the retired cops on duty today and they did nothing to stop the man with the knife, other than to call the cops, which we had already done. Just another day at the Not-So-OK Corral. Two days later, the Denver District Attorney dropped the felony charges against Christopher Smith, reducing his charges to a misdemeanor threat charge. Given the fact that many people, both inside and outside the abortion mill, saw the man menacing others with a large knife, the Denver pro-lifers were certain the actions of the Denver District Attorney would actually encourage other more violent attacks against them. But, after protests from Denver pro-lifers, a Denver police detective returned to the abortuary on April 24, 2002, viewed the onsite surveillance tapes recorded by Planned Parenthood and, based on what he saw on the tapes, rearrested Christopher Smith, charging him with felony menacing charges. He was held in Denver police custody under $50,000 bail. Neither Planned Parenthood nor any other "pro-choice" group apologized for or condemned the vicious attack by a rabid pro-abortionist on an elderly man. Reference: "Knife Attack at Denver Abortion Clinic." Christian Gallery News Service, April 25, 2002. Practicing Medicine Without a License and Possession of a Controlled Substance On September 15, 2000, acupuncturist Zhong Fu was charged with criminal abortion, second-degree assault, pretended criminal abortion and theft. All are felonies. Investigators believe he may have carried out other abortions at his east Denver business. Fu ran an acupuncture business out of his home at 777 Birch St. in Denver called Family Acupuncture, police said. On September 2, an 18-year-old woman went to Penrose Community Medical Center in Colorado Springs with bleeding and other injuries. Hospital officials alerted police after the woman said she had been to Fu's to have an abortion, according to court documents. The 18-year-old was admitted to the hospital with the unborn baby's hand and umbilical cord protruding from her body. Fu, who is not a licensed physician, charged her $1,500 to abort her 25-week old preborn baby. The Chinese-born acupuncturist said he told the 18-year-old to bring $1,500 with her because "it was a way to make easy money," according to an affidavit. On September 4, 2000, the woman went to Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, where doctors
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determined she had suffered an "incomplete and botched abortion." The dead fetus was still inside the woman, and she had a serious infection, the prosecutor said during Fu's trial. "It appeared people would visit him regularly and based on the police investigation, there is the possibility of other victims," said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney's Office. At Fu's trial, prosecutor Diane Balkin told a Denver jury that "This is a case about deceit and greed. He deceived her into believing he was a qualified medical doctor." Naturally, defense lawyer Randall Paulsen tried to do everything he could to divert attention away from the abortion itself to other matters. Paulsen said police and prosecutors have unfairly demonized Fu, and that Fu is a respected employee of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, where he is an anatomist. "He is one of the finest anatomists they've ever seen," Paulsen said. "He has never been about greed or deceit in his life. He never, ever, ever deserved to be demonized." The jury cleared Fu of criminal abortion, assault and theft charges, but convicted him on a misdemeanor charge of practicing medicine without a license and possession of a controlled substance. Fu said "I think the jury was very clear that there is no evidence that I do this illegal abortion, pretended abortion and assault on the lady, but I do not feel guilty about the other charges either." Defense attorney Randall Paulsen said he was gratified the jury convicted Fu on "technical violations. He is without a doubt one of the finest human beings I have ever met." Fu had testified he examined her because he believed she would commit suicide. He said the baby was dead but did not perform an abortion. He said she was badly infected and repeatedly told her to go to a hospital. She paid him $1,500, which Fu returned after his arrest. Abortionist Warren Hern, director of the Boulder Abortion Clinic, said the woman suffered an incomplete abortion, which endangered her life after a surgical instrument was used to rupture the amniotic fluid. "In my opinion, he either purposely or inadvertently punctured the membrane. I think it was purposely done," Hern said. Hern also testified that a hook found in Fu's home office was used to perforate the amniotic sac. The same hook could have been used to pull down the umbilical cord, which was then clamped off, causing fetal death, he said. In September 2001, Zhong Fu was acquitted of the charge of performing an illegal abortion. On November 16, he was given 18 months probation for practicing medicine without a license and for possession of ketamine, an animal tranquilizer, that was found in his home. References: "Colorado Acupuncturist Charged With Illegal Abortion." Denver Post, September 16, 2000; Pro-Life Infonet, September 19, 2000; Associated Press, September 28, 2000; "Illegal Abortion Leaves Unborn Child's Hand in Mother." Pro-Life Infonet, October 2, 2000; "Colorado Acupuncturist Pleads Not Guilty to Performing Illegal Abortion." Colorado Springs Gazette, January 3, 2001; "Colorado Acupuncturist Pleads Not Guilty to Performing Illegal Abortion." Pro-Life Infonet, January 4, 2001; Howard Pankratz. "Doctor's Illegal-Abortion Trial Opens: Greed vs. Sympathy Motives Argued." Denver Post, September 7, 2001; Sue Lindsay. "Abortion Procedure Called 'Unacceptable'." Rocky Mountain News, September 18, 2001; Sue Lindsay. "Abortion Case Goes to Jury: Anatomist Accused of Botching Procedure on 18-Year-Old Woman." Rocky Mountain News, September 20, 2001; Sue Lindsay. "Acupuncturist Cleared of Abortion Charge: Jury Convicts Chinese Man on 2 Other Counts." Rocky Mountain News, September 22, 2001; "Acupuncturist Gets Probation." Denver Post, November 17, 2001; "Colorado Man Gets Probation for Performing Illegal Abortion." Pro-Life Infonet, November 19, 2001. Assault and Destruction of Property . “Pro-choicers” love, adore, cherish, worship freedom — at least, that is what they tell the press. In
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reality, they jealously guard and protect their own freedoms, but when others use their freedoms to challenge them, the “pro-choicers” invariably lash out with violence and hatred. While posing as champions of free speech, they will do everything they can to censor and cover up the pro-life message.
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In August 2008, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) took place in Denver. A number of pro-lifers decided to protest in an imaginative way, and try for a world record as well. On August 26, 2008, the group American Right to Life erected a 530-foot tall and 666-foot wide pro-life sign overlooking Denver. The pro-lifers first put up three 160-foot-tall bright yellow letters stacked one on top of the other, to read “D-N-C.” Then they unfurled other letters to read Destroys uNborn Children, as seen below;
The total weight of all of the fabric in the cloth sign was more than a ton — 2,700 pounds, to be exact, and was sewed together with more than four miles of seams connecting 2,400 sheets. 44 volunteers backpacked the letters to the site, and spotters a mile away directed the letter placement. The effort began at one in the morning and went on for about eight hours. The sign could be seen ten miles away, including from the hotels where many reporters and DNC delegates are staying. Naturally, a “pro-choicer” was offended by this display, and decided to get violent. He climbed up the hill and began to rip up the sign, but 17-year-old Josh Craddock stood between the man and the sign. Then the man started to scream profanity at Josh and shoved him to the ground twice and, when police were called, he lied, of course, saying that Josh had assaulted him. Josh said that He basically just screamed a lot of profanity at me. He shoved me to the ground, down the hill. So I jumped back up and got back between him and the sheets. I called the police and they began to come up the hill. Once he found out that the police were coming — he had shoved me twice to the ground — he acted as if he hadn't done anything." Reference: John Jalsevac. “Pro-Life Volunteer Allegedly Assaulted as Group Unfurls "World's Largest" Sign Overlooking Democratic Convention.” LifeSite News, August 27, 2008.
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Practicing Medicine Without a License On May 23, 2002, after a year-long investigation by Denver-area police agencies, prosecutors charged Lishan He, 46, with distributing abortifacients and practicing medicine without a license. She had posted fliers around Denver offering "abortion pills via mail." Denver police spokesman John White said that The harm is that we have an individual who is providing medication to people without the proper authorization, without having prior contact with the people receiving those drugs and without any knowledge of what their physical situation is. If an individual who hasn't been properly screened for this type of medication is using it, that could obviously create health problems. A Denver crime laboratory confirmed that the pills He was selling contained medication that induces abortion and is legally available by prescription only. The pills were similar to the abortion pill RU-486. References: John Ingold. "Mail-Order Sale of Abortion Pills Leads to Arrest: Woman Accused After 1-Year Probe." Denver Post, May 24, 2002; Pro-Life Infonet, May 29, 2002. Unprofessional Conduct Abortionist William J. Milano's Colorado medical license was suspended for "having sex with a patient and then performing an abortion on her." The Board also found him to have problems with pornography and alcohol. Reference: Rocky Mountain News, July 10, 1995.
Durango, Colorado
Manslaughter Carlos Herrera and Brenda Chavez were both married to other people and were having an affair, and Brenda became pregnant. In January 2000, Herrera pressured her into having an abortion. She became pregnant again. On February 9, 2001, Herrera and Brenda met for one of their late-afternoon trysts at the Southern Ute Sand and Gravel pit. Herrera beat Brenda to death and disposed of her body and vehicle by running the vehicle off a steep embankment into a grove of trees. Brenda was reported missing the next day by her husband Ruben. She remained missing until May 9, 2001, when her partially decomposed body was found by three children on four-wheelers. The children happened upon Brenda's 1995 Toyota 4Runner at the bottom of a steep ravine about 200 feet off County Road 321, about 1½ miles east of Ignacio. A $5,000 reward was given to the youths for finding the body. An autopsy ruled Brenda's death a homicide by blunt-force trauma to the head. On August 10, 2003, Herrera turned himself in to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Office in Durango and confessed to the crime. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder by the United States District Attorney's Office in Durango, and was imprisoned without bail in the La Plata County Jail.
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According to an affidavit for an arrest warrant, Herrera admitted that he "routinely had sexual relations with Brenda Chavez on and around the area of the gravel pit." Herrera went into detail about his relationship with Chavez, about how they met, and about "a strong physical relationship" that developed between them, the affidavit says. In interviews with FBI investigators, Herrera also said that he did not want the child he fathered with Chavez. In January 2004, Herrera was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. References: Shane Benjamin. "Confession May Solve '01 Murder." Durango Herald, August 12, 2003; Jim Greenhill. "Stella Joe Defends Her Murdered Daughter, Brenda Chavez." The Durango Herald, February 22, 2004.
Grand Junction, Colorado
Felony Unlawful Termination of Pregnancy This database documents a number of cases where cowardly “pro-choice” men have demanded that their girlfriends get abortions. When the women refuse, the men slip easily-available abortifacient drugs into their drinks or food. Sometimes the men grind up the RU-486 abortion pill and slip it into a drink; other times they use drugs intended to make cattle miscarry. This sneaky attack is typical of the selfish and cowardly “pro-choice” mentality, and is significant because no national “pro-choice” group has ever condemned them.
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31-year-old Jared Merril Ahlstrom's girlfriend was pregnant by him, and he was not happy with the situation at all. He demanded that she have an abortion, and she refused. Like so many other "pro-choice" men, he decided to force her to have an abortion. Ahlstrom and his girlfriend went hiking in Mexico. He obtained a dose of misoprostol, the ulcer medication that is used as the second part of the RU-486 abortion drug process. He laced her food with it twice, she ate it, and she miscarried her baby boy. She became suspicious when she wanted to have the baby's remains examined, but Ahlstrom pushed her to have him cremated, and did not want his ashes. A year and a half later, after he moved from Colorado to Utah, Ahlstrom send electronic messages to the girl, admitting that he had given her the misoprostol to cause an abortion. On February 16, 2010, Ahlstrom pleaded guilty to a charge of felony unlawful termination of pregnancy. On May 2, 2010, a judge sentenced him to five years in prison. References: "Steven Ertelt. "Utah Man Pleads Guilty to Forced Miscarriage, Gave Girlfriend Abortion Drug." LifeNews, February 16, 2010; Ashley Prchal. "Man Sentenced to Five Years for Unlawful Termination of Ex-Girlfriend's Pregnancy." NBC Channel 11 News [Grand Junction, Colorado], May 3, 2010. Sexual Assault on a Child Abortion is a wonderful tool that “pro-choice” male child sexual molesters frequently use to eliminate the evidence of their crimes. This case shows that female sex offenders find abortion very useful as well. 31-year-old Theresa Millon took in a woman who was suffering from cancer, and her 14-year-old
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boy. She repeatedly had sex with the boy and, when she became pregnant, aborted their child. Her main defense during her trial was that she was "sexually pursued for weeks" before giving in to the boy's desires, and that "I didn't instigate this relationship, he looks like he's 25 years old." But District Judge Richard Gurley didn't buy it, and replied "I've wondered if this was a male offender making the same argument — that the girl kept coming on to me and I gave in — how I would take that ... I wouldn't be very receptive to that argument." Millon admitted to having sex with the boy "three to four times" at her home. Judge Gurley sentenced Millon to a term of 10 years to life on probation, and she will have to successfully complete an intensive sex-offender treatment program. Gurley also sentenced Millon to 15 months in the county's work release program. Millon pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault on a child. She will likely lose custody of her own two children as a result of her guilty plea. References: "Woman Pleads Guilty to Having Sex with 14 Year Old Boy." NBC Channel 11 News [Grand Junction, Colorado], October 16, 2009; Paul Shockley. "Woman Pregnant by Teen Gets Probation." Grand Junction Free Press, December 16, 2008.
― End of Colorado Listing ―
(updated March 31, 2011)
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Boulder Colorado Springs Denver Durango Grand Junction Boulder, Colorado
Malpractice (8 incidents) The Colorado Board of Medical Examiners suspended abortionist Braxton Tabb's medical license on April 10, 1987 because "Respondent's omissions and failures ... are by no means insubstantial since they placed various patients, particularly patients A, F., G, and H, in substantial jeopardy of experiencing severe complications or sustaining serious further problems which respondent could perhaps have prevented or alleviated had he acted appropriately." His skills were so shoddy that he was actually fired from three abortion mills: The Boulder Abortion Clinic, the Boulder Valley Clinic, and the Mayfair Clinic. References: Colorado Board of Medical Examiners Case #ME86-07 and Arapahoe County District Court Case #A87-CV-547.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
First-Degree Murder, Assault (3 incidents), Death Threats (3 incidents) and Drug Pushing 47-year-old Daniel Garrison Self was a drug pusher and supplied heroin to his girlfriend Leah Kathleen Gee, who was half his age. She was also seven months pregnant with another man's child. This man's name was Phillip Lear, who also considered Leah to be his girlfriend. Several times, Self had punched and kicked her in the abdomen in attempts to make her miscarry, and had threatened to kill her. On March 27, 2003, Self made good on his threats. He shot Leah in the head, and she died two days later. Doctors delivered her son by Caesarean section, but he died two weeks later due to oxygen
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deprivation caused by his mother's death. He claimed that Leah committed suicide at his home, but police didn't buy his story. While he sat in jail awaiting trial, he boasted to another inmate that he had murdered Leah. When he learned that he could not be charged with the murder of Leah's viable preborn child, he said "At least they can't charge me with killing that little bastard." When Colorado tried to pass an Unborn Victims of Violence Act in 2006, Warren Hern, who commits partial-birth abortions at his Boulder Abortion Clinic, testified against it and it was killed by a committee. Hern claimed that the law would allow him to be prosecuted for doing third-trimester abortions. On June 11, 2004, a jury convicted Self of first-degree murder. Self was sentenced to an automatic term of life in prison. Leah's older brother Shane Neal said that his sister had started using drugs at the age of sixteen and could never be free of them. He said "That was the one hold that Dan had on her — he could provide the drugs. It finally killed her. She was at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person." Prosecutors could not charge Self with any crime resulting in the death of Leah's preborn child under Colorado law. Leah's mother, Carla Neal, said "This man should be accountable for my grandson's death as well as my daughter's." References: "Man Faces Trial for Death of Girlfriend, Unborn Baby: Precedent Setting Legal Case Unlike Any Other in Colorado." ABC Channel 7 News [Denver, Colorado], July 11, 2003; "Man to be Tried in Newborn's Death." Rocky Mountain News, July 12, 2003; Bill Hethcock. "Man Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder in Girlfriend's Shooting." Colorado Springs Gazette, June 12, 2004; Steven Ertelt. "Colorado Cmte Kills Bill to Protect Pregnant Women from Violence." LifeNews, February 9, 2006.
Denver, Colorado
Manslaughter, Criminal Abortion and Malpractice (18 incidents) On February 25, 1980, abortionist James Franklin killed 26-year old Betty Jane Zellers Damato during a botched criminal abortion and was sentenced to three years for manslaughter and criminal abortion. His medical license was revoked in 1982 after the abortion at his ABCD abortion mill. The indictment charged that he failed to extract the entire 7-month fetus, packed her vagina with gauze, gave her shots and pills, and instructed her to place any discharged fetal remnants in a bag and bring them to him later. The medical board investigative documents state that [Franklin] performed an incomplete abortion at his clinic, and then sent her home still bleeding ... provided and offered no post-operative care ... failed to recognize an emergency and arrange for hospitalization, when her condition clearly required it ... records are substandard giving an inaccurate reflection of the course of events, raising a substantial question of the adequacy and integrity of medical records and recordkeeping procedures. ... The panel is extremely concerned that if the Respondent truly believed that the procedures which he followed in his treatment of Betty Damato and to which he testified before the Grand Jury were 'accepted medical practice,' that belief is shocking to the panel and is, in itself, a demonstration of this Respondent's unfitness to practice medicine.
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Damato died due to massive infection after transfer by ambulance to a hospital three days following the abortion. Franklin reportedly claimed that when she first came to him, the fetus was already dead so he instructed her to go to a hospital. A news article quotes Franklin as saying: "I feel that the conviction is the product of cool, calculated perjury — spoken in an atmosphere of prejudice and hysteria." Franklin was the subject of 24 lawsuits in three states. He filed for bankruptcy in 1979 while facing $2 million in judgments from other malpractice suits. References: Denver Post, May 22, 1981; Rocky Mountain News, December 4, 1981; Colorado Medical Board Case #81-JEF. Assault (7 incidents) On October 5, 1994, at the Denver Planned Parenthood abortion mill, Gary Jamieson, the number two person of Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood, and Mike Newell, a private investigator for Planned Parenthood, shoved pro-lifer David Lane. The two pro-abortionists threw pro-lifer Terry Sullivan to the ground, and then Jamieson started hitting Terry with his fists. Newell struck Lane with a metal baton, and then struck pro-lifer Cliff Powell once on top of his head, once behind the head, and twice on his body. Powell bled profusely, and Lane suffered a gash requiring ten stitches and lost his sight in his left eye for a while. Newell then dragged and handcuffed Lane to the fence. Two pro-life women, Bernadette and Dianne Cordova, tried to protect the men. Newell struck Dianne with his metal baton, and Jamieson slugged Bernadette. Neither Newell nor Jamieson were charged, despite all the evidence. References: Terry Sullivan, October 15, 1994 personal communication with Lynn K. Murphy, Life Research Institute; Paul deParrie. "Denver Clinic Declares Open Season on Picketers." Life Advocate, November 1994, pages 16 and 17; News Notes. "Clinic Violence On The Rise." The Wanderer, October 20, 1994, page 3; National Pro-Life Newsline, October 1994; Craig Jones and Lynn Bartels. "Melee Breaks Out at Abortion-Clinic Protest." Rocky Mountain News, October 6, 1994, page 4A; October 6, 1994 interview by Denver radio talk-show host Steve Kelly with Bernadette Cordova and Clifton Powell. Assault (2 incidents), Menacing and Death Threat On April 20, 2002, 300-pound pro-abortionist Christopher Smith, wielding a large hunting knife, attacked a 79-year-old peaceful abortion protestor outside a Planned Parenthood abortion mill in Denver. Pro-lifer Jo Scott, who witnessed the attack, said Today at Planned Parenthood in Denver, we were attacked. A woman showed up with a young girl and her boyfriend and they went into the abortuary. The usual things happened as they entered PP. We talked to them, the woman got angry, and the girl was crying. A few minutes later the woman left PP alone in her car. About 30 minutes later she came back with two guys who were irate. The main guy was spit fire mad and made a bee line for us. We were standing at the entrance of PP. He weighed about 250 pounds, was about 5' 10" tall, had long hair, he was heavily tattooed and dirty looking. I don't know exactly how old he is, but I'd say early thirties. He began to spew the usual obscenities along with the usual lies, such as she'll die if she doesn't have this abortion. When Ken and Jason called his bluff, he hit Ken, then said he was a paid up member of the "Sons of Silence" and he was going to kill us all. The man then headed back to his
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truck which was parked up against the back fence of PP. That's where Paul is every Saturday. Paul, age 79, began to talk to the man and the mad man pulled a knife out of his truck and plunged it at Paul two maybe three times saying, "You want to die too?" That's when Paul fell off the chair he was standing on. The man with the knife then saw the gate in the fence and went through it after Paul. At that point Ken, Jason and I were running to the back alley to help Paul. When we arrived Paul was on the ground hurt and the man with the knife was back on the PP side of the fence, but not for long. As soon as Paul was able to get to his feet, the man with the knife came back out to the alley. This time Jason and Ken met him. Apparently, the man with the knife knew that the police were on the way, so he and his friend took off down the alley in an attempt to get away. Ken and Jason stayed on them for eight blocks witnessing to them the whole way. Then Ken saw a couple of cops eating in a restaurant and pulled them out to arrest the guys. They stopped him and arrested him. The man missed Paul with the knife, but he did throw Paul to the ground, scuffing him up pretty good. His knees were bleeding and his elbow was in tough shape. The man with the knife was charged with a felony. At this point I'm not sure which one, but I do know that he's charged with assault on an elderly person and from what I understand, that doubles his punishment. PP had two of the retired cops on duty today and they did nothing to stop the man with the knife, other than to call the cops, which we had already done. Just another day at the Not-So-OK Corral. Two days later, the Denver District Attorney dropped the felony charges against Christopher Smith, reducing his charges to a misdemeanor threat charge. Given the fact that many people, both inside and outside the abortion mill, saw the man menacing others with a large knife, the Denver pro-lifers were certain the actions of the Denver District Attorney would actually encourage other more violent attacks against them. But, after protests from Denver pro-lifers, a Denver police detective returned to the abortuary on April 24, 2002, viewed the onsite surveillance tapes recorded by Planned Parenthood and, based on what he saw on the tapes, rearrested Christopher Smith, charging him with felony menacing charges. He was held in Denver police custody under $50,000 bail. Neither Planned Parenthood nor any other "pro-choice" group apologized for or condemned the vicious attack by a rabid pro-abortionist on an elderly man. Reference: "Knife Attack at Denver Abortion Clinic." Christian Gallery News Service, April 25, 2002. Practicing Medicine Without a License and Possession of a Controlled Substance On September 15, 2000, acupuncturist Zhong Fu was charged with criminal abortion, second-degree assault, pretended criminal abortion and theft. All are felonies. Investigators believe he may have carried out other abortions at his east Denver business. Fu ran an acupuncture business out of his home at 777 Birch St. in Denver called Family Acupuncture, police said. On September 2, an 18-year-old woman went to Penrose Community Medical Center in Colorado Springs with bleeding and other injuries. Hospital officials alerted police after the woman said she had been to Fu's to have an abortion, according to court documents. The 18-year-old was admitted to the hospital with the unborn baby's hand and umbilical cord protruding from her body. Fu, who is not a licensed physician, charged her $1,500 to abort her 25-week old preborn baby. The Chinese-born acupuncturist said he told the 18-year-old to bring $1,500 with her because "it was a way to make easy money," according to an affidavit. On September 4, 2000, the woman went to Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, where doctors
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determined she had suffered an "incomplete and botched abortion." The dead fetus was still inside the woman, and she had a serious infection, the prosecutor said during Fu's trial. "It appeared people would visit him regularly and based on the police investigation, there is the possibility of other victims," said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney's Office. At Fu's trial, prosecutor Diane Balkin told a Denver jury that "This is a case about deceit and greed. He deceived her into believing he was a qualified medical doctor." Naturally, defense lawyer Randall Paulsen tried to do everything he could to divert attention away from the abortion itself to other matters. Paulsen said police and prosecutors have unfairly demonized Fu, and that Fu is a respected employee of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, where he is an anatomist. "He is one of the finest anatomists they've ever seen," Paulsen said. "He has never been about greed or deceit in his life. He never, ever, ever deserved to be demonized." The jury cleared Fu of criminal abortion, assault and theft charges, but convicted him on a misdemeanor charge of practicing medicine without a license and possession of a controlled substance. Fu said "I think the jury was very clear that there is no evidence that I do this illegal abortion, pretended abortion and assault on the lady, but I do not feel guilty about the other charges either." Defense attorney Randall Paulsen said he was gratified the jury convicted Fu on "technical violations. He is without a doubt one of the finest human beings I have ever met." Fu had testified he examined her because he believed she would commit suicide. He said the baby was dead but did not perform an abortion. He said she was badly infected and repeatedly told her to go to a hospital. She paid him $1,500, which Fu returned after his arrest. Abortionist Warren Hern, director of the Boulder Abortion Clinic, said the woman suffered an incomplete abortion, which endangered her life after a surgical instrument was used to rupture the amniotic fluid. "In my opinion, he either purposely or inadvertently punctured the membrane. I think it was purposely done," Hern said. Hern also testified that a hook found in Fu's home office was used to perforate the amniotic sac. The same hook could have been used to pull down the umbilical cord, which was then clamped off, causing fetal death, he said. In September 2001, Zhong Fu was acquitted of the charge of performing an illegal abortion. On November 16, he was given 18 months probation for practicing medicine without a license and for possession of ketamine, an animal tranquilizer, that was found in his home. References: "Colorado Acupuncturist Charged With Illegal Abortion." Denver Post, September 16, 2000; Pro-Life Infonet, September 19, 2000; Associated Press, September 28, 2000; "Illegal Abortion Leaves Unborn Child's Hand in Mother." Pro-Life Infonet, October 2, 2000; "Colorado Acupuncturist Pleads Not Guilty to Performing Illegal Abortion." Colorado Springs Gazette, January 3, 2001; "Colorado Acupuncturist Pleads Not Guilty to Performing Illegal Abortion." Pro-Life Infonet, January 4, 2001; Howard Pankratz. "Doctor's Illegal-Abortion Trial Opens: Greed vs. Sympathy Motives Argued." Denver Post, September 7, 2001; Sue Lindsay. "Abortion Procedure Called 'Unacceptable'." Rocky Mountain News, September 18, 2001; Sue Lindsay. "Abortion Case Goes to Jury: Anatomist Accused of Botching Procedure on 18-Year-Old Woman." Rocky Mountain News, September 20, 2001; Sue Lindsay. "Acupuncturist Cleared of Abortion Charge: Jury Convicts Chinese Man on 2 Other Counts." Rocky Mountain News, September 22, 2001; "Acupuncturist Gets Probation." Denver Post, November 17, 2001; "Colorado Man Gets Probation for Performing Illegal Abortion." Pro-Life Infonet, November 19, 2001. Assault and Destruction of Property . “Pro-choicers” love, adore, cherish, worship freedom — at least, that is what they tell the press. In
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reality, they jealously guard and protect their own freedoms, but when others use their freedoms to challenge them, the “pro-choicers” invariably lash out with violence and hatred. While posing as champions of free speech, they will do everything they can to censor and cover up the pro-life message.
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In August 2008, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) took place in Denver. A number of pro-lifers decided to protest in an imaginative way, and try for a world record as well. On August 26, 2008, the group American Right to Life erected a 530-foot tall and 666-foot wide pro-life sign overlooking Denver. The pro-lifers first put up three 160-foot-tall bright yellow letters stacked one on top of the other, to read “D-N-C.” Then they unfurled other letters to read Destroys uNborn Children, as seen below;
The total weight of all of the fabric in the cloth sign was more than a ton — 2,700 pounds, to be exact, and was sewed together with more than four miles of seams connecting 2,400 sheets. 44 volunteers backpacked the letters to the site, and spotters a mile away directed the letter placement. The effort began at one in the morning and went on for about eight hours. The sign could be seen ten miles away, including from the hotels where many reporters and DNC delegates are staying. Naturally, a “pro-choicer” was offended by this display, and decided to get violent. He climbed up the hill and began to rip up the sign, but 17-year-old Josh Craddock stood between the man and the sign. Then the man started to scream profanity at Josh and shoved him to the ground twice and, when police were called, he lied, of course, saying that Josh had assaulted him. Josh said that He basically just screamed a lot of profanity at me. He shoved me to the ground, down the hill. So I jumped back up and got back between him and the sheets. I called the police and they began to come up the hill. Once he found out that the police were coming — he had shoved me twice to the ground — he acted as if he hadn't done anything." Reference: John Jalsevac. “Pro-Life Volunteer Allegedly Assaulted as Group Unfurls "World's Largest" Sign Overlooking Democratic Convention.” LifeSite News, August 27, 2008.
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Practicing Medicine Without a License On May 23, 2002, after a year-long investigation by Denver-area police agencies, prosecutors charged Lishan He, 46, with distributing abortifacients and practicing medicine without a license. She had posted fliers around Denver offering "abortion pills via mail." Denver police spokesman John White said that The harm is that we have an individual who is providing medication to people without the proper authorization, without having prior contact with the people receiving those drugs and without any knowledge of what their physical situation is. If an individual who hasn't been properly screened for this type of medication is using it, that could obviously create health problems. A Denver crime laboratory confirmed that the pills He was selling contained medication that induces abortion and is legally available by prescription only. The pills were similar to the abortion pill RU-486. References: John Ingold. "Mail-Order Sale of Abortion Pills Leads to Arrest: Woman Accused After 1-Year Probe." Denver Post, May 24, 2002; Pro-Life Infonet, May 29, 2002. Unprofessional Conduct Abortionist William J. Milano's Colorado medical license was suspended for "having sex with a patient and then performing an abortion on her." The Board also found him to have problems with pornography and alcohol. Reference: Rocky Mountain News, July 10, 1995.
Durango, Colorado
Manslaughter Carlos Herrera and Brenda Chavez were both married to other people and were having an affair, and Brenda became pregnant. In January 2000, Herrera pressured her into having an abortion. She became pregnant again. On February 9, 2001, Herrera and Brenda met for one of their late-afternoon trysts at the Southern Ute Sand and Gravel pit. Herrera beat Brenda to death and disposed of her body and vehicle by running the vehicle off a steep embankment into a grove of trees. Brenda was reported missing the next day by her husband Ruben. She remained missing until May 9, 2001, when her partially decomposed body was found by three children on four-wheelers. The children happened upon Brenda's 1995 Toyota 4Runner at the bottom of a steep ravine about 200 feet off County Road 321, about 1½ miles east of Ignacio. A $5,000 reward was given to the youths for finding the body. An autopsy ruled Brenda's death a homicide by blunt-force trauma to the head. On August 10, 2003, Herrera turned himself in to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Office in Durango and confessed to the crime. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder by the United States District Attorney's Office in Durango, and was imprisoned without bail in the La Plata County Jail.
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According to an affidavit for an arrest warrant, Herrera admitted that he "routinely had sexual relations with Brenda Chavez on and around the area of the gravel pit." Herrera went into detail about his relationship with Chavez, about how they met, and about "a strong physical relationship" that developed between them, the affidavit says. In interviews with FBI investigators, Herrera also said that he did not want the child he fathered with Chavez. In January 2004, Herrera was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. References: Shane Benjamin. "Confession May Solve '01 Murder." Durango Herald, August 12, 2003; Jim Greenhill. "Stella Joe Defends Her Murdered Daughter, Brenda Chavez." The Durango Herald, February 22, 2004.
Grand Junction, Colorado
Felony Unlawful Termination of Pregnancy This database documents a number of cases where cowardly “pro-choice” men have demanded that their girlfriends get abortions. When the women refuse, the men slip easily-available abortifacient drugs into their drinks or food. Sometimes the men grind up the RU-486 abortion pill and slip it into a drink; other times they use drugs intended to make cattle miscarry. This sneaky attack is typical of the selfish and cowardly “pro-choice” mentality, and is significant because no national “pro-choice” group has ever condemned them.
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31-year-old Jared Merril Ahlstrom's girlfriend was pregnant by him, and he was not happy with the situation at all. He demanded that she have an abortion, and she refused. Like so many other "pro-choice" men, he decided to force her to have an abortion. Ahlstrom and his girlfriend went hiking in Mexico. He obtained a dose of misoprostol, the ulcer medication that is used as the second part of the RU-486 abortion drug process. He laced her food with it twice, she ate it, and she miscarried her baby boy. She became suspicious when she wanted to have the baby's remains examined, but Ahlstrom pushed her to have him cremated, and did not want his ashes. A year and a half later, after he moved from Colorado to Utah, Ahlstrom send electronic messages to the girl, admitting that he had given her the misoprostol to cause an abortion. On February 16, 2010, Ahlstrom pleaded guilty to a charge of felony unlawful termination of pregnancy. On May 2, 2010, a judge sentenced him to five years in prison. References: "Steven Ertelt. "Utah Man Pleads Guilty to Forced Miscarriage, Gave Girlfriend Abortion Drug." LifeNews, February 16, 2010; Ashley Prchal. "Man Sentenced to Five Years for Unlawful Termination of Ex-Girlfriend's Pregnancy." NBC Channel 11 News [Grand Junction, Colorado], May 3, 2010. Sexual Assault on a Child Abortion is a wonderful tool that “pro-choice” male child sexual molesters frequently use to eliminate the evidence of their crimes. This case shows that female sex offenders find abortion very useful as well. 31-year-old Theresa Millon took in a woman who was suffering from cancer, and her 14-year-old
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boy. She repeatedly had sex with the boy and, when she became pregnant, aborted their child. Her main defense during her trial was that she was "sexually pursued for weeks" before giving in to the boy's desires, and that "I didn't instigate this relationship, he looks like he's 25 years old." But District Judge Richard Gurley didn't buy it, and replied "I've wondered if this was a male offender making the same argument — that the girl kept coming on to me and I gave in — how I would take that ... I wouldn't be very receptive to that argument." Millon admitted to having sex with the boy "three to four times" at her home. Judge Gurley sentenced Millon to a term of 10 years to life on probation, and she will have to successfully complete an intensive sex-offender treatment program. Gurley also sentenced Millon to 15 months in the county's work release program. Millon pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault on a child. She will likely lose custody of her own two children as a result of her guilty plea. References: "Woman Pleads Guilty to Having Sex with 14 Year Old Boy." NBC Channel 11 News [Grand Junction, Colorado], October 16, 2009; Paul Shockley. "Woman Pregnant by Teen Gets Probation." Grand Junction Free Press, December 16, 2008.
― End of Colorado Listing ―
(updated March 31, 2011)
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