ARTICLES
OCTOBER 2004 ARTICLES
Contents © 2004
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
Flat Out Gone
Allred Closes Another Abortion Clinic
BY MARIA KENNEDY
Edward Allred, the owner of California's largest chain of abortion clinics, has closed the doors of one of his most notorious Los Angeles area abortion clinics. According to pro-life sources, the San Vicente Boulevard medical center abortion clinic and an adjoining hospital,which performed second trimester abortions, ceased operations in early July.
Jack Schuler, an attorney who represented the family of a woman who died at San Vicente hospital in 1985, said that, although he had not known about the center's closing, he was elated by the news. "I did not know that" he said in a telephone interview. "I'm pleased to hear this because of the woman I represented who died there, all of the women who had the medical records made public there, and because of the mass genocide that had gone on there."
The woman who was killed at San Vicente Medical Center was Mary Pena, the mother of five children. On December 15, 1984, Pena underwent an abortion at San Vicente Medical Center, which was adjacent to the hospital. According to Schuler, the abortionist perforated Pena's uterus and she begin to bleed heavily. "The massive bleeding lasted for hours." Schuler recalled. Pena left behind a husband and five children.
San Vicente Medical Center also routinely threw out confidential medical records in unsecured trash bins behind the clinic. These records were found by people rummaging through the bins and made public. Numerous women sued Allred for the violation of privacy.
News of the center's closing came from a pro-life activist who for almost 14 years regularly prayed at the clinic. The activist, who asked not to be identified, said that in early July he saw moving vans in the parking lot. "I asked one of the guys who were there what was happening, and he said the clinic had closed. The guy said it was flat out gone." A call to the San Vicente clinic confirmed that the clinic had closed. According to the receptionist that answered the phone, the clinic closed "because he [Dr. Allred] didn't want to deal with it."
Gerri Urrutia, a long time sidewalk counselor, said she was happy with the news. When asked what the news meant for sidewalk counselors such as herself, she replied, "it means that Dr. Allred is deciding to concentrate on his horse racing. He's been closing clinics for a while now."
Urrutia pointed out that the horse racing business is a less controversial business than the abortion business. "There are no protestors; it's something that most people don't worry about," she said. Urrutia said it is her hope that Allred continue to shut down clinics to concentrate on his horse racing business. "I hope the day comes when he closes all of his clinics. This is great for us." One troubling aspect to Allred's closure of clinics is that the other clinics see an increase in the number of women who come for abortions.
Brotherhood of a New Destiny founder and executive director, the Reverend Jesse Peterson, frequently protested at the clinic on Saturday mornings. When told that the clinic had finally closed in early July, Peterson issued the following statement: "the closing of this abortion hospital [San Vincente Hospital] is a good thing. It means that all those Saturdays we spent protesting and counseling were not in vain. This means that fewer babies will be aborted at this hospital."
With the closing of the clinic, Schuler wondered where Allred will now perform second trimester abortions.
This question was answered when this reporter called the San Vicente clinic phone number. "Call the clinic on Wilshire or the one in Long Beach," the receptionist said. The receptionist at Allred's Westmoreland clinic (on Wilshire Boulevard) said that an abortion up to 19 weeks would cost $1,500. "If you have a C-section, that'll be another $1,000."