ARTICLES
April 2003 ARTICLES
Contents © 2003
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
No Challenge to the Governor
Senate Republicans Let Slide Abortionist's Confirmation
By Maria Kennedy
"It's not a good idea to put the fox to guard the hen house," said state senator Tom McClintock. He referred to Governor Gray Davis' nomination last August of Dr. Theodore Hariton to the California Health Facilities Finance Authority. Hariton, who works in conjunction with abortionist Steve Pine, performs abortions up to 13 weeks at clinics in the San Fernando Valley. He will serve as a member of an agency which provides financing to abortion clinics and school-based clinics that refer students to abortion facilities.
"Dr. Hariton's practice creates an inherent conflict of interest," said Senator McClintock in an interview with this reporter before the confirmation vote on February 14. "The health authority decides on the grants made of taxpayer money for health facilities." McClintock said it had been his intention to make a statement on the senate floor when Hariton came up for confirmation.
The California secretary of state's office records show that Hariton contributed heavily to Davis' gubernatorial campaign. On both April 16 and September 13, 2001, Hariton gave the Governor Gray Davis committee five thousand dollars. On December 7, 2001, Hariton gave the committee another five thousand dollars, while the following year, on April 3, Hariton gave the committee twenty five hundred dollars. Eight days later on April 11, Hartion gave the committee one thousand dollars. Interestingly, each transaction was conducted at midnight.
Hariton will only perform abortions up to the 13 weeks. After the 13 week, he refers them to Stever Pine, who works in the same Tarzana complex as Hariton. The medical complex is located in an affluent area of the San Fernando Valley. Pine's abortion clinic is across the hall from Hariton's. Hariton also owns another clinic six minutes away from his Tarzana clinic.
During Hariton's confirmation hearings, the state senate received evidence that the doctor to whom Hariton refers patients hasn't the cleanest of medical records. "The fact that Dr. Hariton would even consider referring patients to a physician with Dr. Pine's record is unconscionable," Jan Carroll of the California ProLife Council wrote in a February 5 memo to the senate. Carroll referred to two Los Angeles County superior court actions against Pine. In one, Belinda Byrd died on January 27, 1987 while undergoing an abortion at the Inglewood Hospital at the hands of Pine. The day Byrd died, Pine had performed 24 abortions during "the final two hours of his shift," according to a July 21, 1989 Daily Breeze story. The article goes on to say that "Pine did not check on Byrd before he went home." Not until three hours after the abortion, when Byrd's heart and lungs failed, did the hospital's staff call the paramedics. Bryd died of a perforated uterus.
During the trial, an attorney for Byrd's family, who filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Pine and clinic owner Morton Barke, said that the Inglewood Hospital staff was incompetent. "I think the evidence will show that the nurses didn't know what they were doing -- didn't know what to do when they found someone totally unresponsive," said the attorney. The day of Byrd's death, the hospital had performed 74 abortions. Attorneys for Pine and Barke admitted that it was not unusual for them to perform one hundred abortions in one day. After Byrd's death, state regulators closed Inglewood Hospital. Not to be deterred, Barke sold the business to abortionist, Dr. Edward Allred, who made it part of his chain of abortion clinics. It is now known as the Inglewood Family Planning Associates clinic.
Another woman, Yvonne Tanner, also died on August 14, 1984, during an abortion at the hands of Pine.
In spite of the fact that 13 Republican senators say that they are pro life, only McClintock took any action against the Hariton confirmation. In the days leading up to the February 14 vote, this reporter called every pro-life Republican senator in Sacramento asking whether they would take any action to oppose the Hariton nomination. Mike Zimmerman of Senator Jeff Denham's office replied, "I haven't discussed this with him." One source requesting anonymity said that the Republican leadership had decided to refrain from speaking out against Hariton on the Senate floor. Hariton was confirmed on a 21-12 floor vote.
When asked why more Republican senators did not speak out against Hariton, Jodie Day, chief of staff for Senator Bob Margett (R-Diamond Bar), said, "usually on cases like this, the [Republican] caucus will select one person to speak. Senator Burton (D-San Francisco) is really strict about not having long speeches on the floor."
Jan Carroll noted the pro-abortion climate in Sacramento led to Hariton's confirmation. "We have the most pro-abortion governor that we have ever had and we can expect more of this," she said. Carroll said she felt that the pro-life Republican senators had done all they could by voting against the confirmation.
Ned Dolejsi of the California Conference of Catholic Bishops said that it is the conference's policy "not to take positions on persons, only policy," when asked if the Conference would be talking to the senators about the perils of confirming an abortion provider to the California Health Facilities Financing Authority. In a telephone interview on February 6, when asked what action the conference would take on the appointment, Dolesji said, "we are addressing the senators tomorrow." Dolesji added that, in addition to talking to the senators, he had faxed information to "every Respect Life and Family Life office in California." When asked for a copy of the information, Dolesji said that he had merely sent Jan Carroll's February 5 California ProLife Council's memo to the California senate.
Since Bishop William Weigand of Sacramento had spoken so forcefully against the governor's pro-abortion stance on January 22, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I called Weigand's office to see if he would be opposing Hariton's confirmation. "The bishop does not want to continue to court conflict and controversy," Lynette Magnino, the communications officer for the bishop, said on February 7. As for his January 22 statement, Magnino stressed that the bishop had not been aware of the fact that there were reporters present at the January 22 Mass where he challenged the governor's position on abortion. "He meant it as a teaching for the parishioners and not a challenge to the governor," said Magnino. Magnino added that the bishop would be addressing the issue in a February 8 column in the diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Herald.
In his February 8 column, the bishop wrote that he was not aware that any media were present at the January 22 Mass. One pro-lifer, who videotaped the Mass, countered the bishop's assertion. Said the pro-lifer, "Bishop Weigand announced at the breakfast preceding Mass, which was carried on Channel 3, that because of Gray Davis' boasting that he felt it was necessary [to admonish him]. He said that he was going to preach about it and everyone was invited. He had his homily all typed up and prepared and he freely handed it out to the media. When Brian Yamamoto of Channel 3 asked who had videotaped the Mass, he called Monsignor Kavangh and asked if he could help him get a copy of the video."
Senator McClintock pointed out the importance of the Hariton appointment. "A radical abortion activist now has control of funds for all health clinics in this state," said the senator. When asked if the Republican caucus should have made more of an effort to vigorously oppose Hariton, McClintock noted that "every Republican present voted against it [the confirmation]. When I pointed out that a pro-life activist had spent an entire week educating the Republicans about Hariton's line of work and connections, and that Mike Zimmerman had said he hadn't discussed the matter with Senator Denham (revealing, perhaps, how unimportant Hariton was to the Republicans), McClintock replied that, before the vote, he hadn't "even talked to him about this. I don't know," he said.