Roundup: Why An Abortion Practitioner Might Want To Remain Unlisted

Jul 12, 2010, 9:19am

Robin Marty

A doctor who performs abortions gets a death threat on his unlisted number just as the county is mandating he make his home address public.

Illinois doctor George Klopfer was unhappy about new ordinances being passed in Allen County, Indiana that, among other things, required he provide additional personally identifying emergency contact information beyond a cell phone number order to perform abortions. However, even while fighting the regulations in court, the doctor complied.

Now, he’s received a death threat on his home telephone number.

From the Chicago News Tribune:

The doctor who runs a Fort Wayne abortion clinic has reported receiving a death threat on his unlisted home phone after he filed a lawsuit against a county ordinance regulating physicians who perform abortions.

…

Dr. George Klopfer says in court documents that after the lawsuit was filed in May he got a call at his home during which a man threatened to “blow my brains out.”

Klopfer said he was concerned over being forced to give his home address to county officials, although he provided a cell phone number to be contacted.

Having a call placed to his private, unpublished number made the doctor that much more wary of what could happen should he be required to release his home address as well, according to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette:

This week, Klopfer and his attorneys filed additional material to support the privacy concerns, including a sworn statement from Klopfer, who said he is concerned he was forced to give his home address on the application he submitted.

“After this case was filed and was publicized I received a phone call from someone in the Fort Wayne area who had found my unlisted home phone number who indicated that if he was with me, as opposed to being on the phone, he would blow my brains out,” Klopfer said in an affidavit. “I have contacted the FBI about this threat.”

Even so, his statement said, he attempted to comply with the ordinance by paying the fee, which the lawsuit describes as “unreasonable” and “unexplained.”

The ordinance requires abortion doctors to designate another physician whose name would be given to the health department and all Allen County hospitals, emergency departments and urgent-care centers. In his statement, Klopfer said few physicians have the skill, experience and inclination to serve in that capacity, and he has been unable to find one.

“The one physician who I thought would be willing and able to be my physician designee, refused to do so when he learned that his designation would be so widely publicized,” he said.

Meanwhile, anti-abortion activists in the county have repudiated the threat, calling it it “not profitable for the right to life movement.”

“Violence is never the answer,” Cathie Humbarger, executive director of Allen County Right to Life, said in a statement. “The comments made by the unidentified individual do not represent Allen County Right to Life and are not profitable for the right to life movement. We regret that these comments were made and rebuke them 100 percent.”

The case continues to move through the courts, where the county is being represented by the anti-abortion legal group the Alliance Defense Fund, despite the fact that the county claims the ordinance has nothing to do with abortion.

Mini Roundup: Want to have your doctor monitor your pregnancy’s progression from afar? There’s an ap for that. Wonder if it has a special ringtone when you hit fully dilated. Meanwhile, perfectionists may be at higher risk for post-partum depression. Too bad no one has an ap for that yet.

July 9, 2010

Anti-abortion group wins injunction and will return to Birmingham – Examiner.com

What New Yorkers Should Be Proud Of – Huffington Post

How Can Anti-Choice Lawmakers Oppose Public Policies That Would Reduce Abortion? – Huffington Post

Senator Johanns of Nebraska Joins Others Opposing Pro-Abortion Elena Kagan – LifeNews.com

Fort Wayne abortion doctor reports death threat – Chicago Tribune

For Democrats, Politics Is Local Again – Huffington Post

Abortion Images Visit the Calgary Stampede – Lifesite

State files brief defending new Neb. abortion law – NTV

Neumann says he opposes abortion, but not birth control – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Abortion in the Eyes of a Girl From Dillon – New York Times

Abortion doctor details threat – Fort Wayne Journal Gazette