Top abortion doctor convicted of abuse

Arizona's most prominent abortion doctor was convicted yesterday on 22 counts of sexually abusing patients over the past 17 years.

Dr. Brian Finkel, 54, who has said he performed 20 percent of the state's abortions annually, was found not guilty on 34 counts, including six of the more serious charges of sexual assault, the Arizona Republic reported.

Dr. Brian Finkel as verdicts are read yesterday (Photo: Arizona Republic)

The jury could not reach a verdict on four sex abuse charges.

Finkel, who performed more than 30,000 abortions over the past 20 years, became a familiar face on network talk shows in the 1990s, denouncing violence by abortion protesters.

Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley commended the courage of the 32 accusers who stepped forward to report they were abused at Finkel's abortion clinic.

"A doctor who had abused the trust of his patients by sexually abusing them will no longer do that again," Romley told the Phoenix paper.

A parade of victims came forward during the three-month trial with claims of sexual abuse, including twisting their nipples, kissing them or fondling them inappropriately during exams. Finkel, however, was acquitted of charges involving digital penetration.

He could be sentenced Jan. 2 to as long as 75 years in prison.

Janet Jorgensen of Phoenix, who accused Finkel of abusing her 15 years ago, told the Republic she was thrilled even though he was acquitted of some counts, and all counts involving her case came back not guilty.

"I think most victims went into this for one thing: That he never hurt another woman," said Jorgenson, who added she bears no malice toward him.

"I pray for his salvation," she said. "I pray he will find his way to understand what he did because I don't think he does."

A pro-life activist insists Finkel's case is not as rare as news coverage would suggest.

The issue of sexual assault among abortion doctors remained virtually unaddressed until Mark Crutcher's groundbreaking, carefully documented probe into the culture of abortion clinics, summarized in the 1996 book "Lime 5: Exploited by Choice."

Crutcher used public records and first-hand accounts to uncover abortion's toll, focusing not on unborn children but on women and abortion providers. When he began research for the book, however, he never envisioned a chapter on rape and sexual assault.

"Although we had often heard rumors that this sort of thing happened, we had no reason to believe it was widespread enough to deserve more than a passing mention," he wrote in the book. "However, as more and more data came into our office, we began to see that rape and sexual assault in abortion clinics is not uncommon at all."

Crutcher believes the lack of statistics by the government or by any other organization is not an oversight, charging that the powerful abortion industry uses "raw political power to cover its tracks."

In his chapter on the subject, Crutcher refers to documented accounts of 34 sexually abusive abortion doctors, about one-third of the cases that his organization, Life Dynamics of Denton, Texas, has on file.

But Crutcher believes he is in possession of just a tiny fraction of instances, noting studies indicate only about 15 percent of rapes are reported. Moreover, in the case of abortion-related rape, women have even more reason to remain silent. To speak up, they would have to reveal they are sexually active, they became pregnant and they had an abortion, Crutcher notes.

A Senate committee on rape in America, led by Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., said 84 percent of women raped by a stranger don't report it because of the stigma attached to the crime.

"For women having an abortion, multiply the stigma factor by 10," Crutcher told WND in an interview last year.

Phoenix police said one of the chief obstacles to their investigation of Finkel was that 90 percent of the women who have now come forward since news of his arrest never filed a police report, according to the Arizona Republic.

"The secrecy of abortion clinics is what protects them," Crutcher said. "If a woman goes to a family practitioner, the chances are 90 percent that if something happens she'll say something. In an abortion clinic, there's about a 98 percent chance she won't, so it's real hard to come up with data."

He likens the situation to a man robbed by a prostitute, who knows he can't say anything about it for fear of his wife finding out.

But, as in Finkel's case, Crutcher said he found it very common that when a doctor "gets outed," hundreds of women come forward.

"It's not like a temporary lapse of judgment," he said. "We're talking about guys who do it hundreds and hundreds of times."

Crutcher offers examples of this kind in his book. [Names of abortionists and clinics were not used, he said, so the book would not appear to be a vendetta against individuals. He included footnotes with references to public records, however, so researchers could independently verify the reports]:

More than 160 women accused abortionist "John Roe 497" of sexual assault. Allegations by patients included rape, sexual abuse of minors, attempted sexual stimulation and sexually abusive language. California Deputy Attorney General Randy Christison described the doctor as a predator in a white coat who used his position for his own perverse gratification.
More than 100 female patients came forward with complaints against "John Roe 38" after he was investigated by the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners and the police. The abortion doctor was accused of trying to sexually stimulate patients, using explicit sexual language and photographing genitals during examinations.
A Los Angeles abortionist, accused of misconduct by more than 100 of his clients, allegedly raped several of them on the examination table. The doctor, who eventually had his license revoked, aborted the child of one of his rape victims after normal hours without using standard equipment and personnel.

The descriptions in Crutcher's book are graphic and disturbing, yet some of the worst examples were left out, he said, because he didn't want to be accused of peddling pornography.