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Indiana abortionist again given “pretrial diversion” for failing to report an abortion to a 13-year-old girl as required by state law

Jul 16, 2015

By Dave Andrusko

Abortionist Ulrich Klopfer

Abortionist Ulrich Klopfer

The Times of Northwest Indiana is reporting that a settlement has been reached with notorious abortionist Ulrich Klopfer, in least in one aspect of the many legal disputes he is a party to.

Klopfer was to stand trial August 28 in connection with his failure to follow Indiana law that requires abortionists to file a timely report when the minor girl is under the age of 14.

According to the newspaper, on Monday Klopfer entered the agreement  in Lake Superior County Court Judge Nicholas Schiralli’s courtroom.

According to the agreement, the Lake County prosecutor’s office agreed to defer prosecution for a year on a Class B misdemeanor charge of failing to file a timely public report. 

If Klopfer, of Crete, does not pick up any new criminal charges within a year, the charge will then be dismissed during a review hearing scheduled for July 18, 2016, according to court records. 

  Klopfer was charged with the same misdemeanor in St. Joseph County. But last December he was granted the same kind of pretrial diversion “with charges dismissed within a year if he abides by terms of the program,” Amanda Gray of the South Bend Tribune reported.

The Times of Northwest Indiana account did  not address the remainder of Ulrich’s legal woes, except for a mention of the complaint Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed last year against Klopfer with the Indiana Medical Licensing Board.

Instead it says he closed Friendship Family Planning Clinic in Gary, Indiana. “Before the clinic closed, Klopfer stopped performing abortions in Gary last year after a change in Indiana law required he provide proof of hospital admitting privileges.”

It’s a great deal more complicated than that. Speaking of the 1,833 violations Zoeller alleged Klopfer had committed…

Last month by a unanimous 4-0 vote, the Indiana Medical Licensing Board denied Klopfer’s motion for summary judgment, meaning there will be a full hearing later this year on the nearly 2,000 allegations against him.

When the Attorney General’s office filed a public complaint in mid-September 2014, asking the medical licensing board to take action against Klopfer, a press release said Klopfer’s reports averaged four errors each. Often times that meant he failed to include the father’s name or age.

The 1,833 alleged violations stem from recording keeping and advice and consent law errors Klopfer made while performing abortions in Gary, South Bend, and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Amanda Gray, writing for the South Bend Tribune, reported at the time  that Klopfer was not in court . His attorneys, Mary Watts and Joshua Burress, based their call for a summary argument on the basis that Klopfer did not “knowingly” violate state statutes and in the case of the informed consent laws, Watts argued, did not violate them at all.

Indiana Right to Life explained the specifics:

According to the alleged violations in the Attorney General’s complaint, Klopfer submitted 1,818 termination of pregnancy reports with missing or incorrect information. He failed to submit two termination of pregnancy reports on time for 13-year-old girls. Six times, he failed to ensure informed and voluntary consent was obtained through appropriate counselors. Finally, he failed to obtain informed and voluntary consent for seven patients at least 18-hours prior to the abortion procedure.

   As we reported previously, Klopfer’s licenses are currently listed as “valid while under review.”

According to Nick Goodwin, spokesman for the Professional Licensing Agency, the eventual outcome of Klopfer’s medical licensing hearing could range from no sanction to a letter of reprimand, to a fine, to the license being placed on probation, suspension or revoked.

“Dr. Klopfer has been operating with shoddy business practices for years” Mike Fichter, President and CEO of Indiana Right to Life, said. He cited a recent Indiana State Department of Health survey that revealed water leaks, improper staffing, fire hazards, smells of sewage and more at Klopfer’s Gary location.

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