By Dave Andrusko
Ulrich Klopfer
(WSBT photo // Jade Birch)
The South Bend Tribune (Indiana) is reporting that controversial abortionist Dr. Ulrich “George” Klopfer, has surrendered the operating license for his Gary abortion clinic.
“As it stands now, Klopfer can provide abortions only at his South Bend clinic, although he can still see patients at his Fort Wayne clinic,” reports Amanda Gray. “The only other clinic is northern Indiana providing abortions is one in Merrillville, operated by Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky. Klopfer does not practice there.”
“We applaud the [Gov. Mike] Pence administration and Indiana State Department of Health staff for taking its responsibility seriously to inspect licensed abortion facilities and hold them accountable,” said Mike Fichter, President and CEO of Indiana Right to Life. “With Dr. Klopfer’s license surrender, there is one less abortion facility in Indiana. We now turn our attention to Dr. Klopfer’s upcoming Medical Licensing Board hearing on June 25. We believe Dr. Klopfer’s carelessness does a disservice to the medical community and his patients. We urge the Board to remove Dr. Klopfer’s medical license.”
According to Gray, the Indiana State Department of Health [ISDH], said the Gary clinic (called the Friendship Family Planning Clinic) closed May 27.
As noted by Fichter, Klopfer will be in front of the Indiana Medical Licensing Board on June 25 for a hearing regarding the status of his medical licenses. Gray explained
His licenses are currently listed as “valid while under review.” The hearing was scheduled after the Indiana attorney general’s office filed an official complaint in September.
According to Nick Goodwin, spokesman for the Professional Licensing Agency, the 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.” Fichter said. He cited a recent ISDH survey that revealed water leaks, improper staffing, fire hazards, smells of sewage and more at Klopfer’s Gary location.
In addition, next month (July 13) Klopfer will be in court in Lake County for failing to file a timely report of an abortion he provided to a girl younger than the age of 14, as required by state law. “He was charged with the same misdemeanor in St. Joseph County, but was granted pretrial diversion in December, with charges dismissed within a year if he abides by terms of the program,” Gray reports.
According to the Attorney General’s office, Klopfer filed “pregnancy-termination reports” with ISDH on 1,818 abortions he performed between July 2012 and November 2013, “all 1,818 reports were incomplete and incorrect in some way,” according to the complaint.
“Each report contained on average four omissions or errors involving medical and statistical information that must be reported to ISDH for statistical purposes.”
Despite only doing abortions in South Bend, Klopfer, who lives in Illinois, still has his Fort Wayne and South Bend abortion sites licensed with the state.