While every abortionist could be considered a candidate for the Hall of Shame, it is also true that some have accumulated a trial of offenses so heinous that they are shoo-ins.
One of those, without question, is abortionist James Pendergraft, IV. He has long since attained a kind of legendary status—in a wholly negative way—for performing late, late abortions and for his numerous run ins with medical authorities. His license has been suspended multiple times by the Florida Board of Medicine.
We last wrote about him in February 2016. He had been arrested the month before in South Carolina and, as a consequence, four of his abortion clinics, including two in Orlando, faced the loss of their licenses, according to the Orlando Sentinel’s Margie Menzel.
Today, Liberty Counsel issued an update, stating that Pendergraft
“is now scheduled for criminal trial in Spartanburg following his arrest in 2015 during a routine traffic stop. The outcome of the trial by jury will have implications on the future of a chain of four Central Florida abortion businesses.”
What I had not known ,until I read the Liberty Counsel statement was that this past May “the Florida Department of Health revoked the facility licenses of four abortion facilities where Pendergraft serves as Chief Financial Officer.”
What did the South Carolina arrests and the revoking of the licenses of EPOC Clinic, LLC in Orlando; Ft. Lauderdale Women’s Center, LLC in Ft. Lauderdale; Orlando Women’s Center, LLC in Orlando; and Ocala Women’s Center, LLC, an Ocala abortion facility that closed in 2015 have to do with the status of Pendergraft’s medical license?
“According to Florida law, criminal arrests are disqualifying acts, meaning that even an arrest without a conviction disqualifies the person from employment that requires licensure,” according to Liberty Counsel. If convicted, Pendergraft should lose his Florida medical license.”
Let’s double back to the South Carolina arrests before mentioning just a few examples of the trail of disaster Pendergraft has left in his wake.
Back in 2016 World Magazine reported that Pendergraft was arrested October 5, 2015, by Spartanburg County Sheriff deputies. He and the woman passenger, identified as his wife, were pulled over for a traffic violation.
According to Bob Brown
A search of Pendergraft’s car turned up illicit drugs and forceps covered in blood and human tissue, leading Sheriff Chuck Wright to speculate that Pendergraft was operating an illegal mobile abortion business in the state.
“He traveled around the state of South Carolina without a medical license, with drugs and with medical tools performing in-home abortions,” Wright said at an Oct. 9 press conference. “So basically we‘ve got an illegal baby killer and his wife was charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana”
Previous to all this, here’s one example of Pendergraft’s amazing ability to circumvent authorities that we wrote about back in July 2013.
At the time there had been a couple of stories out of local television stations that the same abortion clinic that had been shut down in June because he had made only minor payment on a lawsuit he lost was now reopening. Everything from office furniture to patient exam beds had been taken, filling two moving trucks.
Pendergraft’s Orlando Women’s Center would not only be re-opening (using borrowed equipment and furniture), it would be performing abortions seven days a week. He still does not have his license back but, according to WFTV—Channel 9, six other “doctors” (abortionists) would be working at his abortion clinic.
As Channel 9 reported, “Pendergraft has been in the news before. He has lost his license five times in the Florida, most recently in April after he failed to pay another debt to the state of Florida for fines related to a former license suspension for an illegal third-trimester abortion. The doctor has been accused of botched abortions and performing that illegal third-trimester abortion.”
The unpaid $36 million medical malpractice judgment against Pendergraft goes back to a 2001 abortion. “Pendergraft wouldn’t go into detail about what happened, but attorneys for the woman said the child suffered a brain injury resulting in cerebral palsy, blindness and severe mental and physical disabilities,“ Channel 13 news reported. “A jury found the doctor and woman’s center negligent, and awarded the family more than $36 million in damages.”
“The most recent suspension came in April after he failed to pay more than $120,000 in fines for a 2006 botched abortion,” according to World Magazine. “He has also been in trouble with authorities in Maryland, where he once ran an abortion business despite having no medical license in the state.“
Pendergraft and an associate, Michael Spielvogel. were convicted February 1, 2001, for fraudulently accusing a Marion County official of threatening them and later demanding millions of dollars from the county, the Star-Banner reported. They were sentenced to 46 and 41 months in prison, respectively. Pendergraft was released after serving only seven months of his sentence.
Pendergraft, in his mid-50s, runs a website–latetermabortion.net–where he advertises that he performs “late second and third trimester pregnancy terminations.”
Here is now Liberty Counsel finished their story today:
“James Pendergraft has a long history of hurting women and killing innocent babies,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel.
“Liberty Counsel represented a mother whose perfectly healthy son, Rowan, was born alive after a botched, late-term abortion at one of Pendergraft’s abortion facilities. Cradling Rowan’s moving body, the mother screamed for help and pleaded with abortion clinic workers to call 911, but she was ignored until her son died in her arms. Pendergraft should be locked up and lose his medical license so that he can never hurt women and children. We must make the womb a safe place again,” said Staver.
Chelsea Garcia is a political writer with a special interest in international relations and social issues. Events surrounding the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel are a major focus for political journalists. But as a former local reporter, she is also interested in national politics.
Chelsea Garcia studied media, communication and political science in Texas, USA, and learned the journalistic trade during an internship at a daily newspaper. In addition to her political writing, she is pursuing a master's degree in multimedia and writing at Texas.
