Ind. doctors could face discipline on abortion records
INDIANAPOLIS -- Four physicians who perform abortions in Indiana could face disciplinary action after the Indiana Attorney General's office filed complaints against them for violations of record-keeping.
Three of the doctors -- Dr. Kathleen Glover, Dr. Resad Pasic, and Dr. Raymond Robinson -- practice at the Clinic for Women in Indianapolis. The fourth, Dr. Ulrich Klopfer, performed abortions in South Bend and Gary and previously in Fort Wayne.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed the complaints with the Indiana Medical Licensing Board, requesting that the professional licensing agency hold a disciplinary hearing for the physicians. The doctors' licenses will remain active until the licensing board decides whether to take action.
Klopfer's was "the most egregious complaint," according to a news release from the attorney general's office. The complaint alleges he consistently submitted incomplete, inaccurate, and untimely documentation for abortions. State law closely regulates the way abortion providers must report procedures to the Indiana State Department of Health.
The complaint documents Klopfer's more than 1,800 violations for submitting incomplete termination reports, failing to obtain proper consent from patients, and failing to submit terminated pregnancy reports for several months for procedures he performed on two 13-year-old patients.
Klopfer, a doctor of osteopathy, faces the criminal misdemeanor charges of failing to properly report abortions on 13-year-olds in Gary and South Bend.
"The pending criminal charges brought by county prosecutors along with the sheer volume of unexplained violations by this licenseholder merits review by the Medical Licensing Board to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted for the noncompliance," Zoeller said in a statement.
The complaints for the Indianapolis doctors cited numerous violations of record-keeping and delays in filing reports. State law requires that all reports of abortions done for the first half of the year be filed by July 30 and by January 30 for the second half of the year.
The Clinic for Women declined comment on the complaints.
Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, which offers abortions at four of its clinics throughout the state, has a formal quality management program to ensure that its practices and record-keeping comply with state law, said Betty Cockrum, president and chief executive officer. Planned Parenthood has no connection to the Clinic for Women.
"Because we're Planned Parenthood here in Indiana, we're vigilant," Cockrum said.
The Medical Licensing Board will next hold a hearing at which they will decide whether any violations occurred and if so what disciplinary action, from a reprimand to revoking the physician's license is warranted. The hearing has not been scheduled.
(Contributing: Associated Press)