February 25, 2013/Annapolis, MD/Operation Rescue --
The Maryland Board of Physicians has placed Abolghassem M. Gohari on probation for one year after two patients complained about his substandard care and verbal abuse.
Operation Rescue obtained documents from the Board that show Gohari admitted last December that he allowed an unlicensed, unqualified employee to conduct ultrasound examinations and prescribe RU486 abortion pills to patients. The disciplinary documents contained the account of Patient A, who was handed the abortion pill in a cup and told her that Gohari was "around the corner" when in fact he was not at the clinic at all. Suspicious, Patient A refused the pills and sought a second opinion from another doctor that told her she was too far along to safely take the abortion pill.
Both Patient A and another woman were verbally abused by Gohari during profanity-laced tirades, according to Board documents. Gohari admitted that he "lost his temper" with the women.
In addition to the 1-year probation, Gohari was reprimanded, ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, and must take additional training classes.
Not mentioned in the Board disciplinary documents is the fact that Gohari also has a history of malpractice suits for such reasons as incomplete abortion, bowel laceration, and ruptured ectopic pregnancy.
"Gohari received what amounts to a slap on the hand for such serious violations. This man is a menace to the public," said Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue and Pro-Life Nation. "No wonder Maryland has such a bad reputation for being a haven for shoddy abortionists when authorities allow abortionists to get away with this kind of behavior. Reckless people like Gohari don't belong in the medical profession."
This news comes as late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart is facing multiple investigations related to the death of one of this third-trimester abortion patients on February 7. Jennifer Morbelli died after suffering complications to a 33-week abortion at Germantown Reproductive Health Services in Germantown, Maryland.
Other abortionists involved in abusive and/or illegal behavior in Maryland include:
- Steven Chase Brigham and Nicola I. Riley were caught in September, 2010, operating an illegal and secret late-term abortion clinic in Elkton. Brigham has no license in Maryland. Riley's medical license remains under suspension.
- James Scott Pendergraft VI and Harold O. Alexander were reported to authorities in December, 2011, by Operation Rescue for operating an illegal late-term abortion clinic out of Alexander's office. Like Brigham, Pendergraft holds no Maryland medical license. Alexander was suspended last year for several violations, including shredding medical records related to his business with Pendergraft while those records were under subpoena from the Board.
- Romeo Ferrer was forced to surrender his medical license in 2010 after he killed Denise Crowe during a botched abortion in 2006 at his now-closed Severna Park abortion clinic.
- Mehrdad Aalai had his license temporarily suspended in 2012 over a horrifically botched late-term abortion that nearly killed a patient. The incident took place at a Brigham-run American Women's Services abortion clinic in College Park, Maryland.
"This list of abortion abusers represents only a small fraction of horrors that occur at Maryland abortion clinics. What we see is just a glimpse through the keyhole," said Newman. "While Maryland appears to be starting to clean house, the inadequate discipline it put Gohari under shows it still has a long way to go."
