A Texas-based pro-life group is drawing attention to a late-term abortionist who has committed crimes, it charges, that are as horrific as those of convicted murderer Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortionist serving a life sentence for killing babies who were born alive at his “house of horrors” clinic. According to those who worked at the clinic, Gosnell and a handful of his associates may have murdered hundreds of babies during the decades the clinic was open by delivering them alive and then plunging a surgical scissors into the newborns’ necks and snipping their spinal cords.
In the case of Houston abortionist Douglas Karpen, Texas-based Life Dynamics says that employees at his clinic have recounted similar stories of horrific child murders, but that thus far nothing has been done to stop the late-term abortion mechanic or to bring him to justice for the alleged murders.
As reported by The New American, in May Life Dynamics recorded an interview, available on YouTube, with three former employees at Karpen’s Houston area clinic, in which they charged that Karpen killed babies who were born alive. In the interview the women, who worked at the Aaron Women’s Clinic, told of regular late-term abortions in which babies came out alive and were killed by Dr. Karpen, either by “snipping” the spinal cord or by inserting an instrument into the soft spot on a baby’s head. In other instances, one employee said, Karpen twisted the heads off live babies with his bare hands.
In her testimony Deborah Edge, who worked for Karpen for some 15 years before leaving in 2011, recalled that when the physician did abortions at 20 weeks or more, “most of the time the fetus would come completely out before he cut the spinal cord or he introduced one of the instruments into the soft spot of the fetus, in order to kill the fetus.”
She added that much of the time “we would see him where the fetus would come completely out and of course, the fetus would still be alive.” She recalled that every morning, “if we had 20-something patients, of course ten, or twelve, or fifteen patients would be large procedures, and out of those large procedures, I’m pretty sure that I was seeing at least three or four fetuses that were completely delivered in some way or another,” most of them alive, she said.
Edge described newborns emerging from the womb moving and breathing before being killed, and told of other instances in which the doctor delivered babies feet first with their toes wiggling — until he stabbed them with a surgical scissors — at which time the toes would suddenly spread open before going limp. There were also times, Edge said, when Karpen would kill a baby by “twisting the head off the neck.”
The video-taped testimony from the women prompted articles in the Houston Chronicle, along with international coverage from newspapers such as the UK’s Daily Mail, and while the charges from the women have been termed little more than allegations, the disturbing photos they took of the horrific conditions at the clinic, and of aborted babies, were enough to bring a response from Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, and to prompt calls by a number of state legislators for an investigation of Karpen and his operation.
“I read with disgust about the allegations of Houston-based abortionist Douglas Karpen performing illegal late-term abortions surrounded by appalling sanitary conditions in his clinic,” said Dewhurst in a measured and careful statement. “The Harris County authorities should perform a full-scale investigation and take action against those who broke state law.”
In June Texas State Representative Phil King made a copy of the interview with Karpen’s former employees and sent it to Lieutenant Richard Kleczynski of the Homicide Division of the Houston Police Department. Additionally, he sent a letter to Mari Robinson, executive director of the Texas Medical Board, and Dr. David L. Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, requesting that Karpen be fully investigated.
“We strongly support a full investigation into the allegations against Dr. Karpen,” King wrote in the letter signed by 20 other Texas lawmakers. “As a state, we must ensure that the health and safety of women and children are being protected by laws and regulations in place.”
While several state officials have promised to look into the allegations, thus far, said Mark Crutcher of Life Dynamics, Karpen continues to do his abortion business with no apparent effort to call him to account for the serious charges against him. Crutcher told One News Now that he is suspicious the “fix is in” at the top of Houston’s government to keep Karpen from being brought to justice.
Crutcher said that his attitude from the beginning “was let’s give them time to do their job. Homicide investigations take a while and indictments don’t come down overnight.” But as the months go by and with no movement forward, he has grown suspicious that the investigation is being stonewalled. Crutcher pointed out to One News Now that the lesbian partner of Houston’s mayor is connected with Planned Parenthood. “So I guess we shouldn’t be surprised,” he said.
In the November edition of his group’s Life Talk television program, Crutcher was more forceful in his charges of possible corruption and underhanded dealings with regards to the investigation. “The Houston Police Department was allegedly doing a homicide investigation, which they should have been doing,” he said. “You’ve got three eye witnesses to homicides taking place, and photographic evidence of it. Now we are several months down the trail and nothing’s happening. And we know that the Houston Police Department has a long history of corruption and Houston government in general.”
Concluded Crutcher: “I’m beginning to get the suspicion that the cover-up is on in Houston. And now we have another problem in Houston — the Mayor is unfortunately a lesbian and a lesbian activist and hard core pro-abort. Her [partner Kathy Hubbard] is a former board member of Planned Parenthood, so I suspect that the fix is in.”
In June, as the video interview of Karpen’s former employees was going viral, Crutcher noted: “One thing that was often overlooked about the conviction and life sentence recently given to abortionist Kermit Gosnell, is that eight of his employees also received long prison sentences for their roles in what he was doing. Today, the abortion lobby is in ‘damage control mode’ and telling anyone who will listen that Gosnell is an aberration and that every other abortionist in America is Mr. Clean. But the people who actually work in these places know better, and they are beginning to fear that they could be the next ones dragged into a courtroom wearing handcuffs and leg irons.”
