Controversial doctor injects fetal hearts with poison in 'partial' abortions

Feb 18, 2011
by Tom Strode
WASHINGTON

(BP)--Abortion doctor James Pendergraft -- his medical license suspended four times in Florida -- has opened a secret clinic in the Washington, D.C., area to help perform late-term procedures.

Pendergraft, who received a one-year suspension in August from the state where he operates five abortion clinics, has advertised his new clinic online. The website describes a procedure for late second-term and third-term pregnancies that involves the injection of poison or air into a baby's heart to kill him or her. Pendergraft does not complete the abortion, however. After "several minutes" of observation, the woman is released in order for her to go to her doctor or a medical facility for induction of the dead child.

Pendergraft's secret operation and partial procedure, which were first reported by Operation Rescue, have been decried by pro-life advocates. the rest