LifeLog Newsletter
February 6, 2009 |
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Free-Fire Zone in Florida: Another Day, Another Live-Birth Killing by the
Abortion Industry
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Today, the Florida Board of Medicine did the only thing a reasonable group of
people could do, and that is revoke the license of an abortionist Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique of
Miami-Dade County for the gruesome death of a baby born alive in his abortion
clinic. However, this is not the first killing of a child in Hialeah: the first
occured in 2006 with the death of Shanice Denise Osbourne. Tom
Pennekamp Jr., Esq., who attended today's Board of Medecine hearing, represents
the mother in the 2006 case, and he offered to Florida Right to Life this
statement: "What is becoming apparent to mothers is not what the abortion
industry is telling them. There are four cases involving this in Florida... It
happens more often than we think."
An unnamed judicial official at the Florida Board of Medicine hearing today said, "I am the most pro-choice person I know but this is the most disgusting case I've ever seen."
As in the 2006 case, a minority was
again the victim of this botched abortion. "Since this has happened in my area
of the State, as Mayor of the City of Homestead and President of Florida Right
to Life, I wish to say that anything short of criminal prosecution for this act
of killing a child in front of her mother will not be acceptable - to me or any
other reasonable person who lives in this area," said Lynda Bell, President of
Florida Right to Life.
"What has happened here is neither surprising nor
shocking to me. This is the logical conclusion of the infanticide movement since
1974. We must expect more killings of babies just like we saw in this case. As
long as the pervasive state of decrepit, unregulated, greed-based abortion
clinics continues to exist in this country, it is inevitable that these killings
continue. A culture that celebrates choice of life, is a culture that celebrates
death," said Adam Goldman, Vice-President for Legislative Affairs.
Florida Right to Life advocates the following four-point plan for the
public, legislators, regulators, and law-enforcement to begin working
on:
1- Revocation of a medical license is not enough: the abortion clinic
owners must be criminally prosecuted for participating in the cover-up in this
most recent murder, and in failing to render aid and assistance.
2-FRTL
will continue to monitor stories and leads concerning abortion clinic killings
of live-birth babies, and pass on any leads we gather to the proper authorities.
We are calling for IMMEDIATE legislation to ensure these people are locked
up.
3-FRTL will continue to press for civil rights and equality for all
human beings, whether in the womb or not.
4-FRTL will target any member
of the legislature for defeat in 2010 who opposes the right of women to know the
condition of their baby before aborting it. Therefore, the ultrasound
legislation filed this year in the State House and Senate is the number one
priority of all the pro-life groups in our State, including the Florida Catholic
Conference, Florida Baptist Convention, FL Family Policy Council, and Christian
Coalition of Florida. A broad-based, interdenominational, diverse network of
groups are laying plans to hold every legislator accountable in the area of
abortion policy this year. Floridians, by a large margin, reject outright
abortion on demand and insist on a broad range of restrictions, even if Roe v.
Wade continues to stand.
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Greetings!
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House Republican Legislators Call For Murder Charges in Tragic Abortion Case
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TALLAHASSEE
-Today, several members of the House Republican Caucus called for the Miami-Dade
County State Attorney's Office to hold the appropriate individuals accountable
for the death of baby Shanice Williams, born alive and cast helplessly into the
garbage of an abortion clinic to bleed out and die, including filing murder
charges as appropriate.
"Whether
you are pro-life or pro-choice, we can all agree that this is tragic and morally
reprehensible. Administrative action against the physician by the Department of
Health is not enough, anything less than murder charges being filed is
unacceptable," said House Majority Leader Adam Hasner (R-Delray
Beach).
Deputy
Majority Leader Anitere Flores (R-Miami) added, "These events are nothing short
of murder. It is our duty to call for immediate charges to be filed to ensure
that no other young women become victims of this clinic. Cleary, viability is
not in question. This baby was born alive and breathed air into her lungs. As
previous cases have shown, babies born at this stage of development can survive
if given responsible medical care."
"Both
the owner of the abortion clinic who allegedly cast the living and breathing
baby Shanice into the garbage and Dr. Renelique, who is alleged to have started
the abortion but startlingly was not even in the clinic when the baby was born,
seem to be responsible. Not only have they apparently directly killed this
live-born baby, but they have created an institution that lacks any real clear
and responsible controls necessary to ensure the health and welfare of the
mother and baby," stated Representative Stephen Precourt (R-Orlando).
"The
senseless loss of this child's life shows a lack of common sense for basic
humanity. Florida has safe-haven laws that give parents of unwanted children a
way out. The abortion clinic staff or the mother herself, if given the
opportunity, could have taken the child to a hospital or fire station, where the
baby could have been left in the safe care of professionals and eventually
adopted by a loving family," added Representative Rachel Burgin (R-Brandon).
Representative
Scott Plakon (R-Longwood) concluded, "The Pro-Life Caucus of the Florida House
of Representatives is committed to protecting the health, safety and wellbeing
of every innocent human life. The people of Florida demand answers and demand
that murderers be held responsible. My colleagues and I will do everything
possible to push for justice in this case. We applaud the courage of this young
mother in doing what is right, and helping to hold these people accountable for
one of the most horrific crimes possible - the murder of a living, breathing,
innocent baby."
Associated
Press article reporting the tragic situation follows.
Lawsuit:
Florida Clinic Botched Abortion, Threw Out Live Baby
In
print: Thursday, February 05, 2009
TAMPA,
Florida - Eighteen and pregnant, Sycloria Williams went to an abortion clinic
outside Miami and paid $1,200 for Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique to terminate
her 23-week pregnancy.
Three
days later, she sat in a reclining chair, medicated to dilate her cervix and
otherwise get her ready for the procedure.
Only
Renelique didn't arrive in time. According to Williams and the Florida
Department of Health, she went into labor and delivered a live baby
girl.
What
Williams and the Health Department say happened next has shocked people on both
sides of the abortion debate: One of the clinic's owners, who has no medical
license, cut the infant's umbilical cord. Williams says the woman placed the
baby in a plastic biohazard bag and threw it out.
Police
recovered the decomposing remains in a cardboard box a week later after getting
anonymous tips.
"I
don't care what your politics are, what your morals are, this should not be
happening in our community," said Tom Pennekamp, a Miami attorney representing
Williams in her lawsuit against Renelique and the clinic
owners.
The
state Board of Medicine is to hear Renelique's case in Tampa on Friday and
determine whether to strip his license. The state attorney's homicide division
is investigating, though no charges have been filed. Terry Chavez, a spokeswoman
with the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office, said this week that
prosecutors were nearing a decision.
Renelique's
attorney, Joseph Harrison, called the allegations at best "misguided and
incomplete" in an e-mail to The Associated Press. He didn't provide
details.
The
case has riled the anti-abortion community, which contends the clinic's actions
constitute murder.
"The
baby was just treated as a piece of garbage," said Tom Brejcha, president of The
Thomas More Society, a law firm that is also representing Williams. "People all
over the country are just aghast."
Even
those who support abortion rights are concerned about the
allegations.
"It
really disturbed me," said Joanne Sterner, president of the Broward County
chapter of the National Organization for Women, after reviewing the
administrative complaint against Renelique. "I know that there are clinics out
there like this. And I hope that we can keep (women) from going to these types
of clinics."
According
to state records, Renelique received his medical training at the State
University of Haiti. In 1991, he completed a four-year residency in obstetrics
and gynecology at Interfaith Medical Center in New York.
New
York records show that Renelique has made at least five medical malpractice
payments in the past decade, the circumstances of which were not detailed in the
filings.
Several
attempts to reach Renelique were unsuccessful. Some of his office numbers were
disconnected, no home number could be found and he did not return messages left
with his attorney.
Williams
struggled with the decision to have an abortion, Pennekamp said. She declined an
interview request made through him.
She
concluded she didn't have the resources or maturity to raise a child, he said,
and went to the Miramar Women's Center on July 17, 2006. Sonograms indicated she
was 23 weeks pregnant, according to the Department of Health. She met Renelique
at a second clinic two days later.
Renelique
gave Williams laminaria, a drug that dilates the cervix, and prescribed three
other medications, according to the administrative complaint filed by the Health
Department. She was told to go to yet another clinic, A Gyn Diagnostic Center in
Hialeah, where the procedure would be performed the next day, on July 20,
2006.
Williams
arrived in the morning and was given more medication.
The
Department of Health account continues as follows: Just before noon she began to
feel ill. The clinic contacted Renelique. Two hours later, he still hadn't shown
up. Williams went into labor and delivered the baby.
"She
came face to face with a human being," Pennekamp said. "And that changed
everything."
The
complaint says one of the clinic owners, Belkis Gonzalez came in and cut the
umbilical cord with scissors, then placed the baby in a plastic bag, and the bag
in a trash can.
Williams'
lawsuit offers a cruder account: She says Gonzalez knocked the baby off the
recliner chair where she had given birth, onto the floor. The baby's umbilical
cord was not clamped, allowing her to bleed out. Gonzalez scooped the baby,
placenta and afterbirth into a red plastic biohazard bag and threw it
out.
No
working telephone number could be found for Gonzalez, and an attorney who has
represented the clinic in the past did not return a
message.
At
23 weeks, an otherwise healthy fetus would have a slim but legitimate chance of
survival. Quadruplets born at 23 weeks last year at The Nebraska Medical Center
survived.
An
autopsy determined Williams' baby - she named her Shanice - had filled her lungs
with air, meaning she had been born alive, according to the Department of
Health. The cause of death was listed as extreme
prematurity.
The
Department of Health believes Renelique committed malpractice by failing to
ensure that licensed personnel would be present when Williams was there, among
other missteps.
The
department wants the Board of Medicine, a separate agency, to permanently revoke
Renelique's license, among other penalties. His license is currently restricted,
permitting him to only perform abortions when another licensed physician is
present and can review his medical records.
Should
prosecutors file murder charges, they'd have to prove the baby was born alive,
said Robert Batey, a professor of criminal law at Stetson University College of
Law in Gulfport. The defense might contend that the child would have died
anyway, but most courts would not allow that argument, he
said.
"Hastening
the death of an individual who is terminally ill is still considered causing the
death of that individual," Batey said. "And I think a court would rule similarly
in this type of case."
Contact: Joseph Agostini, (850) 488-1993
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Hope
for Life 2009 National
Conference
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Join the 2009 Hope for Life National Conference on
April
16-18, 2009 at the
Renaissance Concourse Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia. Hope for Life is organized
by Operation Outcry and Georgia Right to Life.
The conference theme is
"How
Do We End the Pain of Abortion?" The
conference will include information on prevention, healing, and legal and social
action to prevent others from being hurt by abortion. We will have many
abortion recovery ministry and prolife leaders present for networking and
fellowship. We will discuss the current legal framework and how the voices of
those hurt by abortion can help others!
Registration
Registration
is $149 per person (meals included in registration).
Hotel is at the Renaissance Concourse Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia. It is conveniently located
at the airport. Teh rate is $139.00 per night.
For conference details visit www.operationoutcry.org
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Florida
Right to Life (FRTL) is the state's largest pro-life group with chapters
throughout Florida. FRTL works through legislation and education to protect
those threatened by abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and assisted
suicide.
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