Troubled abortionist offers $50 coupons for Sunday abortions

by Christine Dhanagom

• Orlando, FL, November 10, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Dr. James Pendergraft, a Florida abortionist who earlier this year was order to pay $36 million in damages after a botched abortion left a baby alive, but severely disabled, is now attempting to attract clients to his Orlando Women’s Center by offering a coupon for abortions, valid on Sundays only.

The coupon, which can be used to kill an unborn baby up to 24 weeks old, is advertised on the main page of the Center’s website.

Abortionist James Pendergraft

“Limited time special! Print this page and bring it in for $50 savings only on Sundays!” reads the coupon. “VALID FOR ABORTIONS PERFORMED BY 5/31/12. You must present this page to the receptionist at the time of the abortion ON SUNDAYS ONLY. $50 credit towards cost of abortion. No cash value.”

The website says that the clinic was founded by Pendergraft in response to “a great need” for first trimester and late term abortions in the Orlando area.

The notorious abortionist, who has had his medical license suspended four times, owns four other clinics in the state. The most recent suspension of his medical license was imposed in August 2010 for allowing an employee to administer narcotics without a license. He was also found guilty of prescribing steroids for no apparent reason to an employee known to have a drug problem.

In a decision that some criticized as overly lenient considering Pendergraft’s long history of ethical violations, the Florida Board of Medicine ordered a one year suspension, to be followed by three years of probation.

Aaron Liberman, the chairman of the Department of Health Management and Informatics at the University of Central Florida, told Central Florida News 13 that is was “a wake-up call ...  when we have an individual who is allowed to practice medicine in a way that draws question as to both his credibility and capability.”

Previous suspensions have been for performing illegal abortions, including third trimester abortions.

Pendergraft also lost a lawsuit earlier this year for a botched abortion he performed at the Orlando Woman’s Center, the clinic offering the coupon. A judge awarded $36.7 million in compensatory and punitive damages for the 2004 abortion that left a baby alive but severely disabled.