January 2, 2001
As the criminal trial of Dr. James Pendergraft begins, the National Organization for Women joins its members and allies in Florida in supporting this abortion provider's right to protection from harassment not only by violent protestors, but by local and federal government officials as well.
"As we approach the twenty-eighth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, women's reproductive freedom is still under attack from all sides," said NOW President Patricia Ireland. "Government officials and clinic terrorists often work hand-in-hand to drive doctors out of business and out of town. What is happening in Ocala, Florida, right now is a compelling example of why women do not have access to abortion services in 89% of U.S. counties."
The local U.S. attorney's office has charged Dr. Pendergraft, who has five clinics in Florida, with lying under oath and conspiracy to commit extortion and mail fraud; the charges grew out of the doctor's civil suit against Marion County and the town of Ocala for their failure to protect employees and patients at his local facility. Dr. Pendergraft faces a possible 30 years in prison, loss of his medical license and a fine of more than a million dollars.
Dr. Pendergraft has met with hostility from the start in Ocala. The chair of the board of county commissioners, Larry Cretul, urged the doctor in a letter to "reconsider" opening the clinic. According to a sworn statement by Dr. Pendergraft's business associate, Cretul also asserted in conversation that it was not a question of "if," but only "when" the clinic would be firebombed. Arson attacks closed Ocala's only previous clinic in 1989, and no one has ever been charged with the crime. Once the clinic opened, the city police chief refused to allow the clinic to hire off-duty officers to work as security guards, protection routinely permitted to other businesses in the area. As a result, out-of-control protestors have wreaked havoc outside the clinic, frightening patients and staff and forcing Dr. Pendergraft to wear a bullet-proof vest and helmet.
"These criminal charges against Dr. Pendergraft, on what seems the flimsiest of evidence, appear to be just another way of trying to prevent him from providing reproductive health services in the state. All of his clinics are in jeopardy, as are the rights of women in Florida and across the country as a result of this prosecution," said Ireland.
"NOW supports the right of abortion providers to practice medicine with protection, not intimidation from government officials at all levels. We call upon Attorney General Janet Reno to review the action taken by the local U.S. attorney's office and bring to an end this government-sponsored harassment."