King indicted on three counts, including committing illegal abortions
Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-841-1700; Cheryl Sullenger, Outreach & Media Coordinator, 316-516-3034, both with Operation Rescue
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Dec. 9 /Christian Newswire/ -- Janet Onthank King, 58, former administrator of the closed Summit Medical Center abortion mill in Birmingham, has been charged on three misdemeanor counts by the Alabama Attorney General's office, and was arrested Friday.
King was charged with two counts of "knowingly or recklessly performing abortions as a non-physician" and one count of "falsifying business records of Summit Medical Center. . .by making false entries into equipment sterilization reports that are required to be kept" under Alabama law.
The indictments stem from an investigation by the state into the death of a late-term baby that was aborted by King on February 20, 2006, without a doctor present. The patient was misdiagnosed as having been 6 weeks pregnant, when in fact she was 8 months along. King, a nurse practitioner who was also the clinic administrator, gave the woman the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug, which is approved for use only through the sixth week of pregnancy.
Six days later, the woman delivered a six pound, four ounce dead baby at the hospital emergency room.
An investigation into the abortion mill revealed that King had falsified the patient records to show that a doctor had administered the ultrasound and abortion drug, even though no doctor was present at the mill that day. The clinic was closed by the Department of Health and later declared bankruptcy, making the closure permanent.
King surrendered Friday afternoon to the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office where she was booked and released on a $3000 bond. King's charges are class B misdemeanors that carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail and $1,000 fine for each count.
"We are relieved that Ms. King is being brought to justice for violating Alabama law. They have done more than any other state to protect women and shut down shoddy abortionists. But we are disappointed that murder charges have not been filed for the death of the nearly full-term baby in February," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
"That baby was viable and healthy prior to her encounter with King, and should have had the protection of Alabama's law banning post-viability abortions*, which is a class A felony," Newman said. "We promise to look into why there has been this apparent miscarriage of justice."
*Alabama Code Section 26-22-3(a)
Read Alabama Attorney General's Press Release
Read Background Story
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.
