Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, doubled down in August on his support for an abortion clinic that listed as its proposed administrator a staff member of deceased abortionist Ulrich “George” Klopfer, in whose home thousands of unborn babies were found recently.
The South Bend Tribune reported in October 2017 that Liam Morley, an employee for several years at the Klopfer abortion clinic known as The Women’s Pavilion, was listed as the proposed administrator of the new Whole Woman’s Health Alliance clinic that had applied for a license to perform drug-induced abortions in South Bend.
Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana, tweeted the history of Buttigieg’s opposition to a pro-life pregnancy center slated to open next door to the “direct descendant to Ulrich Klopfer’s house of horrors”:
It must be noted Pete Buttigieg opposed options for women in South Bend that could’ve provided an alternative to the direct descendant to Ulrich Klopfer’s house of horrors.
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) September 15, 2019
I was working with then-Governor Mike Pence while I was in the Indiana Senate to restrict Indiana abortionists – who we felt needed additional oversight – and at the same time promote better care options for women.
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) September 15, 2019
Our fears became justified after the Women’s Pavilion (owned by Dr. Klopfer) was found to have violated the law nine times. For example, Dr. Klopfer performed an abortion on a 10 yr old who was raped by her uncle.
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) September 15, 2019
South Bend’s Whole Women’s Health replaced the Pavilion and employed some of the same staff as the Women’s Pavilion. Liam Morley, Dr. Klopfer’s former employee, was listed as the clinic’s administrator. One physician said it “has the same kind of profile as Dr. Klopfer’s.”
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) September 15, 2019
As such, the Indiana Department of Health found Whole Women’s Health unsafe for lacking a “reputable and responsible character.” The State of Indiana denied the abortion facility a license.
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) September 15, 2019
The Tribune noted that, in August 2016, Morley identified herself to its reporter as director of the Pro Choice South Bend group:
Morley said at the time that Pro Choice South Bend, which provides community outreach for women seeking abortions, was not directly involved in efforts to launch another clinic.
The Tribune on Friday placed numerous phone calls and e-mails and left messages seeking comment from Pro Choice South Bend, but no one from the group responded. Morley could not be reached for comment.
According to the report, the South Bend area had not had an abortion clinic since November 2015 when notorious abortionist Klopfer ended his appeal of the state’s decision to revoke his medical license amid numerous violations of health and safety standards.
Klopfer’s abortion clinics in Fort Wayne and Gary had also been shut down.
In December 2017, Granger family physician Dr. Laura McGuire expressed concerns about the former South Bend abortion clinic.
“We know that there is an organization here that has the same kind of profile as Dr. Klopfer wanting to come back in our town,” she said, reported WSBT News.
However, in August, Chris Meagher, Buttigieg’s national press secretary, said, “The mayor is deeply concerned by what he views as a new and extreme assault on Roe v. Wade in legislatures across the country,” reported the Chicago Tribune.
Meagher added the current 2020 Democrat presidential contender “believes that the truly radical idea in this debate and around abortion care is one of banning abortion outright.”
“The South Bend clinic would be the only one for a radius of several counties,” Meagher continued. “It is a restriction on a woman’s right if she is low-income, or doesn’t have a vehicle, and she has to visit multiple times, but the clinic is dozens of miles away.”
In April 2018, Buttigieg created a firestorm when he vetoed a decision made by the South Bend Common Council to allow a pro-life pregnancy center, the Women’s Care Center, to open next door to Whole Woman’s Health.
According to the news report, Buttigieg said his decision to veto the decision was made based on his beliefs of what was best for the neighborhood.
“Issues on the legality or morality of abortion are dramatically beyond my paygrade as a mayor,” Buttigieg said. “I don’t think it would be responsible to situate two groups, literally right next to each other, in a neighborhood, that have diametrically opposed views on the most divisive social issue of our time.”
Whole Woman’s Health Alliance praised Buttigieg’s decision.
“Today, we applaud Mayor Pete Buttigieg for standing up for what is right and putting women and families of South Bend first,” the group said in a statement. “This veto shows that he is listening to the community and ensuring access to quality health care is available.”
However, University of Notre Dame president the Rev. John I. Jenkins, who serves on the pro-life Women’s Care Center board, said he was “saddened” by the veto.
“Far from enhancing the harmony of the neighborhood, it divides our community and diminishes opportunities for vulnerable women to have a real choice,” Jenkins said.
As the Washington Free Beacon reported, the pro-life Women’s Care Center ultimately opened across the street from its originally proposed location.
Whole Woman’s Health of South Bend has been providing abortions without a license since June due to a federal judge’s preliminary injunction, reported the Chicago Tribune, but its trial over the final license is scheduled to begin in August 2020.
The abortion provider has called the state’s insistence that it meet the requirement of “reputable and responsible character” as “politically motivated” and “medically unnecessary.”
In 2015, Klopfer’s medical license was suspended after he allegedly failed to report an abortion performed on a 13-year-old girl.
The remains of 2,246 unborn babies were found inside Klopfer’s Will County, Illinois home. Klopfer passed away on September 3.
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