According to various sources, LeRoy Carhart, one of the few abortionists in the U.S. who committed elective abortions very late in pregnancy, has passed away. EWTN’s Catherine Hadro reported on Twitter that she directly confirmed with Carhart’s abortion business that he died on April 28.
Carhart, who served in the United States Air Force, originally opened a family medicine practice early in his career. He said he began committing abortions because it was more profitable, but wasn’t particularly invested in it until an act of arson turned him into an “activist.” He worked alongside abortionist George Tiller, who was murdered in 2009, to learn how to commit late-term abortions; Carhart would drive from his facility in Nebraska to Kansas to work with Tiller.
Throughout his career, numerous complaints were filed against Carhart, including allegations of unprofessional conduct. These included altering patient charts, talking on the phone while committing abortions, and falling asleep while injecting a patient with lidocaine.
Carhart also allegedly committed an abortion on a patient who had active tuberculosis, but didn’t allow his staff to wear masks during the procedure. An abortion facility staffer also accused him of leaving the facility in the middle of an abortion procedure to go outside and throw rocks at the window.
Dr. LeRoy H. Carhart sits next to a photograph of his murdered colleague and friend, Dr. Tiller. Carhard’s clinic, the Women’s Health Clinic, which provides abortions and contraceptives, is a frequent target for the Operation Rescue, who are vehemently protesting any abortion. (Photo by Orjan F. Ellingvag/Dagens Naringsliv/Corbis via Getty Images)
Former staffers also said Carhart allowed abortions to be committed without the proper licensing, and said he lied about the gestational age of preborn children in order to circumvent the law. They also said he kept his facility in unsafe condition, with dried blood on surgical instruments, missing narcotics, illegal drug use by employees, and illegal abortions. Other complaints accused him of illegally disposing of biohazardous waste, along with private patient medical information and even drugs.
AAF is deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. LeRoy Carhart, an abortion provider and pioneer in reproductive care. Dr. Carhart's commitment to ensuring access to safe and legal abortion was unwavering.https://t.co/OgHxFThE8U
— Abortion Access Front (@AbortionFront) April 28, 2023
Additionally, he was accused of animal neglect; four horses and two dogs he owned were confiscated by authorities. When animal control officers arrived, they found the animals to be emaciated, left in mud and excrement a foot deep. One horse was said to be in such poor condition that it would have died without receiving immediate intervention.
The emergency number given to Carhart’s abortion patients was found to belong to his wife’s horse business.
Carhart was also responsible for the deaths of at least two patients — Christin Gilbert and Jennifer Morbelli. In both instances, the women’s families tried to reach staff at Carhart’s abortion facilities, but received no emergency care.
In 2013, Carhart was featured in Live Action’s Inhuman investigation, discussing late-term abortions. In one conversation, he said a preborn baby killed in abortion was “like putting meat in a Crock-pot, OK, it doesn’t get, it doesn’t get broke, but it just gets softer.” In another exchange, he joked about his abortion tool kit:
Woman: -for some reason, I’m not able to deliver, you’ll be able to get it out–
Dr. Carhart: We’d take it out in pieces.
Woman: –in pieces.
Dr. Carhart: But that, but that at 26 weeks is very, very rare.
Woman: What do you use to break it up? Just-
Dr. Carhart: A whole bunch of, you know-
Woman: (Laughs) You’ve got a toolkit.
Dr. Carhart: A pickaxe, a drill bit, yeah (laughs).
In recent years, Carhart was accused of botching increasing numbers of abortions, at one point coming under investigation by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. In that instance, a 35-year-old woman allegedly suffered internal hemorrhaging, coded at least once, and needed life-saving surgery. A witness reported that this all happened because the staff at Carhart’s facility “let her lie there too long” before finally calling 911.
In another instance, hospital staff were so traumatized by the injuries they witnessed in saving his patients’ lives that hospital administrators sent an e-mail to staff, acknowledging the trauma they experienced.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, tweeted, “Late-term abortionist, LeRoy Carhart passed naturally today… on the feast of St. Gianna Beretta Molla… Patron saint of preborn babies. I do not believe that is a coincidence.”
Carhart was 81 years old.
Editor’s note: Carhart’s age has been updated since original publication.
