KY abortionist charged with fraud and ‘gross negligence’ told screaming patient to ‘shut up’

Lexington, Ky., Jun 21, 2008 / 19:07 pm

A Kentucky abortionist has had his medical license suspended and is now under scrutiny for allegedly running a gruesome abortion clinic in Lexington where he committed Medicare fraud and put patients at risk in unsanitary, painful and possibly illegal abortions.

WHAS 11 reports that Dr. Hamid Sheikh has been indicted for allegedly billing Medicare for abortions he performed. The Attorney General’s fraud probe led the medical board to investigate further, leading to more allegations from the Kentucky medical licensure board. A consultant for the board has concluded the abortionist committed “gross negligence” and “put his patients at risk.”

Dr. Sheikh denies the allegations.

Seven former patients have told investigators that the doctor did not perform ultrasounds to see if they were pregnant. Most claim they did not receive pain pills or anesthetics during procedures. Several reported dirty gowns, one reported blood on medical equipment, and another said Dr. Sheikh tried to perform a vaginal exam without a cover on the wand.

“There are some allegations in the medical board’s complaint that we didn’t feel comfortable describing,” WHAS 11 says in its report. 

According to WHAS 11, a 17-year-old patient reported unbearable pain under the doctor’s care, while another woman alleges that Sheikh told her to “shut up” so women in the waiting room wouldn’t hear her screaming.

State investigators examined the records of 22 patients of Sheikh, finding that eight apparently did not wait the required 24 hours before their abortions. The clinic still stocked outdated medications and bio-hazardous materials from abortions had not been removed from the clinic in 12 weeks.

One Kentucky senator said that the problems might have been discovered sooner if Kentucky required inspections of offices that provide abortion services.

Dr. Sheikh says that he has served as a doctor for 33 years and has had no complaints until last year. He claimed that the state investigator was biased against him and in a written response to the medical licensure board he denies all the allegations against him.

Sheikh said he personally sterilizes his instruments and observes the 24-hour waiting period for an abortion. He asserted that those complaining about his work had a low threshold for pain or were upset they did not get any cash back.

The abortionist told a WHAS 11 reporter that he retired earlier in June.

“The horrific conditions discovered at Sheikh's mill are not the exception; they are what we have come to expect from America's failing abortion industry," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman in a press release.

"Doctors that are concerned about helping and healing people do not go into the abortion business,” Newman continued. “Therefore, what the abortion industry is left with is the bottom of the barrel. When abortion mills are inspected and laws are enforced, we can expect to see pulled licenses and closed clinics. Unfortunately, abortion mills are all too often given a free pass, but even that is beginning to change as the public becomes more aware of incidents like this.”