ARTICLES

Pro-Lifers Help Abortionists out of Chula Vista

But Rand Moves to Paradise Hills

By Anne Knight

The year was 1999. "He's not a Hispanic; why did he choose to target Hispanics?" asked Mary Ann, an employee of a flower shop then situated near a Chula Vista abortion facility. Clinica Medica para la Mujer de Hoy (Spanish for Today's Woman's Medical Clinic), located at 335 H Street, was owned by Nicholas G. Braemer, MD, who hails from Austria. It was one of ten Southern California abortion mills owned by Braemer. His chain is based "on the concept which targets Hispanic women in certain key areas," according to a February 22, 1996 letter written by an accountant for Bugarin & Braemer Professional Management Corporation to Orange National Bank.

According to its receptionist, the Chula Vista Clinica Medica opened in January 1997, as one of several tenants in a small office building. However, it did not come to the attention of local pro-lifers until the spring of 1999. In its August 1999 newsletter, the California Life Coalition reported that a man identifying himself as the building's maintenance supervisor told pro-lifers that, when Clinica Medica representatives signed the lease, they assured the property owner that they would only be providing prenatal care. Only after they opened the clinic did the owner learn that they were performing abortions. Their Yellow Pages advertisement announces that they will perform abortions "up to 24 weeks or more." At that time, said the maintenance man, the owner contacted an attorney, but was unsuccessful in his attempt to terminate the lease.

In 1999, the clinic's business cards listed Braemer, Mohamed Dia, MD, and Laurence Reich, an osteopath. Braemer's problems with the Medical Board of California date back to 1983, when he was sentenced to five years of probation for Medi-Cal fraud. In 1995 he received the same sentence for botching an abortion in 1987. The Medical Board accused him of negligence in a 1996 and a 1998 abortion, as well as other infractions at his clinics.

In connection with two 1996 cases, Dia was charged with gross negligence, repeated negligent acts, incompetence, and "commission of acts involving dishonesty or corruption" and surrendered his medical license in September of 1999.

In 1982 Reich was charged with 28 criminal acts, including sexual abuse and battery of female patients, prescribing drugs without a license, falsely representing himself as a medical doctor, and attempting to coerce his victims into refusing to testify against him. In a 1984 plea bargain arrangement he pleaded "no contest" to two counts of battery and two of misrepresentation. He was fined, and the other charges were dropped. In 1994 he completed a ten-year probation for a botched abortion.

Several pro-life activists addressed the Chula Vista City Council on June 29, 1999, to request that the city investigate possible threats to public health and safety posed by the three abortionists' credentials. Mayor Shirley Horton assured them that their concerns would be forwarded to the county health department and district attorney. However, the California Life Coalition has not reported receiving response from those offices.

The only abortionist seen at Clinica Medica was Dr. Philip Rand, an abortionist for San Diego's now-closed Womancare. Over thirty personal injury and malpractice lawsuits have been filed against him, including one which resulted in a multi-million dollar judgment. Rand declared bankruptcy in 1992. According to the California Life Coalition, the Medical Board disciplined him in 1999. The board's website indicates that the state has taken an "enforcement action" against him and that he has received a "public reprimand." Rand was performing abortions at least four days per week in Chula Vista.

A pro-life presence at Clinica Medica began immediately after the city council appearance. California Life Coalition activists displaying large, aborted-baby signs began picketing on Wednesdays. During the summer of 1999, on Saturdays, another pro-lifer began holding prayer vigils patterned after Helpers of God's Precious Infants. He was occasionally joined by members of his church. In addition to their public witness against abortion, all of the activists provided sidewalk counseling and distributed literature.

On June 8, 2000, the Chula Vista City Council approved the construction of a large business complex on the northwest corner of H Street and Third Avenue. The Gateway Chula Vista project includes over 300,000 square feet of space for retail and commercial use and a 1,000-space parking garage. The first phase was completed in April of 2002. The second phase will entail the razing of several buildings housing small businesses and private residences, including the Clinica Medica building. The entire project scheduled for completion in 2005.

The June 22, 2000 San Diego Union-Tribune reported that, under a negotiated settlement with the Medical Board, Braemer agreed to give up his medical license and stop practicing on August 1, 2000. "Braemer said his clinics will remain open, with another doctor as owner but will not provide late abortions, as he did, between the 24th and 26th weeks of pregnancy." During his years on probation with the Medical Board, Braemer continued to ignore the conditions of his probation and the restrictions on his license, according to the October 2000 Los Angeles Mission. Charges against him included gross and repeated negligence, incompetence, and the commission of acts involving dishonesty or corruption. In August of 2000, the California Life Coalition reported that the city of Chula Vista was investigating Rand for practicing without a city business permit.

In November of 2000, a group from a South Bay church began to hold prayer vigils one Saturday per month at the clinic, in conjunction with the lone activist and continued holding them after he left San Diego two months later. In February of 2001, another local church group began picketing, praying, sidewalk counseling, and distributing gospel and pro-life tracts to passersby on Wednesdays and Saturdays. "It was a real blessing from time to time when a woman would decide not to kill her child," the latter group's leader commented. "But most of the women walked into the clinic like they knew what they were going to do.... I do have to applaud the Hispanic men who were simply driving by the clinic. They would many times give us a thumbs-up, and you could see that they appreciated what we were trying to do. But, for some reason, the white males were flipping us off and yelling at us.... I [said] almost every week, 'Please, Mr. Rand, stop killing the children ... we care about you, turn from this before it's too late.'"

In March of that year, this pro-lifer reported that he had been informed that Clinica Medica's lease would not be renewed. In 2001, yet another South Bay church group became involved, led by their pastor, the pastor's wife, and the principal of a Christian school. "Our pastor has been very pro-life and very supportive of activism for many years," a church member explained. A total of 10 members, out of a congregation consisting of 110 members, picketed regularly, two days per week, sidewalk counseled, and passed out literature.

The California Life Coalition and the three church groups continued their pro-life witness at Clinica Medica until it closed in late April of this year. By that time, the other tenants at 335 H Street had vacated the building in anticipation of its demolition. Two tenants had moved out some time earlier due to the pro-life picketers. Calls to Clinica Medica's old number in Chula Vista are now transferred to Clinica Medica's Santa Ana office, which answers as Community Women's Medical Clinics. I called on May 14 and was informed that the Chula Vista office was closed and that Dr. Rand was now performing abortions at an address on Paradise Valley Road in San Diego, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. When I inquired about his hours, the receptionist hung up. By press time, members of two of the church groups that picketed the Chula Vista office had made their debut at Rand's new location in the Paradise Hills area. They report that he is practicing Tuesdays and Saturdays, from 7 to about 10 a.m., at Primary Medical Center, located at 6907 Paradise Valley Road, at the intersection with Woodman Street. Another local pro-lifer recently spoke to a staff member at the Santa Ana office, who also confirmed that the Chula Vista office is closed and that, temporarily, they are making referrals to Rand or to the Santa Ana office. The staff member indicated that Clinica Medica hopes to obtain a new office in the San Diego area, but, said the pro-lifer, "they just haven't been able to locate a place that will take them yet."

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