Editor’s note. This post comes from Right to Life of Michigan, NRLC’s state affiliate.
Effective April 29, 2017, Grand Rapids’ only surgical abortion clinic was closed when its owner, Thomas Gordon, was suspended by the state. Unfortunately he’s already back in business, breezing through a rehabilitation program in only 16 days.
Sixteen days, not weeks.
Effective May 11, 2017, Gordon was cleared from his suspension and is now on probation for two years. He also had to pay a $10,000 fine.
Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs originally gave him six months to complete rehab or face having to reapply for his medical license.
What caused this suspension? Gordon failed to report his criminal history to the state. Let’s recap his violent record:
In 1991 Gordon was convicted of aggravated assault.
In 2010 Gordon’s wife filed a personal protection order against him, alleging he beat her several times and put a gun to her head while she was sleeping.
After an incident in 2011, Gordon was originally charged with felony assault with a dangerous weapon. He later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence and possessing a weapon while under the influence.
In 2015 Gordon was convicted of disorderly conduct for fighting/jostling and operating under the influence.
Is a man accused of once putting a gun to wife’s head while she was asleep fit to be around women under anesthesia? Is a man with a record of violence against women what Planned Parenthood might call a champion for women?
The sidewalk counselors who work to convince women to spare the life of their children and seek help at a life-affirming pregnancy center will now have to go back to work too. So too will those who pray for Gordon and his staff to quit.
Some prolifers had hoped this suspension would give the doctor a chance to re-examine his life, or perhaps the prospects of months of rehab would inspire retirement. Instead, his suspension amounted to a two-week vacation, and his grisly trade of tearing the limbs off of unborn children all day resumes.
It is clear Gordon has had severe personal issues for three decades and we’re skeptical 16 days is enough to address those. We can’t see inside his mind, but seeing the broken bodies of more than 2,000 children ever year—and year after year—may be helping fuel his violent outbursts.
Why go back? Is it the politics? The apathy? The lucrative business model of abortion? Has he done so many there’s no turning back?
The late Dr. Bernard Nathanson said he was personally responsible for 75,000 abortions, an unimaginable loss of life. One day, he decided he just couldn’t do it anymore, and dedicated the rest of his life to saving lives, the role originally intended for doctors. Today is not that day for Gordon.
Thousands of unborn children and women in west Michigan are poorer for it. *
*Editor’s note. The Detroit Free Press published the following, in an article that ran April 14. [As noted above, LARA is Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs:
LARA’s documents indicated state experts were concerned Dr. Gordon’s past criminal cases could affect his ability to practice in a “safe and competent manner”.
In a complaint, LARA charged that Gordon was not complying with the state’s Public Health Code by not reporting convictions for aggravated assault, domestic violence, disorderly person and operating while intoxicated.
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
