Garson Romalis
Encyclopedia
Garson Romalis is a Canadian gynecologist who specializes in providing abortion
s. (See Abortion in Canada
.) As a private citizen providing a legal medical service, he has twice been wounded by anti-abortion terrorists. The first attempt on his life was by far the most violent antiabortion crime in Canada, according to the National Post
. It was made by James Kopp
. The second attempt was made by an unknown assailant who stabbed him and fled. Since being personally attacked, Dr. Romalis has become more outspoken and more determined to provide abortions to women who want them. As such, he is a notable public figure in the Canadian abortion debate. The University of Toronto Law School invited him to speak at their Symposium to mark the 20th Anniversary of R. vs. Morgentaler. He is working to convince medical students of the need to continue providing abortions.
after using a folk remedy slippery elm
bark. It often contains spores of the bacteria that cause gas gangrene
, which is what had killed the young woman. She developed an overwhelming infection
. An autopsy showed multiple abscess
es throughout her body, in her abdomen
, liver
, lungs, and brain
. Dr. Romalis never forgot that case.
Dr. Romalis again encountered the results of illegal abortions in 1962, during his internship at Cook's County Hospital in Illinois
, when he spent a month on the septic obstetrics ward. He recalls that in those days hospitals had entire wards for the victims of complications of pregnancy, and ninety percent of them had complications of septic abortion. The ward had about 40 beds plus extra beds lining the halls for the overflow. Each day, the hospital admitted 10-30 patients with septic abortion. Each morning, the interns prepared 40 - 60 litres of intravenous fluid containing tetracycline, oxytocin and ergometrine for inocoming patients. Thanks to the discovery of antibiotics, only about one woman died each month. The cause was usually septic shock
associated with hemorrhage. In the mid-1970s, a US report revealed a large drop in maternal mortality since abortion was legalized. Dr. David Boyes, a founder of BC’s Pap test program, told Romalis that the numbers were straightforward and “it suggests that politicians, with a few strokes of a pen, have saved more lives than we have with twenty-five years of effort screening for cervical cancer.”
Garson Romalis was drawn to obstetrics and gynecology because he loved delivering babies. Abortion was illegal when he trained: he did not learn how to do abortions then. However, he remarks that he had "more than my share of experience looking after illegal abortion complications." He points out that in Canada and the U.S., septic shock from illegal abortion is virtually never seen today. Like smallpox, it is a “disappeared disease.”
and gynecology. Abortion law in Canada had been liberalized in 1969. In his practice, Dr. Romalis and his partners saw many women who wanted to terminate a pregnancy. He therefore learned how to perform abortions. Dr. Romalis finds providing abortion services often stressful because the patients are very stressed. He states, "Usually, an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy is the worst trouble the patient has ever been in in her entire life." He added, "by performing a five-minute operation, in comfort and dignity, I can give her back her life."
In 1994, Dr. Romalis was shot and nearly killed by a sniper with a high-powered rifle
firing into his home. In the aftermath of this first assassination attempt, Dr. Romalis almost died several times from blood loss and multiple other complications. After about two years of physical and emotional rehabilitation, he was able to resume work part-time. He could no longer do his favourite part of the job, delivering babies, nor to perform major gynecological surgery. However, he continued to work as a gynecologist, including providing abortion services.
In July, 2000, Dr. Romalis was stabbed by an unknown assailant, which caused him to take some time off to recover and add security measures to his routine. About two months later, he returned to work. Since 2000, he does only abortions.
In 1994, a pro-life terrorist fired high-powered rifle into the Romalis home, striking Dr. Romalis and severely injuring him. The shot hit his thigh, damaging his muscles and shattering his femur. The most dangerous injury was to his femoral artery, the one largest arteries in the body. The doctor was in danger of bleeding to death. He saved himself by improvising a tourniquet with the belt of his bathrobe. His wife and daughter, who were also home at the time, were not injured. Police said the sniper may have used an AK-47
automatic rifle. Mark Schonfeld, president of the British Columbia Medical Association, expressed shock that someone would be shot, because it is "so foreign to our way of life and our thinking." Abortion has been legal in Canada since 1988. The Romalis house had been picketed by antiabortion groups in the past. At the time, police did not have a suspect in mind. A reward of $60,000 was offered, $40,000 from the police forces and $20,000 from the Manitoba Medical Association. In 2001, James Kopp
was charged with the crime.
In December, 1997, several Canadian police forces formed a joint task force to manage their investigation into sniper
attacks against three Canadian doctors, Dr. Romalis of Vancouver; Dr. Hugh Short of Ancaster, Ontario
; and Dr. Jack Fainman of Winnipeg, Manitoba. On the joint task force were representatives of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
and the police forces of Vancouver, Hamilton, and Winnipeg. The police say that sniper attacks against Canadian physicians are terrorist acts and that the hunt for the attackers deserves a coordinated national effort. In 2000, a warrant was issued for the arrest of James Kopp, who was believed to be living in Mexico.
In 2000, a young man accosted Dr. Romalis in the medical building where he works and stabbed him. The doctor was not seriously injured. The criminal was not identified. Several witnesses had seen the attacker waiting for some time before Dr. Romalis arrived and even used a restroom in a pharmacy that opens onto the lobby. They described him as a white man in his 20s or 30s wearing a dark grey or black sweatsuit with a hood. When Dr. Romalis arrived, the pro-life terrorist stabbed him in the back of the lower left ribcage. The man escaped through the parking lot of the building. A parking valet, Jesse Brouwer, chased the attacker for more than a block without success. News reports stated that about an hour before the stabbing, police were called to another clinic, Everywoman's Health Centre because of aggressive anti-abortion protesters on the lawn of the house next door. Three white men, two of whom had not been there before, were trying to intimidate women entering the clinic. The staff became so concerned about the level of intimidation that they called police. After police talked to them, the three men left about noon. Dr. Romalis was stabbed just before 1 p.m.
Vancouver police created a composite picture of the attacker who stabbed Garson Romalis in the back. A man claiming to be the attacker called a local newspaper, threatening all the local abortion providers. A police spokeswoman said that the man claimed to be from the "Baby Liberation Army." On the same day, a man called another abortion provider in the city to warn that she would be next.
As of 2011, Dr. Romalis is still featured on anti-abortion hit lists, some with animated dripping blood such as the Christian Gallery.
in Toronto, which was held in a small theatre on Yonge Street.
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s. (See Abortion in Canada
Abortion in Canada
Abortion in Canada is not limited by the law . While some non-legal obstacles exist, Canada is one of only a few nations with no legal restrictions on abortion. Regulations and accessibility vary between provinces....
.) As a private citizen providing a legal medical service, he has twice been wounded by anti-abortion terrorists. The first attempt on his life was by far the most violent antiabortion crime in Canada, according to the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
. It was made by James Kopp
James Charles Kopp
James Charles Kopp is an American citizen who was convicted in 2003 for the 1998 sniper-style murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian, an American physician from Amherst, New York who performed abortions. Prior to his capture, Kopp was on the FBI's list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. On June 7, 1999 he had...
. The second attempt was made by an unknown assailant who stabbed him and fled. Since being personally attacked, Dr. Romalis has become more outspoken and more determined to provide abortions to women who want them. As such, he is a notable public figure in the Canadian abortion debate. The University of Toronto Law School invited him to speak at their Symposium to mark the 20th Anniversary of R. vs. Morgentaler. He is working to convince medical students of the need to continue providing abortions.
Medical training
Dr. Romalis first observed the results of illegal abortions in 1960, when he was in medical school. He was assigned the case of a young woman who had died of a septic abortionSeptic abortion
A septic abortion or septic miscarriage is a form of miscarriage that is associated with a serious uterine infection. The infection carries risk of spreading infection to other parts of the body and cause septicaemia, a grave risk to the life of the woman.-Causes:A septic abortion can occur when...
after using a folk remedy slippery elm
Slippery Elm
Ulmus rubra, the Slippery Elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America...
bark. It often contains spores of the bacteria that cause gas gangrene
Gas gangrene
Gas gangrene is a bacterial infection that produces gas tissues in gangrene. It is a deadly form of gangrene usually caused by Clostridium perfringens bacteria. It is a medical emergency....
, which is what had killed the young woman. She developed an overwhelming infection
Infection
An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...
. An autopsy showed multiple abscess
Abscess
An abscess is a collection of pus that has accumulated in a cavity formed by the tissue in which the pus resides due to an infectious process or other foreign materials...
es throughout her body, in her abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
, liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
, lungs, and brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
. Dr. Romalis never forgot that case.
Dr. Romalis again encountered the results of illegal abortions in 1962, during his internship at Cook's County Hospital in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, when he spent a month on the septic obstetrics ward. He recalls that in those days hospitals had entire wards for the victims of complications of pregnancy, and ninety percent of them had complications of septic abortion. The ward had about 40 beds plus extra beds lining the halls for the overflow. Each day, the hospital admitted 10-30 patients with septic abortion. Each morning, the interns prepared 40 - 60 litres of intravenous fluid containing tetracycline, oxytocin and ergometrine for inocoming patients. Thanks to the discovery of antibiotics, only about one woman died each month. The cause was usually septic shock
Septic shock
Septic shock is a medical emergency caused by decreased tissue perfusion and oxygen delivery as a result of severe infection and sepsis, though the microbe may be systemic or localized to a particular site. It can cause multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and death...
associated with hemorrhage. In the mid-1970s, a US report revealed a large drop in maternal mortality since abortion was legalized. Dr. David Boyes, a founder of BC’s Pap test program, told Romalis that the numbers were straightforward and “it suggests that politicians, with a few strokes of a pen, have saved more lives than we have with twenty-five years of effort screening for cervical cancer.”
Garson Romalis was drawn to obstetrics and gynecology because he loved delivering babies. Abortion was illegal when he trained: he did not learn how to do abortions then. However, he remarks that he had "more than my share of experience looking after illegal abortion complications." He points out that in Canada and the U.S., septic shock from illegal abortion is virtually never seen today. Like smallpox, it is a “disappeared disease.”
Medical career
In 1972, Dr. Romalis started the practise of obstetricsObstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
and gynecology. Abortion law in Canada had been liberalized in 1969. In his practice, Dr. Romalis and his partners saw many women who wanted to terminate a pregnancy. He therefore learned how to perform abortions. Dr. Romalis finds providing abortion services often stressful because the patients are very stressed. He states, "Usually, an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy is the worst trouble the patient has ever been in in her entire life." He added, "by performing a five-minute operation, in comfort and dignity, I can give her back her life."
In 1994, Dr. Romalis was shot and nearly killed by a sniper with a high-powered rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
firing into his home. In the aftermath of this first assassination attempt, Dr. Romalis almost died several times from blood loss and multiple other complications. After about two years of physical and emotional rehabilitation, he was able to resume work part-time. He could no longer do his favourite part of the job, delivering babies, nor to perform major gynecological surgery. However, he continued to work as a gynecologist, including providing abortion services.
In July, 2000, Dr. Romalis was stabbed by an unknown assailant, which caused him to take some time off to recover and add security measures to his routine. About two months later, he returned to work. Since 2000, he does only abortions.
Attacks from anti-abortionists
Dr. Romalis has been picketed and harassed by anti-abortion activists, especially during the 1980s. They would picket his home and throw nails onto his driveway, hoping to damage his tires.In 1994, a pro-life terrorist fired high-powered rifle into the Romalis home, striking Dr. Romalis and severely injuring him. The shot hit his thigh, damaging his muscles and shattering his femur. The most dangerous injury was to his femoral artery, the one largest arteries in the body. The doctor was in danger of bleeding to death. He saved himself by improvising a tourniquet with the belt of his bathrobe. His wife and daughter, who were also home at the time, were not injured. Police said the sniper may have used an AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
automatic rifle. Mark Schonfeld, president of the British Columbia Medical Association, expressed shock that someone would be shot, because it is "so foreign to our way of life and our thinking." Abortion has been legal in Canada since 1988. The Romalis house had been picketed by antiabortion groups in the past. At the time, police did not have a suspect in mind. A reward of $60,000 was offered, $40,000 from the police forces and $20,000 from the Manitoba Medical Association. In 2001, James Kopp
James Charles Kopp
James Charles Kopp is an American citizen who was convicted in 2003 for the 1998 sniper-style murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian, an American physician from Amherst, New York who performed abortions. Prior to his capture, Kopp was on the FBI's list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. On June 7, 1999 he had...
was charged with the crime.
In December, 1997, several Canadian police forces formed a joint task force to manage their investigation into sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
attacks against three Canadian doctors, Dr. Romalis of Vancouver; Dr. Hugh Short of Ancaster, Ontario
Ancaster, Ontario
Ancaster is a picturesque and historic community located on the Niagara escarpment, within the greater area of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This former town was founded officially in 1793 and was one of the oldest European communities established in present day Ontario along with Windsor...
; and Dr. Jack Fainman of Winnipeg, Manitoba. On the joint task force were representatives of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
and the police forces of Vancouver, Hamilton, and Winnipeg. The police say that sniper attacks against Canadian physicians are terrorist acts and that the hunt for the attackers deserves a coordinated national effort. In 2000, a warrant was issued for the arrest of James Kopp, who was believed to be living in Mexico.
In 2000, a young man accosted Dr. Romalis in the medical building where he works and stabbed him. The doctor was not seriously injured. The criminal was not identified. Several witnesses had seen the attacker waiting for some time before Dr. Romalis arrived and even used a restroom in a pharmacy that opens onto the lobby. They described him as a white man in his 20s or 30s wearing a dark grey or black sweatsuit with a hood. When Dr. Romalis arrived, the pro-life terrorist stabbed him in the back of the lower left ribcage. The man escaped through the parking lot of the building. A parking valet, Jesse Brouwer, chased the attacker for more than a block without success. News reports stated that about an hour before the stabbing, police were called to another clinic, Everywoman's Health Centre because of aggressive anti-abortion protesters on the lawn of the house next door. Three white men, two of whom had not been there before, were trying to intimidate women entering the clinic. The staff became so concerned about the level of intimidation that they called police. After police talked to them, the three men left about noon. Dr. Romalis was stabbed just before 1 p.m.
Vancouver police created a composite picture of the attacker who stabbed Garson Romalis in the back. A man claiming to be the attacker called a local newspaper, threatening all the local abortion providers. A police spokeswoman said that the man claimed to be from the "Baby Liberation Army." On the same day, a man called another abortion provider in the city to warn that she would be next.
As of 2011, Dr. Romalis is still featured on anti-abortion hit lists, some with animated dripping blood such as the Christian Gallery.
Other activities
Dr. Romalis was a speaker at the public 70th birthday party for Dr. Henry MorgentalerHenry Morgentaler
Henry Morgentaler, CM is a Canadian physician and prominent pro-choice advocate who has fought numerous legal battles for that cause.-Early life:...
in Toronto, which was held in a small theatre on Yonge Street.
External links
- Abortion violence timeline Washington Post
- Anti-abortion violence and harassment in Canada, ARCC/ADAC, CBS Interactive Business Network, 2001–07
- Mullens, Anne. MDs are living in dangerous times, security consultant warns, Canadian Medical Association Journal. 1998-11-03, 159 (9), p. 1155
- Scott, Joni. Book Review: "Targets of Hatred: Anti-abortion terrorism," by Patricia Baird-Windle and Eleanor J. Bade, CBS
- Sibbald, Barbara. Police task force targets “terrorists” behind sniper-style attacks on MDs, Canadian Medical Association Journal. 1998-11-03, 159 (9), p. 1153
- CMAJ: An Open Letter to Garson Romalis, Faculty of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario - Class of '96.