Mystery Abortionist Identified

Women's Legal Action Coalition
P O Box 362384
Melbourne, FL 32936-2384

Contact: Meredith Raney (407) 242-6925

A shy abortionist at Aware Woman Center for Choice abortion clinic in Melbourne, Florida has been identified as Dr. Gostal Arcelin of Jacksonville. Dr. Arcelin is brought into Aware Woman under a blanket hiding in the back seat of a car. Aware Woman says that this clandestine activity is necessary to protect Dr. Arcelin from pro-life extremists. Meredith Raney, spokesman for the Woman's Legal Action Coalition, a citizen-run consumer advocate group monitoring women's health care says, "This explanation is almost believable until one learns that Aware Woman's other doctor, Dr. Randall B. Whitney, from Daytona Beach, drives into Aware Woman alone once a week, waves to the crowd, and walks into the clinic totally in the open as he has done for many years. If Dr. Arcelin is in danger, why isn't Dr. Whitney? There has got to be another explanation."

Not only is Aware Woman concealing Dr. Arcelin's identity from the "pro-life extremists", they are also concealing him from his own patients. Dr. Arcelin is introduced to his patients as Dr. Whitney and paperwork given the patient has either no name or Dr. Whitney's name on it even though Dr. Whitney is not there that day.

Several patients have filed complaints with the State of Florida trying to find out the true identity of the man who operated on them. The response from the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) is that "no violations of Florida Statutes were determined." See enclosed letter from AHCA to an Aware Woman patient. AHCA does acknowledge that Dr. Whitney's name which appears on the patient's paperwork does not appear on the records in the clinic while the name of another unnamed Florida licensed physician does appear which satisfies the requirements of the Florida Statutes according to the AHCA. Apparently the AHCA is saying that lying to a patient about the name of the doctor operating on her is not against the law. Barbers and beauticians are required by Florida Statutes to post their licenses where they work for everyone to see but an abortionist can legally conceal his identity even from his own patients.

At the direction of the AHCA, two patients have tried to find out the true name of their doctor by going into the clinic and requesting a copy of their records. The copy they receive has the Physician's signature blacked out. See enclosed copy.

Mr. Raney says, "The AHCA is sanctioning a practice that is unethical, deceitful, dangerous, and constitutes fraud. Most of us assume that the various state regulatory agencies will protect us against this type of danger and fraud. In the case of abortion clinics, this is a bad assumption. Women of Florida beware! Ask for a copy of the doctor's medical license and picture ID when utilizing the services of an abortion clinic. Abortion is dangerous. Ask the family of Carolina Guterriez who died February 5, 1996 in Miami after an abortion in a licensed abortion clinic on December 19, 1995. The abortion clinic did not respond with medical records giving the name of Carolina's abortionist within the 10 days required by law. Is this another mystery abortionist like Dr. Arcelin?"