Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health Honors LeRoy Carhart, MD, for His Commitment to Reproductive Rights

Nebraska Physician Receives William K. Rashbaum, MD, Abortion Provider Award

New York, NY—In the more than two decades since he began offering abortion services, LeRoy Carhart, MD, has become one of America’s most prominent advocates for reproductive choice. His commitment to provide abortions extends from his Nebraska clinic to the Supreme Court, where he twice challenged laws limiting access to abortion. Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health (PRCH) will honor Dr. Carhart’s dedication to reproductive rights tonight with the William K. Rashbaum, MD, Abortion Provider Award. Named for a founder of PRCH, the award recognizes a physician who provides outstanding abortion services and serves as an inspirational leader for colleagues, residents, and medical students.

Best known as the lead plaintiff in two major abortion cases, Dr. Carhart has fought state and federal laws limiting access to reproductive health services. In 2000, he challenged a Nebraska law banning certain types of abortions, which the Supreme Court stuck down in Stenberg v. Carhart. Three years later, when President Bush signed a similar bill into law, Dr. Carhart joined a federal lawsuit challenging the act. The Supreme Court ultimately upheld the law in Gonzales v. Carhart.

Dr. Carhart’s experiences caring for women before Roe v. Wade informed his decision to become an abortion provider. During medical school, he saw many women suffering from botched abortions. “It was horrible, worse than watching people die in a war,” he recalls. After retiring from the military in 1987, Dr. Carhart opened a small surgical practice and began offering abortion services. Protestors soon targeted Dr. Carhart and his wife Mary, who manages his clinic. In 1991, their farm was burned to the ground, destroying their house and barn. Undeterred by these acts of violence, Dr. Carhart continues to provide abortions both at his clinic and at George Tiller, MD’s, clinic in Kansas.

“Dr. Carhart’s passion for reproductive justice is truly remarkable. As a dedicated abortion provider and tireless advocate for women’s health, Dr. Carhart is an inspiration for all of our physician members,” says PRCH board chair Suzanne T. Poppema, MD. “By providing women with the healthcare that they need—even in the face of adversity—Dr. Carhart continues Bill Rashbaum’s legacy.”

In recognition of his dedication to providing abortion services, PRCH will honor Dr. Carhart with the 2009 William K. Rashbaum, MD, Abortion Provider Award at a ceremony in New York City. Gloria Steinem will deliver the keynote address, and 2008 Rashbaum Award recipient Mildred Hanson, MD, will present the award.