Anonymous source tells Operation Rescue what really happened to late-term abortion victim Christin Gilbert and why the Grand Jury investigating George Tiller narrowly failed to indict.
Wichita, KS — Operation Rescue has interviewed a source inside the grand jury that investigated late-term abortionist George Tiller for the abortion death of 19-year old Christin Gilbert. That source, who spoke with Operation Rescue on condition of anonymity, has revealed new information about what really happened to Christin Gilbert, and why the grand jury narrowly failed to indict Tiller in the young Down Syndrome girl’s death.
Operation Rescue will be publishing this information in four parts. Today’s segment is titled “What Really Happened to Christin Gilbert?” It reveals the horrific ordeal endured by the Texas teen, including a bombshell revelation that the misuse of the controversial RU 486 abortion drug may have contributed to her death.
Part Two will take an inside look at what happened during the grand jury process and why jurors were left with frustrations about stonewalling and unanswered questions that prevented them from being able to issue an indictment. The source revealed to Operation Rescue that Tiller missed being indicted on 4 counts of negligence by only one vote.
Part Three of this report will explore what the source called a “fraternity” that has covered up for George Tiller, even in some cases in violation of their own policies. That group includes the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts, the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office, and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
Part Four will explore the unanswered questions and conflicting testimony that leaves little doubt that a cover-up is in place, and will take a look at what can be done about this now obvious miscarriage of justice.
PART ONE: “What Really Happened to Christin Gilbert?”
Christin Gilbert was 19 years old. She had Down Syndrome, and had recently graduated from the Special Education Program of her hometown high school in Keller, Texas. She lived in a quiet neighborhood with her mother, father, and older sister. Christin loved sports and was a regular at the Keller Special Olympics where she once won a gold medal in the softball throw. Christin had served as batgirl and team inspiration for the Keller Girl’s High School Soft Ball team that won the State Championship in 2003.
But in spite of her seemingly happy life and loving personality, Christin had a dark secret. She was the victim of sexual abuse that resulted in pregnancy sometime in 2004. Her parents’ decision to abort Christin’s baby — in the third trimester of pregnancy — led to Christin’s death in Wichita, Kansas, on January 13, 2005.
A complaint was filed with the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts asking for abortionist George R. Tiller to be disciplined for Christin’s death, but the Board refused to take action against him after Gov. Kathleen Sebelius intervened in the case.
Because of this, a grassroots citizens group gathered signatures, as allowed by Kansas Law, and successfully convened a grand jury to investigate possible criminal wrongdoing in Gilbert’s death. It was announced on July 31, 2006, that the grand jury had returned no indictments and had been dismissed.
Anonymous Source Comes Forward
But now a source inside the grand jury process wants to talk. This person wants people to know the truth about what happened to Christin and the frustration faced by the grand jury that was denied the information they needed to make proper decisions.
According to the source, the grand jury had access to a large amount of documents in the case, including written reports from George Tiller and numerous other individuals. They were able to interview many people associated with Christin’s death, but were denied access to others.
Suspicious Behavior
The source tells Operation Rescue that from the outset, there were some concerns about what was going on within Christin’s family. Christin had the mental capacity of a six year old, according to testimony given to the grand jury. Why did it take so long for Christin’s family to discover her pregnancy?
There was some evasion of this question by the family. The mother indicated that she just thought Christin was putting on weight, but given the fact that she would have to be helped with the use of feminine products each month, that explanation raised more questions than it answered.
Christin’s mother, Paula Gilbert, indicated that one day she noticed a “pooch” on Christin’s stomach as she was getting into the bathtub. The next day, she took Christin to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Dallas, Texas, where her pregnancy was confirmed to be in the 28th week. They were told an abortion that late could not be done there, and referred the family to Women’s Health Care Services, a late-term abortion clinic run by George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas.
“Disregarding the situation” with Christin, according to the source, the family went forward with plans for a vacation cruise that was scheduled to leave that Sunday. The following week, the family returned to Texas on Sunday, January 9, 2005, and drove on that afternoon to Wichita, Kansas, to get Christin an abortion. They checked into the La Quinta Hotel, which at that time had an arrangement with Tiller to provide rooms for his late-term abortion patients and some of his staff. The La Quinta Corporation has since terminated those arrangements.
Troubled Abortionist Neuhaus Resurfaces
The family took Christin to Women’s Health Care Services on Monday morning, January 10, 2005, where she was evaluated by a “psychologist,” Dr. Kristin Neuhaus, of Lawrence, Kansas. According to Kansas law, post-viability abortions may only take place when there is an agreement from a second doctor who is not professionally or financially associated with the abortionist. Neuhaus has an arrangement with Tiller to evaluate all his late-term patients at the Women’s Health Care Services office when they first come in on Mondays or Tuesdays.
Neuhaus is in fact a former abortionist who came under fire in 2001 for aborting a woman who had withdrawn her consent. She once served as the abortionist at Central Women’s Services, the Wichita abortion mill that closed in June and is now owned by Operation Rescue. Neuhaus closed her Lawrence, Kansas, abortion mill in 2002, amid mounting scandal and debt.
“Because of all her professional problems, Neuhaus pretended to get out of the abortion business, but in reality she just changed jobs,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “Now, instead of killing the babies with her own hands, she is earning her blood money by signing their death warrants.”
A member of the grand jury asked Neuhaus if there was ever a time that she did not sign off on an abortion when asked. Neuhaus pled the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer that question.
After the evaluation, the Gilbert family directly paid Newhaus with a personal check for her services. A grand jury member asked to see the cancelled check and Neuhaus’ records, but was told by prosecutor Ann Swegle that it would take an “act of God” to get those documents.
Of the arrangement between Neuhaus and Tiller, the source said, “It was wishy-washy to be honest with you.”
Carhart Begins the Abortion
Christin was then administered the digoxin shot to her baby’s heart by Nebraska abortionist LeRoy Carhart, who is employed by Tiller and works at the Wichita abortion clinic 1-2 weeks per month. Her cervix was filled with laminaria and she was sent back to her hotel. Christin did not eat dinner that evening.
The next morning, Christin was loaded into the family van where she expelled her dead baby on the way to the abortion clinic.
“She passed the fetus coming into the clinic in the family van and we couldn’t get anyone to even talk about that,” the source said.
Once at the clinic, a D&C procedure was done on Christin and a “tear in the uterus” was sutured. According to the source, the grand jury could not get anyone to testify about that, and were unable to get questions answered about whether or not this was problematic.
Misuse of RU 486 Revealed
At this point, Christin was administered the abortion drug RU 486. This drug is approved for medical abortion in pregnancies prior to the 6th week of gestation. The drug has been responsible for at least six deaths in the United States since 2001.
The source told Operation Rescue that RU 486 was meant to be an “insurance policy” to make sure everything had been expelled from the uterus. But when the grand jury compared Christin’s symptoms to the symptoms of other women who have died from RU 486, the source said that the symptoms were “identical to a ‘T.’”
There is no doubt in the source’s mind that this off-the-label, unapproved misuse of RU 486 contributed to Christin’s death.
Other “Issues” and Fifth Amendment Stonewalling
There were apparently “issues” with Christin’s condition on this second day, and the clinic staff indicated she should stay in Wichita for another night. Those issues were never fully explained.
To the frustration of some of the grand jury members, the abortion process was not explained, and they did not fully understand the procedure or terminology used when describing the medical intervention.
Clinic workers, with the exception of one, pled the Fifth Amendment. Tiller and Carhart never testified. Technical loopholes in the law were fully exploited by Tiller’s high-priced legal team to prevent him from ever facing the grand jury. Carhart evaded his subpoena by remaining in Nebraska.
“We couldn’t make decisions, because we couldn’t get anyone involved to speak,” the source said.
Undocumented Treatment
After Christin returned to the hotel on Tuesday night, her condition began to deteriorate. She was taken to the abortion clinic on Wednesday morning and treated for severe dehydration. However, the clinic staff made no documentation of her treatment, or how much fluids were administered to her. That lack of documentation proved to be a prominent factor on the day Christin died.
The Mystery of the Missing Abortionist
Wednesday evening, the family went out for dinner, but Christin would not eat. Sometime that evening, Christin was cramping, bleeding, and vomiting, at times passing out. Between midnight and 4 AM — there is a discrepancy in the testimony — the family called Tiller employee Cathy Reavis who was staying at the La Quinta on call. Reavis is Tiller’s longest employee, having worked for him for 29 years. Reavis is Tiller’s “head nurse” but she is not licensed, and neither are any other Tiller employees.
“They get six weeks training,” said the source. “That’s nothing.”
Christin was placed into a warm bath, which may have contributed to extra bleeding and infection. Reavis then helped get Christin cleaned up and back to bed.
Reavis called abortionist LeRoy Carhart, who was supposedly also staying at the La Quinta and was on call for emergencies. Carhart never responded and never saw Christin at the hotel. Testimony was inconsistent as to the whereabouts of Carhart and why he did not respond to calls for help.
Reavis, who was the only Tiller employee to offer testimony without pleading the Fifth Amendment, claims she returned to her hotel room and “overslept,” not arriving at the clinic until the ambulance was taking Christin away to the hospital.
The next morning, Christin’s family tried to get her ready to go to the clinic. Christin fainted and could not be revived. Although the grand jury was told that the family had been informed that they could dial 911 if they believed they needed help, her family did not do that. Instead, they loaded their bleeding, unconscious daughter on a luggage rack and wheeled her to the family van. Testimony was inconsistent as to whether Christin was able to sit up in the vehicle on her own during the 5-minute ride to the clinic.
The source was clearly disturbed by the attitude of the family toward Christin and stated, “The normal reaction was not how they reacted.”
Information Blackout
Christin arrived at the clinic and walked inside “with assistance.” Once inside, Christin “crashed,” meaning her heart and respiration ceased.
For the next 40-45 minutes, there are no notations in the medical records about the care and treatment of Christin Gilbert. There are reports that she was “bagged” but this seemed curious to the source since the clinic had the capability of administering oxygen.
The family indicated that they were placed in a separate room and had no idea what was going on with their daughter.
Tiller, who was busy with another abortion when Christin arrived at the clinic, “poked his head in” to see what was going on. He later reported to the family that Christin was being cared for, but did not reveal to them the fact that she was technically dead.
After approximately 45 minutes, a call was finally placed to 911. Tiller employee Marguerite Reed was evasive with the 911 personnel and placed them on hold for 45 seconds while she walked back to find out why an ambulance was needed.
Possible Perjury
Reed testified that she was met in a hallway by Cathy Reavis, who had earlier said she had overslept and did not arrive at the clinic until the ambulance was taking Christin to the hospital. Photographs taken at the clinic by pro-life sidewalk counselor Judi Weldy clearly show Reavis’ vehicle in the parking lot when the ambulance arrived at the clinic. Did Reavis commit perjury by lying to the Grand Jury about not being present at the clinic when Christin lay dying?
Reed testified that Reavis told her that she couldn’t tell her why, but that she just needed to get the ambulance.
The source was disturbed by this exchange. Reed was asked, “Is there no sense of urgency? You guys are arguing about giving information to the people who are trying to help you.”
Reed indicated that she never knew which employees were with Christin and had no idea what happened.
“I personally don’t think she knew what was going on,” the source said. “I think they [the Tiller employees] are very much controlled.”
Paramedics Arrive
The first to respond to the 911 call was the Fire Department. The ambulance arrived later, but missed the driveway and had to come back around. They were directed where to go by the Fire Department.
When paramedics arrived, they saw Christin laying in what was described as “huge amounts” of “coffee grounds” blood and fluid — “way more than you would normally see.”
In spite of the fact that Christin’s heart had not been beating, nor had she been breathing for 40-45 minutes, LeRoy Carhart was on top of her trying to physically force fluids from her stomach. Paramedics indicated that they first thought he was a male nurse who may not have known what he was doing. The paramedics ordered Carhart away from the girl but he did not comply. A male paramedic was forced to “very sternly” demand that Carhart step away from the girl. One report indicated that the paramedics may have actually pulled Carhart off her.
Rush to Wesley Medical Center
Christin was placed in the ambulance and rushed to Wesley Medical Center. Although Christin’s pulse was briefly revived enroute to the hospital, she never regained consciousness from the time she “crashed” at the clinic earlier in the morning.
Tiller arrived several minutes later, driven to the hospital by employee Sara Phares. Pro-lifers photographed Christin’s and Tiller’s arrivals at Wesley, but none of the photographs, including those taken at the clinic, were given to the grand jury, even though they were twice submitted as evidence.
Disconnected Family
At the hospital, Christin was bleeding from the mouth, vagina, eyes, and every other orifice. The family was advised of her condition, and reacted by telling the doctors to harvest her organs for donation.
The source was again disturbed by the behavior of the family. “I mean, this is your daughter. They should be crushed…It was a very strange deal. Here is a parent whose retarded daughter is pregnant. The normal reaction would not be how they reacted. There was no sense of urgency. [They were saying]‘We’re trying to put it behind us,’ and ‘We’re trying to move on with our lives.’ They want to retire and travel. I thought, oh, that’s real convenient that your daughter is not around because she was a real third wheel.”
Christin’s eyes were donated but the rest of her organs showed signs of hemorrhage and were not suitable for donation.
An autopsy was conducted by the Sedgwick County Forensics Science Center. The coroner who testified before the grand jury indicated that Christin died at 1:14 pm on January 13, 2006, from sepsis caused by a therapeutic abortion, but added that she also hemorrhaged.
Grand Jury Frustration
The jurors expressed frustration at the inability to question those directly involved in treating Christin. Lack of information, inconsistencies in testimony, and other unanswered questions prevented them from being able to make informed decisions.
“We couldn’t get any information out of anyone,” said the source. “Without anybody speaking, we couldn’t get any information out of nobody. These people can do what they want to, plead the Fifth, and walk. And I’m thinking, ‘How stupid is this?’”
COMING SOON! PART TWO: Inside the Grand Jury