Hid his involvement in 10,000 abortions from his neighbors

San Diego, CA — Late-term abortionist Donald G. Byrnes, 73, of San Diego died on January 30, 2007. Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties announced the death in their spring newsletter.
Byrnes, a Jewish man whose family relocated from Brooklyn, New York, to San Diego in 1941, was noted as one of the first to become involved in abortions after the passage of the 1967 California Therapeutic Abortion Act, giving abortions up to 20 weeks gestation.
His private practice office in the Hillcrest area of San Diego was the site of a large Operation Rescue clinic blockade in 1990. During that Rescue hundreds of Christians were able to block the clinic and close it for the day by crawling on their hands and knees past police. The Rescue resulted in a large number of arrests.

Troy Newman, then head of Operation Rescue of San Diego, and sidewalk counselor Connie Youngkin began maintaining a regular vigil outside Byrnes office in the mid-1990s. During that time they noticed a dramatic decline in Byrnes’ obstetrical business, which they attributed patients leaving after discovering his involvement in abortions.
During a neighborhood prayer walk in 1997 near his home, pro-lifers learned that Byrnes had been telling his neighbors he was a “weight management specialist.” Byrnes soon sold his house and relocated to another area of San Diego. Shortly thereafter, Byrnes announced his retirement and permanently closed his abortion office.
Rescuers soon discovered that Byrnes had not retired, but had instead taken a lucrative position making over $132,000 per year committing abortions at Planned Parenthood. Rescuers also found during a phone call to Planned Parenthood in 2000, that they had received a number of complaints about Byrnes from abortion patients.
According to Planned Parenthood, Byrnes was proudest of having participated in the delivery of 15,000 children. Apparently he was less proud of the darker side of his professional life, having done an estimated 10,000 abortions.
The passing of Donald Byrnes brings to mind Psalm 37: 34-36: “Wait on the LORD, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.”