Family members of the late Dr Ulrich Klopfer have discovered fetal remains at his home in Illinois.
Dr Klopfer operated three abortion clinics in Indiana until 2015 when his license was suspended due to failure to comply with state laws. The violations included failure to report cases of the rape of a minor following an abortion procedure, violations of state waiting periods, and improper record keeping. Indiana Attorney General Hill described Dr Klopfer as “one of the most notorious abortionists in the history of Indiana” with “a record of deplorable conditions and violations of regulatory controls.”
Dr Klopfer had his license entirely revoked in 2016.
The remains were found by family members while sorting through his possessions following his death on September 3, 2019.
The family immediately reported their findings to the authorities, who launched an investigation. They concluded that 2,246 medically preserved fetal remains were found at the property. They could not find evidence to suggest that Dr Klopfer performed abortions at his property, but instead removed the remains from his clinics.
The remains have been removed from the property and have been transferred to the Will County coroner’s office. Officials in Illinois have now turned over evidence and information to the Office of the Indiana Attorney General, Curtis Hill.
Attorney General Hill stated that the remains were removed from Dr Klopfer’s clinics in South Bend, Gary, and Fort Wayne between 2000 and 2002. He also announced that investigators removed and secured thousands of medical records that were found at the property.
“Folks who use these clinics have a high degree of expectation of privacy and confidentiality… It’s deplorable now that folks who went into this procedure, no matter how you feel about this procedure, have to relive that moment,” said Attorney General Hill in a statement.
The attorney general’s office is attempting to identify and contact all individuals affected.
Indiana lawmakers introduced legislation in 2016 that required all medical facilities in the state to bury or cremate fetal remains. The Supreme Court upheld the law this year, and it became enforceable this September.
Under HIPAA, all medical records must be secured at all times to prevent unauthorized access. While there is no medical record retention period under HIPAA, state medical record retention laws require medical records to be retained for 7 years after the date when the record was made. It is currently unclear what laws, if any, have been violated.
“We are going to continue this matter to determine as best we can exactly what happened here,” said Attorney General Hill. “But in the meantime, I can tell you that we are going to bring our babies home and make sure they are treated with the proper dignity and respect deserving of anyone.”