While Carhart was quiet in obtaining a new facility in the Wildwood Medical Center, his arrival today will be anything but. Pro-life organizations are planning a press conference and rally outside the building at noon today, and a candlelight vigil at 6:30 PM tonight, again outside the building at 10401 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda. These protests will be held on the public sidewalk in front of the building.
Carhart's new office in Suite 104 at 10401 Old Georgetown is not yet licensed to perform abortions, according to pro-life organization Operation Rescue. The organization says it has filed two emergency complaints with the State of Maryland, and accuses Carhart of trying to perform abortions without a license this week. He has no admitting privileges at any local hospital. At his recently-closed Germantown clinic, at least ten of his patients were rushed to nearby hospitals during procedures, and one woman died during a 33-week abortion.
Already, pressure is mounting on the owner of the Wildwood Medical Center to terminate the lease with Carhart. A website called "Pray for Bethesda" is also asking people to contact the property management company for the building, Alvin L. Aubinoe, Inc., and "tell them what you think!" Many of the other medical professionals in the building may find themselves, through no fault of their own, in the middle of the battle. Some patients are already threatening to cancel their appointments with doctors and dentists in the building as long as Carhart remains a tenant in the Wildwood Medical Center.
