Garson Romalis

Romalis first observed the results of illegal abortions in 1960, when he was in medical school. He was assigned the case of a young woman who had died of a septic abortion after using a folk remedy slippery elm bark. It often contains spores of the bacteria that cause gas gangrene, which is what had killed the young woman. She developed an overwhelming infection. An autopsy showed multiple abscesses throughout her body, in her abdomen, liver, lungs, and brain. Romalis never forgot that case. Garson Romalis was drawn to obstetrics and gynecology because he loved delivering babies. Abortion was illegal when he trained: he did not learn how to do abortions then. However, he remarks that he had "more than my share of experience looking after illegal abortion complications." He pointed out that in Canada and the U.S., septic shock from illegal abortion is virtually never seen today. Like smallpox, it is a "disappeared disease." ==Medical career==

In 1972, Romalis started the practise of obstetrics and gynecology. Abortion law in Canada had been liberalized in 1969. In his practice, Romalis and his partners saw many women who wanted to terminate a pregnancy. He therefore learned how to perform abortions. Romalis found providing abortion services often stressful because the patients were very stressed. He stated, "Usually, an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy is the worst trouble the patient has ever been in in her entire life." He added, "by performing a five-minute operation, in comfort and dignity, I can give her back her life." In 1994, Romalis was shot and nearly killed by a sniper with a high-powered rifle firing into his home. In the aftermath of this first assassination attempt, Romalis almost died several times from blood loss and multiple other complications. After about two years of physical and emotional rehabilitation, he was able to resume work part-time. He could no longer do his favourite part of the job, delivering babies, nor perform major gynecological surgery. However, he continued to work as a gynecologist, including providing abortion services. In July, 2000, Romalis was stabbed by an unknown assailant, which caused him to take some time off to recover and add security measures to his routine. About two months later, he returned to work. After 2000, he performed only abortions. ==Attacks from anti-abortionists==

Romalis was heavily picketed and harassed by anti-abortion activists, especially during the 1980s. They would picket his home and throw nails onto his driveway, hoping to damage his tires. In 2001, James Kopp was charged with the shooting of Dr. Hugh Short and is suspected of committing the other two shootings. Kopp is currently in prison in the United States, for the 1998 sniper-style murder of Barnett Slepian, an American physician from Amherst, New York who performed abortions. In 2000, a young man accosted Romalis in the medical building where he worked and stabbed him. Romalis was not seriously injured. The attacker was not identified. Several witnesses had seen the attacker waiting for some time before Romalis arrived and even used a restroom in a pharmacy that opens onto the lobby. They described him as a white man in his 20s or 30s wearing a dark grey or black sweatsuit with a hood. When Romalis arrived, the attacker stabbed him in the back of the lower left ribcage. The man escaped through the parking lot of the building. A parking valet, Jesse Brouwer, chased the attacker for more than a block without success. News reports stated that about an hour before the stabbing, police were called to another clinic, Everywoman's Health Centre, because of aggressive anti-abortion protesters, on the lawn of the house next door. Three white men, two of whom had not been there before, were trying to intimidate women entering the clinic. The staff became so concerned about the level of intimidation that they called police. After police talked to them, the three men left about noon. Romalis was stabbed just before 1 p.m. Vancouver police created a composite picture of the attacker who stabbed Romalis in the back. A man claiming to be the attacker called a local newspaper, threatening all the local abortion providers. A police spokeswoman said that the man claimed to be from the "Baby Liberation Army." On the same day, a man called another abortion provider in the city to warn that she would be next. ==Death==

Romalis died on January 31, 2014, at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, following a brief illness. ==Other activities==

Romalis was a speaker at the public 70th birthday party for Henry Morgentaler in Toronto, which was held in a small theatre on Yonge Street. ==References==