FAYETTEVILLE — Dr. William F. Harrison, a Fayetteville gynecologist and advocate for legal abortions who has been a lightning rod for anti-abortion protests for years, will close his College Avenue medical practice Friday.
Harrison, 74, was diagnosed with leukemia in May and is unable to continue seeing patients, said Kitten Weiss, office manager for Harrison’s Fayetteville Women’s Clinic.
The clinic was the only source of elective surgical abortions in Northwest Arkansas.
Harrison opened his clinic, just south of College Avenue’s intersection with North Street, in the late 1970s. For years, it has been the scene of anti-abortion demonstrations and “prayer vigils” by people opposing the procedure.
Harrison sometimes referred to those who protest the procedure as terrorists. A teenager tried to burn his clinic in 1985.
In 2005, he was extensively profiled on the ABC-TV news show Nightline, on which he said he had performed at least 10,000 abortions.
According to family members, Harrison delivered between 6,000 and 7,000 babies before ending the obstetrics part of his practice.
Weiss described a typical day for Harrison as seeing 20 to 25 gynecological patients with about six abortions. He was diagnosed with leukemia in early May and is undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
Gynecology patients are being referred to other physicians in Fayetteville. Patients seeking abortions will be referred to a clinic in Little Rock, Weiss said.
The closing of the Fayetteville clinic was welcomed by an organization seeking to outlaw abortions.
“We certainly don’t wish Dr. Harrison ill will, but we’re glad to hear he’s closing his doors,” said Rose Mimms, executive director of Arkansas Right to Life. “Too many unborn children have died there. Dr. Harrison was a mighty foe of ours for many, many years.”
Arkansas, Pages 10 on 07/29/2010