Doctor Convicted Over Abortions on Former Lovers

A doctor was convicted Wednesday of performing illegal abortions on his former lovers and could be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison and face a $50,000 fine.

Sentencing for Dr. Pravin Thakkar was set for July 31.

Thakkar, 40, violated a state law requiring doctors to explain the abortion and obtain a patient’s written consent, prosecutors said.

A jury convicted Thakkar of two counts each of performing an illegal abortion, battery and criminal recklessness, plus one count of attempted illegal abortion.

The three women who accused the doctor of either aborting or trying to abort their fetuses were in the courtroom when the verdicts were returned.

Thakkar is free on $100,000 bond, but Madison Circuit Judge Frederick R. Spencer set a bond revocation hearing for Friday.

Prosecutors say they fear Thakkar, a native of India, may flee the country before his sentencing.

Prosecutor William Lawler Jr. said his office had received a tip that Thakkar had applied for hospital jobs in Africa and Canada.

Thakkar’s Indiana medical license was suspended in 1989.