We spend the rest of the hour looking at “How Columbia University Ignored Women, Undermined Prosecutors and Protected a Predator for More Than 20 Years.” That’s the headline of a damning new investigation by ProPublica and New York magazine. It lays out how Columbia University shielded obstetrician Robert Hadden for more than two decades. More than 245 patients have now alleged Hadden abused them.
In July, we spoke with two of Hadden’s former patients after he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. This new report details how Columbia often undermined the process of bringing him to justice in order to protect its reputation instead of acting in the victims’ interests.
Today we’ll be joined by Laurie Kanyok, a former patient of Hadden, a professional dancer, who survived his assault in 2012, even called 911, which led to his arrest. But Columbia allowed him back to work the next week, after he was arrested in his office. We’ll also speak with the two ProPublica journalists.
Their report begins with Laurie Kanyok. She was a 38-year-old professional dancer who sought the care of Hadden because of his association with the prestigious Columbia University. At first Laurie dismissed Hadden’s strange behavior while she was pregnant. But after she gave birth and saw him for a postpartum appointment in 2012, he assaulted her in a way she suspected he had also done in past exams. As she laid on the examining table, her legs in stirrups licked her vagina. She texted her boyfriend
— source democracynow.org | Sep 13, 2023