| Abortion Whether You Want it or Not | |
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Roe vs. Wade has certainly made it easy to get an abortion. As these women discovered, you don't even have to know that you're pregnant. A patient I'll call "Alexis" was 17 years old when she went to Dr. Christopher Dotson to be treated for abdominal problems in December of 1979 On January 7, Dotson had Alexis admitted to Centinela Hospital for treatment of "Dermoid Cyst vs. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease." Dotson took Alexis into surgery for a D&C and exploratory laparotomy on January 9. According to the suit Alexis later filed, Dotson did not take a proper medical history and did not wait for the results of her pregnancy test before proceeding. During the procedure, Dotson discovered that Alexis was pregnant. He did not inform Alexis or consult with her, but simply noted "unwanted pregnancy" on her chart and aborted her fetus. The suit noted that "such a subjective description of plaintiff's condition was not reflective of [Alexis's] position but rather that of defendant Dotson. On Alexis's behalf, her attorney noted, "At all times prior to the death of plaintiff's unborn child, said unborn child was viable but for defendant's professional negligence would have been born healthy and capable of providing the plaintiff with society, comfort, attention, and support." A patient I'll call "Willa" went to Dr. E. Babaoff at Sinai hospital in Michigan for a laparoscopy and tubal ligation to be performed under general anesthesia on August 29, 1979. According to the suit Willa later filed, Babaoff discovered that Willa might be pregnant while he was performing the procedure. Rather than halt the procedure, allow Willa to regain consciousness, and consult with her about her possible pregnancy, Babaoff simply performed a D&C and ordered a pathology report, which confirmed that Willa had been pregnant. Willa was not informed about this; she found out by accident in May of 1982 -- nearly three years later -- when she had requested copies of her medical records for other treatment. A patient I'll call "Sandra" was referred to a Dr. Jordan in Georgia to be treated for lower abdominal pain. Jordan ordered a laparoscopy, and performed a D&C in preparation. He discovered the remains of a fetus in the tissues he'd removed from Sandra's uterus. Sandra had not known she was pregnant, and would not have consented to an abortion. Patient Mary M. sought care from Dr. Stephen Weber on December 20, 1991. Weber performed a biopsy on Mary on January 6, 1992. The report that came back from the lab indicated that there was pregnancy tissue in the specimen. Weber had an assistant call Marcie on January 16, telling her to come in due to "a problem." Weber ordered a pregnancy test without telling Marcie. The test showed elevated pregnancy hormone level, but Weber did not think the pregnancy was still viable. He did not order an ultrasound because, he said, "It was a $175 test I did not think was warranted. Weber had Marcie return to the office and told her that he had to remove "tissue that hadn't passed." Marcie, still unaware that she was pregnant, consented and underwent a vacuum aspiration procedure. Weber discarded the tissues obtained with the aspiration and sent Marcie home, telling her to return in four days. Marcie began to bleed heavily and went to an emergency room for care. The doctor in the emergency room commented to Marcie about the positive pregnancy test; it was then that Marcie discovered that the D&C she'd submitted to had actually been an unauthorized abortion. Marcie had previously undergone four operations to try to overcome infertility. Weber defended his decision not to inform Marcie of the pregnancy as "an act of compassion." He reportedly told another doctor "There's more liability with a damaged pregnancy than with an aborted one." Yes, Roe certainly protects abortion -- at the expense of women who don't want abortions. Visit the RealChoice blog Previous page > Wantedness is irrelevant.
Source: LA County Superior Court Case No. C404454
Source: Michigan Court of Appeals 149 Mich.App. 140
Source: Georgia Court of Appeals Nos. 61414, 61415
Source: Hartford Courant 5-24-92
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