Patient X, whom I'll refer to as "Xinnia", arrived at Brooklyn Gynecological Center on February 12, 1985, in response to an advertisement for a free pregnancy test.
Xinnia was still breast feeding her baby, who had been born the previous September. She was experiencing nausea. She had last menstruated in October.
The receptionist told Xinnia that she was 12 weeks pregnant, and quoted a price of $200 for an abortion. She gave Xinnia a consent form and told her that it was "just a formality." Xinnia requested a container to provide a specimen for a pregnancy test, but the receptionist told her that this was not necessary. Xinnia was told to just empty her bladder in the toilet and proceed to the operating room.
In the OR, Xinnia was told to disrobe from the waist down. She was not given a gown. Judith Comeau-Samuel entered, and asked Xinnia if she shaved or plucked her eyebrows. Xinnia answered the question, and told Comeau-Samuel that she thought she might be pregnant.
No lab tests had been performed on Xinnia. She had not been given a physical examination. Nobody had taken a medical history. Nobody asked her if she had eaten. Nobody questioned her about her breast feeding, nor did anybody advise Xinnia about any possible risk of medications passing to her baby through her milk. There was no discussion of the risks of anesthesia or abortion, and no discussion of alternatives to abortion. Comeau-Samuel simply administered anesthesia on Xinnia.
Xinnia was awakened from anesthesia by a woman shaking her arm. Xinnia felt "weak and wobbly." She was not assessed or asked how she felt. She was told to take Tylenol if she had any pain, and to return in two weeks with $40 for a check-up. She was given no other post-operative instructions, and was not examined by a doctor prior to discharge.
Sources: Newsday 12-13-93; New York Daily News 11-13-86; Associated Press 12-14-89; New York Post 3-7-85, 3-8-85; University of the State of New York Case No. 4407 2/4/86
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