News Briefs: Man Seeks New Trial in Forced Abortion Death
Abortionist Loses Civil Suit in Abortion Death
A five-year-old Delaware boy whose mother died from a botched abortion has been awarded $2 million in damages in a civil suit against the abortionist.
Mohammad Imran was found guilty of negligence in the death of 19-year-old Gracelyn T. Harris, who underwent an abortion at the Delaware Women’s Health Organization in Sept. 1997. Harris, who was about 4-1/2 months pregnant, died hours after the abortion from massive internal bleeding caused by a perforated uterus. The lawsuit said Imran failed to follow standards of care that may have prevented Harris’s death.
Man Seeks New Trial in Forced Abortion Death
A 42-year-old Wyoming man convicted of murdering a teenage girl because she refused to have an abortion is asking a judge to reduce his sentence.
Kevin Robinson was sentenced to 22 to 29 years in prison for the stabbing death of Daphne Saulk, whose body was found in Nov. 1997. Prosecutors said Robinson killed Saulk for refusing to have an abortion. Robinson’s mistrial request will be heard by a judge who had denied him a mistrial last year.
Man Charged in Abortion Assault Case
In what will be the first criminal case involving abortion in the state of New York since 1971, a New York man has been charged with beating his pregnant ex-girlfriend for refusing to have an abortion, causing her to miscarry.
Jeremy Powell, 20, is facing charges of causing an abortion, burglary, assault and unlawful endangerment for the incident. His ex-girlfriend, who was about three months pregnant, said Powell told her he was going to “beat that baby out of you.” If convicted, Powell could serve up to 25 years in prison.
Seasonal Patterns Match for Abortion and Suicide
A recent study appearing in Human Reproduction found that seasonal patterns for women having abortions match those for suicide attempts among women.
In the study, “Is Voluntary Abortion a Seasonal Disorder of Mood?” Angelo Cagnacci and Annibale Volpe of the University of Modena in Italy found that more women undergo abortions in spring and summer than in fall or winter, as is the case with suicide. The authors concluded, “Women with previous suicide attempts are less likely to attempt suicide again if they are in a supportive social and friendship environment. Similar considerations may be applicable to voluntary abortions.”
Orignially printed in The Post-Abortion Review, Vol. 10(1), Jan.-March 2002. Copyright 2002, Elliot Institute.
