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News Briefs

California Abortionist Pleads Guilty in Abortion Death

A California abortionist pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter after botching an abortion that killed a 27-year-old woman.

Abortionist Bruce Steir was sentenced to a year in jail and 1,000 hours of community service for the death of Sharon Hamptlon, who bled to death after he performed an abortion on her in December 1996. A witness said Steir knew he may have perforated Hamptlon’s uterus but sent her home anyway. Steir gave up his medical license in 1997. (Source: Riverside Press-Enterprise, April 6, 2000; Inland Empire, San Diego Union-Tribune, WorldNetDaily; May 27, 2000)

Couple Settles Secret Abortion Case With School

A Pennsylvania couple has settled an abortion lawsuit with their school district after a guidance counselor arranged a secret abortion for their then-17-year-old daughter. Howard and Marie Carter accused the counselor, William Hickey, of coercing their daughter to have the abortion, then arranging for her to have it in New Jersey in violation of Pennsylvania’s parental consent law.

As part of the settlement, the Hatboro-Horsham school district must pay $20,000 in compensation to the family, as well as issue and enforce a directive prohibiting school personnel from encouraging students to seek abortions or advising them to cross state lines to do so. (Source: American Center for Law and Justice Press Release, March 15, 2000)

Abortion Death Under Investigation in New York

City and state officials are investigating the death of a woman who died after undergoing an abortion at a Brooklyn abortion facility on June 8. Nancy Washington, 26, went into cardiac arrest after having an abortion at Ambulatory Surgery Center in Sunset Park and died an hour after she was rushed to the hospital. A spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office said they were checking to see if the abortionist had acted properly in this case. (Source: New York Post; June 9, 2000)Abortion Clinic Faces Lawsuit Over Illegal Abortion

A Virginia woman who was seriously injured during an abortion in 1998 has filed a lawsuit against the abortion facility, saying that they illegally performed a second-trimester abortion on her.

Chloe L. Ott is seeking $85,000 in damages from abortionist John Baker and the Hillcrest Clinic in Norfolk for injuries she suffered during the abortion and for performing the abortion illegally. The clinic has denied performing second-trimester abortions, which under Virginia law must be done in a hospital. (Source: Pro-Life Infonet, March 23, 2000)

Mother Accused of Killing Four Daughters After Abortion

A Los Angeles woman who had an abortion just five days before she started a house fire that killed her four daughters in 1998 has been convicted on murder charges.

Sandi Nieves testified that she had no memory of starting the fire, but said that she had been depressed about her abortion and had a “flashback” of holding a lighter in her hand and seeing a blaze. Her daughters, who ranged in age from 5 to 12, died of smoke inhalation. (Source: Los Angeles Times, June 20, 2000)

Abortion May Be Linked to Iowa Toddler’s Death

An 18-year-old Des Moines woman who has been charged with killing a toddler in her care is claiming that an abortion she had two days earlier led to the child’s death. Tifany Myers is facing first-degree murder charges in the death of 21-month old Joel Vasquez, but the charges could be lessened if jurors believe her argument that the abortion “intensified years of depression and left her unable to control her anger.

Police say Myers told them Vasquez suffered head injuries from falling off a bed, but later admitted that she threw him to the floor when he continued to cry. The little boy died of head injuries January 21. (Source: Lindsey A. Henry, “Abortion trauma blamed in toddler’s death,” The Des Moines Register, July 27, 2000, p. B1.)

Florida Woman Charged in Forced Abortion Case

A Florida woman has been charged with false imprisonment and domestic assault after she tried to force her 16-year-old daughter to have an abortion at gunpoint August 1.

Police say Glenda Dowis of Fort Pierce pulled a gun on her daughter and drove her 67 miles to the Aware Woman Medical Clinic just outside West Palm Beach for an abortion. Abortion clinic workers called the police after Brittany Dowis wrote on a form that her mother was forcing her to have the abortion. No abortion took place. (Source: Associated Press News Story, Palm Beach Post, Aug. 2, 2000)