Post-Abortion Review Newsbriefs
News Briefs
Unborn Baby Helps Mom Survive
A British woman who has suffered from kidney failure for 22 years was kept alive during her pregnancy by her unborn child, whose kidneys worked for both of them, doctors say.
Carol Davies, 42, became pregnant last year after trying unsuccessfully for 15 years to have a child. About 12 weeks into the pregnancy, doctors found that her unborn child’s kidneys were cleaning Davies’ blood as well as his own. Davies’ son, Owen, was born premature but healthy.
This case dramatically shows that, as we always fond of saying, the welfare of a mother and her unborn child are literally intertwined. They contribute to each other’s health. When we help one, we help both. If we hurt one, we hurt both.
(Source: CNSNews.com)
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Colorado Acupuncturist Charged in Illegal Abortion
A Colorado acupuncturist has been charged with criminal abortion, assault and theft for performing an illegal abortion on an 18-year-old woman who was later admitted to a hospital with complications. Doctors found parts of the unborn child’s remains still inside the mother.
The unidentified woman told investigators she went to the home of Zhong Fu, 43, for an abortion. Fu runs an acupuncture business out of his home, and reportedly told the woman he would perform an abortion on her for $1,500. If convicted on all charges, Fu could face up to 22 years in prison.
(Source: Denver Post, Sept. 16, 2000; Associated Press, Sept. 28, 2000)
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Abortionist Back in Business After Prison Term
A Mississippi abortionist who recently served five months in prison for tax fraud is working again at an abortion clinic. Joseph Booker, once Mississippi’s only abortionist, has had his license reinstated and is now reportedly working at the New Woman Medical Center in Jackson, one of the state’s two abortion clinics.
Pro-life groups in the state say they are upset by the decision to reinstate Booker’s license, in part because last December, police discovered a cooler that had once belonged to Booker with the remains of aborted babies inside. No charges have been filed in that case, which police say remains a “loose end.”
(Source: Associated Press, Oct. 16, 2000)
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Iowa Woman Sues Clinic Over Incomplete Abortion
An Iowa woman has filed a lawsuit against an abortion clinic after undergoing an incomplete abortion she says left her unable to have children.
Shaleea Tomlinson underwent an abortion performed by Robert M. Kretzschmar at the Emma Goldman abortion clinic in Waterloo in August 1998. The lawsuit, which names Kretzchmar and the clinic as defendants, states that the that Tomlinson afterwards suffered blood clots and a septic infection that left her unable to maintain a subsequent pregnancy.
(Source: Associated Press, Sept. 12, 2000)
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Court Says Woman Can’t Sue Over Coerced Abortion
A Minnesota appeals court has ruled that a woman cannot sue a man she says coerced her to abort by promising to marry her. The woman said she only agreed to the abortion because the man promised to marry her and have another child with her, and that she suffered emotional distress as a result. The appeals court dismissed her lawsuit, citing a 1988 state law that bans lawsuits based on breach of promise to marry and damages resulting from it.
Unfortunately, the abortion clinic counselors were not sued for failing to inform the woman that abortion usually leads to broken relationships, not marriage.
(Source: Associated Press, Aug. 25, 2000)
Originally printed in The Post-Abortion Review, Issue 8(4), Oct.-Dec. 2000. Copyright 2000, Elliot Institute.
