An Ohio woman has filed a suit against an Akron-area health provider that allegedly botched her abortion. The 22-year-old woman is seeking compensation for medical malpractice, alleging that physicians at the facility deviated from the standard of care. The woman had attempted to have the abortion for health reasons, but she ended up carrying the pregnancy to term.
The client, who is engaged to be married, is afflicted with the condition uterus didelphys. Women with the deformity have two uteruses with separate cervixes. The woman’s general practitioner told her that she would be unable to carry the pregnancy to term because it was occurring in her weaker uterus, so she opted to terminate it.
A week after visiting the clinic, the woman went to the emergency room with severe pain and illness. A triage obstetrician determined that the woman was, in fact, still pregnant. The woman is not certain how the operation failed at the Akron Women’s Medical Group in March 2012, but she hopes to find out as her malpractice suit continues through the Summit County court system. Although two ultrasounds were performed before the operation, it is not clear whether an additional assessment was performed after the procedure.
Ultimately, the woman was unwilling to go back to the clinic because of the botched procedure. Sadly, no other clinics would agree to treat her, largely because of the previous abortion failure. This continued rejection led the woman to simply continue with the pregnancy, even though it could have killed her.
The woman is looking to recover damages related to pain and suffering in connection with the incident. She is also seeking compensation for emotional distress. The woman eventually carried the pregnancy to term despite the obvious health risks, at no small cost; she was admitted into the hospital on numerous occasions while carrying the child.
Media reports show that the baby is in good health, though she spent some time in the neonatal intensive care unit shortly after her birth.
Source: The Beacon Journal, “Mother delivers healthy baby and lawsuit after unsuccessful abortion,” Phil Trexler, March 15, 2013