Woman Sues for Failed Abortion. Your Thoughts?

[7thSonofOsiris]

Originally Posted by Heather17

Isn't this still malpractice, even considering the small print? (Maybe our lawyer friends can enlighten us). It doesn't surprise me she sued.

Good question Heather, but, does a woman seeking an abortion sign a statement declaring the release of liability? Not that the statement would remove the Doctor from being responsible in the event of a woman's death. What are the legal or jurisdictional statutes concerning abortions, considering the fact that they aren't legal in some states? And, maybe somewhere in the language, it may state something about abortions not being deemed a necessary surgery or operation. I don't know, I'm just wondering.

7th

[ladygreek]

I agree with Chaos that this needs to be looked at more generally as a botched surgical procedure--one that the patient paid for. Take out the issue that it was an abortion.

This is a 45 year old woman who felt she could not afford to have the child. That includes the medical costs of having the baby. That also might explain why she didn't consider adoption--she would still have the medical costs with no guarantee of an adoptive family to pick them up.

As for abstinence. Come on, let's not be naive. I envy her for having an active sexual life . And at the age of 45 she may be going through menopause, which could make one think they can't get pregnant anymore because of irregular or missed monthlies.

Bottom line is she paid to have a medical procedure done, the procedure was botched so now she is suing for malpractice and to recoup the future costs associated with the mistake. IMO, no different than other such lawsuits where a procedure was not done correctly and the lawsuit includes on-going medical care.

ETA: My guess is that the fine print about not being 100 percent effective may be for preventive measures such as vasectomies and tube ligations.

[DIVA1177]

Originally Posted by 7thSonofOsiris

Good question Heather, but, does a woman seeking an abortion sign a statement declaring the release of liability? Not that the statement would remove the Doctor from being responsible in the event of a woman's death. What are the legal or jurisdictional statutes concerning abortions, considering the fact that they aren't legal in some states? And, maybe somewhere in the language, it may state something about abortions not being deemed a necessary surgery or operation. I don't know, I'm just wondering.

7th

I am almost sure that it is elective surgery except in cases where it is to save to mother's life. I figure it is a medical procedure. She PAID for it. Even if she did sign a release, if you look at it like a contract(I pay "X" amount of dollars for a service), it that service is not performed, that is a breach. That doctor and Planned Parenthood are about to up some duckets...

[tld221]

sidenote: i thought Planned Parenthood did abortions for free or low-cost?

if the abortion was free, could she even seek $? i mean, it sucks but can the "you get what you pay for" maxim work here?

on another note, (and these are more legal questions) when children are killed, dont parents tend to sue for the dollar amount of the expected financial worth of the child? i remember something about a teenager who was killed and the lawsuit was for the $ he couldve made had he went to college, graduated and worked a healthy career (i forget what the field was).

i can KINDA see how this works if your child(ren) is/are approaching adulthood, but if the kid is like 3 or 4, then that doesnt really work...

my point to all that was, if parents can sue when their child dies (therefore no longer making them a parent, then that logic says an adult can sue when their child lives (making them a parent, in this case when she didnt intend to be).

man, talk about "the customer is always right"

ETA: i also don't believe that this woman is suing purely for "financial reasons." that is her and her lawyer's cover to make this lawsuit as cut and dry as possible. i mean abortions happen because the pregnancy is UNPLANNED. which is why PLANNED Parenthood swoops in and is "supposed to save the day." but they just made it worse. well, the doctors anyway.

AND ANOTHER THING. when women are artificially inseminated, they are paying for a service, yet its known that pregnancy is not 100% guaranteed. are abortions going to start being advertised as "not 100% effective?" will you have to go to the doctor for a follow-up, to make sure that sucka aint kickin anymore? (i know, that's kinda insensitive)