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Won't the kids be proud
of their parents when they get older!
It's rare that parents exhibit such unbridled affection for a child --
especially on display in our nation's court systems. We thought
we'd seen some crazy things, but these parents surely cannot be
"outdone."
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Boston Woman Sues
Planned Parenthood After Failed Abortion of Baby Girl
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 7, 2007
 Boston,
MA (LifeNews.com) -- A Massachusetts woman who went to Planned
Parenthood hoping for a successful abortion of her unborn child has
filed a lawsuit against the abortion business for botching the
procedure. Jennifer Raper, who is 45, wants it to pay for the cost of
raising her daughter.
In
the three-page lawsuit, Raper says she learned she was pregnant in March
2004 and decided to have an abortion because she couldn't afford to have
children.
According to a Boston Globe report, Allison Bryant did the abortion on
Raper at a Planned Parenthood facility but the complaint said it "was
not done properly, causing the plaintiff to remain pregnant."
After the abortion, Raper saw Dr. Benjamin Eleonu at Boston Medical
Center in July 2004 and he determined she was no longer pregnant.
However, by September 2004, Raper began experiencing pelvic pain and
went to the New England Medical Center emergency room. There, medical
officials determined the abortion was unsuccessful.
The woman eventually gave birth to her daughter on December 7.
The Boston Globe asked both Raper and her attorney, Barry Reed, Jr., to
comment on the case and both declined. A Planned Parenthood
representative told the newspaper the abortion business doesn't comment
on pending litigation.
Raper filed her lawsuit last week in Suffolk Superior Court and she must
be screened by a special panel before the suit can proceed.
The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled in 1990 ruled that parents can sue
doctors in wrongful birth cases but that the financial damages awarded
in such cases must be limited to extraordinary medical experiences
associated with physical or mental disabilities.
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Update on
Arizona "Unwanted Baby" Trial
Phoenix, AZ -- Ruth Ann Burns very likely had time to abort her unwanted
son after learning she was pregnant, according to the testimony
Wednesday of a person who had performed three abortions on Burns
previously. Joel B.
Bettigole, who who has performed abortions in Phoenix for over 30 years,
said "one way or another" he can usually get women an
abortion.
Speaking under subpoena on the sixth day of testimony in the medical
malpractice trial, Bettigole said his Family Planning Associates Medical
Group could have handled the abortion if Burns was less than 20 weeks
pregnant. If she was up to 23 weeks pregnant, he could have referred her
to a Los Angeles abortion facility, and even after that there is yet
another abortion facility, which he did not identify, where he could
have
referred her. But Burns did not call him, he said.
Burns is suing her former family physician and obstetrician for failing
to
detect and date the pregnancy of her now 2-year-old son, Nicholas, in
time
to have an abortion. She is seeking damages to pay for the cost of
caring
for him until he's an adult.
Bettigole also told jurors that Burns had three abortions at his
abortion
facility from 1993 to December 1995. Burns found out she was pregnant
again on June 26, 1997.
But earlier in the trial, Burns said she did not call Bettigole's
abortion
facility after learning she was pregnant because she thought it was too
far into the pregnancy, and because she had resigned herself to having
the
baby. She said she based her decision on the fact that she did not have
a
precise date for the pregnancy because an unqualified technician could
only "guess" she was 16 to 17 weeks pregnant. Burns blames her
doctors for
not obtaining a more exact date when she said they knew she wanted to
have
an abortion.
Dr. Leroy Kareus, a northwest Phoenix family physician for more than 30
years, also took the stand Wednesday and defended his care of Burns.
He said with her negative pregnancy test, a Depo Provera shot she
received, her admission of no unprotected sex, and her long-term history
of abdominal pain, that he never "entertained" that she could
have been
pregnant.
When asked whether he had ever had a pregnant woman with Burns' mixture
of
waxing and waning symptoms of one-sided breast swelling and abdominal
bloating, he said, "I have never seen that, never."
Kareus denied that Burns told him she wanted an abortion. "I don't
recall
her saying one single thing about wanting to have an abortion,"
Kareus
said. Kareus said he had no reason to date the pregnancy because he did
not know Burns wanted an abortion.
Several abortion facilities in Phoenix and Lake Havasu that Burns and
her
other family members contacted said they were uncomfortable with the
lack
of information about Burns' most recent menstrual cycle and the date of
conception, Burns' attorney said.
But women call every day not knowing when their last menstrual period
was
or how far they are along and come in for an ultrasound to date the
pregnancy, Bettigole said. They still receive abortions despite the lack
of sound medical information.
In December 1995, Burns was 14 weeks pregnant when she had her third
abortion performed by Bettigole, he said.
Meanwhile, the toddler's father sided with the boy's mother: The child,
he
said, should never have been born.
David Gomez said he loves two-year-old Nicholas, but he said the
''smiles
and laughs'' now don't make up for the work he has to put into caring
for
the boy. 'It is not a mistake that's costing the doctors, but a life
long
mistake for us to be affected by,'' Gomez said. 'Raising a child isn't
cheap.'
When Nicholas is older Gomez claims he will be able to have a good
relationship with him.
Burns, Gomez's live-in girlfriend and mother of his two children, is
seeking compensation for rearing her son until he is 18. Gomez, taking
the
stand on the trial's fifth day of testimony, was the final witness for
the
plaintiff.
When Gomez found out about the pregnancy, ''I was very upset to say the
least,'' Gomez testified. ''I threw a chair down and ended up hanging up
on her (Burns),' he said. 'I kept asking her how far, how far along, but
she said she didn't know.'
The defense claims that Gomez and Burns still had the option to pursue
an
abortion. Previously, Gomez paid for Burns' three abortions, he
testified
under defense questioning.
Taking the stand for the defendant, Dr. Marvin Bell, a Phoenix-area
family
physican, testified that Kareus provided 'reasonable' care for Burns up
to
when he diagnosed her pregnant in June.
With her history of chronic abdominal pain, a negative pregnancy test,
her
statement that she had engaged in protected sex, and no 'classical'
symptoms of pregnancy, Kareus wouldn't have considered pregnancy an
option, Bell testified. 'It wouldn't arise anything in my mind that she
was pregnant,' said Bell.
The trial presided over by Judge Edward Burke ended yesterday.
--
The Pro-Life Infonet is a daily compilation of pro-life news and
information. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe" to:
infonet-request@prolifeinfo.org.
Infonet is sponsored by Women and
Children First (http://www.prolifeinfo.org/wcf).
For more pro-life info
visit http://www.prolifeinfo.org
and for questions or additional
information email ertelt@prolifeinfo.org |
| 5/16/00
Mother Loses Arizona "Unwanted Baby" Case
Phoenix -- Ruth Ann Burns, who wanted doctors to pay her $180,000 to
raise
her "unwanted" 2-year-old son, didn't get a dime from a
nine-member jury
today.
It took the seven men and two women on the panel only 25 minutes to say
no
to Burns, who has been criticized on local and national talk shows for
putting a price tag on her 2-year-old son, Nicholas.
Burns has been stoic throughout the two-week trial. Today, as the jury
filed into the courtroom, she clutched the hand of her boyfriend, David
Gomez. He is the father of Nicholas, and one of Burns' other children.
Seconds later, tears welled up in her eyes as the court clerk read the
few
words that ended the controversial trial.
The jury ''finds in favor of the defendants.''
Waves of relief washed over Dr. Leroy Kareus, Burn's family doctor, and
Dr. David Kaufman, her obstetrician, as the jury found that they were
not
guilty of malpractice and should not be held liable for Nicholas' care.
Burns had contended that the doctors missed her 6-week-old pregnancy in
spring 1997, and when it was confirmed in June, she thought it was too
late for her to get a second-trimester abortion. However, defense
attorneys argued that Burns, who had a second trimester abortion in
1995,
knew how to obtain one.
''This was difficult,'' Kareus said after the verdict. ''Any time you
are
involved in litigation is a difficult time. I'd like to put this behind
me
and go back to take care of my patients, which is what I do best.''
Kaufman also said he wanted to go back to caring for his patients, and
questioned Burns' motive. ''To say I feel this case was somewhat
misguided
is something of an understatement,'' he said.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Edward O. Burke instructed the jury
this morning to find in favor of Burns only if the evidence convinced
them
that the two doctors had been guilty of malpractice.
Gomez was a party to the suit, although he was not asking for money. He
and Burns refused to talk to the press. But David Hume, their lawyer,
said
the trial was a legitimate effort to force the doctors to pay for
Nicholas' care. They have not decided whether to appeal.
Hume said he isn't sure why the verdict went against Burns because the
jury hadn't talked to him today. Jurors refused to speak to The Arizona
Republic after the trial and would not comment when reached later by
phone.
Winn Sammons, Kareus' attorney, said that despite the speedy verdict, he
belives the jury did not make a snap decision. ''I think the fact that
they came back as quickly as they did was intended to send a message
that
under these circumstances they did not consider this a close call.''
Sammons also said after the verdict that Burns and Gomez should be
grateful that they have a healthy son. The jurors, he said, believed the
plaintiffs ''were not damaged. The plaintiffs should go on and consider
themselves blessed and go on in their relationship with that child.''
Although Burns had had two abortions in 1995 and one in 1993, Hume told
the jury to judge her objectively. ''Only the Almighty can decide on the
morality of those earlier abortions,'' he said.
He told the jury that Kareus ''didn't lift a finger'' to refer Burns for
an abortion. But Sammons said it is clear from her previous abortions
that
Burns knew how to make her own arrangements.
Sammons also told the jury that they could not put a price tag on
Nicholas' ''hug or a smile.''
''Our children are precious and priceless,'' Sammons said. ''And we are
not going to run a balance sheet on them.'' In earlier testimony, Gomez
said the smiles and laughs aren't worth his 80-hour workweek to pay for
the boy's care.
The case stirred a group of parents and legislators to rally against her
at the state Capitol today. Emotions kicked into overdrive in midweek,
when her live-in boyfriend, David Gomez, told the court that Nicholas is
"a lifelong mistake."
Gomez said he paid for three abortions for Burns, a fact not lost on
Arizona pro-life leaders. The couple have one other child together.
Then there's concern about the boy's future.
"Nicholas may always question his parents' love, and this may
affect his
ability to trust others and form relationships, since a child's first
relationships are with his parents," said Linda Caterino, a Mesa
child
psychologist. "He may also suffer from low self-esteem."
Miguel Arciniega, a professor of counseling psychology at ASU,
recommends
the family get therapy. "They'd better know how to deal with him,
or he'll
be traumatized for the rest of his life," Arciniega said.
The case also strikes a nerve with couples trying to have children.
"I would love a one-on-one with these people," said Amy Natter,
39. She
has a 5-year-old son and is now nine weeks pregnant via in vitro
fertilization - at an out-of-pocket cost of more than $9,000 to her and
her husband, Bill.
Besides the financial burden, the emotional price is steep. "It's
very
draining," said Stacey Burns, 30, who is not related to Ruth Ann
Burns.
She has spent the past three years trying to become pregnant and now is
considering adoption. "You go through a lot of wondering why.
You've got
to have a strong marriage to go through this."
Adoption discover also is expensive: $10,000 to $30,000 for a child from
another country and up to $15,000 for an American.
"It gets me so upset, I can't even compose myself," Stacey
Burns said of
the trial.
Single parents, for whom parenting can tax emotional and financial
reserves, also have had trouble understanding the view of Nicholas'
parents.
Larry Diffie, 48, of Phoenix, has a 9-year-old daughter who was
unexpected. He and his former wife had been told they wouldn't be able
to
have children of their own. But unexpected is not the same as unwanted.
"You accept the responsibility," Diffie says. "You do the
things that come
with the job (of parenting). You find a way to make it work."
--
The Pro-Life Infonet is a daily compilation of pro-life news and
information. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe" to:
infonet-request@prolifeinfo.org.
Infonet is sponsored by Women and
Children First (http://www.prolifeinfo.org/wcf).
For more pro-life info
visit http://www.prolifeinfo.org
and for questions or additional
information email ertelt@prolifeinfo.org
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