Aborted baby born alive, court told: [1 All-round Country Edition]
John Stapleton, Nicola Lipman. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 11 Aug 2005: 6.
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Abstract
The mother, aged 20 at the time of the incident in 2002, was giving evidence in a committal hearing against Suman Sood, the first doctor in NSW to be charged with the manslaughter of a fetus and the first to be charged over a termination since the early 1970s.
The mother, who cannot be named, gave birth to the baby on a toilet at her mother’s house on May 21, 2002, when she was about 23 weeks’ pregnant, Liverpool Court heard. Ambulance officers fished the 520g baby out of the toilet and wrapped it up, presuming it was dead.
Full Text
A YOUNG mother was shocked when she gave birth to a live baby boy at home in the early hours of the morning after allegedly being given a pre-abortion pill, a court heard yesterday.
The mother, aged 20 at the time of the incident in 2002, was giving evidence in a committal hearing against Suman Sood, the first doctor in NSW to be charged with the manslaughter of a fetus and the first to be charged over a termination since the early 1970s.
The mother, who cannot be named, gave birth to the baby on a toilet at her mother’s house on May 21, 2002, when she was about 23 weeks’ pregnant, Liverpool Court heard. Ambulance officers fished the 520g baby out of the toilet and wrapped it up, presuming it was dead.
They discovered when handing the baby over to doctors that it was alive and struggling to breathe. It lived for several hours.
The mother told the court yesterday that she was given no counselling or warning by Dr Sood or a nurse attending her at the clinic that she may suffer psychological harm as a result of the abortion.
She also said that issues such as alternatives to the abortion, including adoption by her parents or others, were not discussed. “She (Dr Sood) never asked me so why should I tell her,” the mother said.
She said she inquired only about the cost and any potential health risks. She said there was no discussion about how she might feel after the abortion.
After having disagreements with both her parents and her boyfriend over her intention to have an abortion, the mother went to the private clinic. AustralianWomen’s Health.
An expert in late-term abortions, Robert Buist, senior lecturer at the University of NSW and senior practitioner at the Royal Hospital for Women, told the court that in the public system, the woman would have been seen by a social worker and most likely have undergone a psychiatric assessment.
If a decision was made to proceed, she would not have been allowed to go home after the administration of the pills.
He said he did not believe a doctor on their own could make the proper psychological assessment about whether an abortion was necessary according to legal criteria.
The case was adjourned to November 1.
ORIGINAL COPY
John Stapleton
Nicola Lipman
Nicola Lipman
A young mother was shocked when she gave birth to a live baby boy at home in the early hours of the morning after allegedly being given a pre-abortion pill, a court heard yesterday.
The mother, who was aged 20 at the time of the incident in 2002, was giving evidence in a case against Dr Suman Sood, the first doctor in NSW to be charged with the manslaughter of a foetus and the first to be charged over a termination since the early 1970s.
The mother gave birth to the baby on a toilet at her mother’s house. Ambulance officers fished the baby out of the toilet and wrapped it up presuming it was dead. They discovered when handing the foetus over to doctors that it was still alive and struggling to breathe. The foetus, about 23 weeks old, lived for several hours.
The mother told Liverpool Court she was given no counselling or warning that she may suffer psychological harm as a result of the abortion. She also said that issues such as alternatives to the abortion, including adoption by her parents or others, were not discussed.
“She never asked me so why should I tell her,” she said.
The mother said she inquired about the cost and any potential health risks. She said there was no discussion about how she might feel after the abortion: “None at all”.
The mother said she inquired about the cost and any potential health risks. She said there was no discussion about how she might feel after the abortion: “None at all”.
After having disagreements with both her parents and her boyfriend over her intention to have an abortion the mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, went to the private abortion clinic Australian Women’s Health with an 18-year-old cousin and a 15-year-old boy.
An expert in late-term abortions Dr Robert Buist, senior lecturer at the University of NSW and senior practitioner at the Royal Hospital for Women, told Liverpool Local Court that in the public system the woman would have been seen by a social worker and most likely have undergone a psychiatrict assessment. If a decision was made to proceed she would not have been allowed to go home after the administration of the pills and would have had a number of medical professionals to assist her during the abortion procedure.
He said he did not believe a doctor on their own could provide the appropriate level of advice to avoid the trauma and potential regret of a late-term abortion. The possibility of the foetus being born alive, traumatising the mother and hospital attendants, would have been avoided by giving the foetus an injection of potassium through its heart prior to delivery.
“My expectation is that a woman seeking the assistance of a medical practitioner, no matter what her circumstance, could expect to have a due standard of clinical care in the management of that problem,” he said.
Magistrate Anthony Marsden adjourned the case to November. Practitioners believe if the case proceeds to the NSW Supreme Court it will become a significant test to determine the proper standards of care owed to a woman seeking an abortion.