Spanish Doctor ordered to pay for child's upbringing after botching abortion

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Spanish doctor ordered to pay for child's upbringing after botching abortion

Mother didn't realize abortion had failed until three months later


By Meghan Neal / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

A Spanish doctor was ordered to pay child support to a baby born after he bungled a woman’s abortion, a judge ruled this week in Palma, Spain.

The baby was born healthy after a full nine-month term despite the doctor’s performance of a surgical abortion to terminate the pregnancy, Spanish newspaper Diario de Mallorca reported Wednesday.

The boy is now 18 months old.

The mother, 24, didn’t find out the abortion had failed until three months later, at which point it was too late to repeat the procedure.

In the unprecedented case, Judge Francisco Perez ordered the gynecologist pay $1,300 a month until the child’s 26th birthday — plus another $189,000 for moral damages suffered by the young mother, Diario de Mallorca reports.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wor...hing-abortion-article-1.1084898#ixzz1wAExKmua
 
I can't imagine how he could have botched the abortion unless the woman was carrying twins and only one was aborted ... I mean, there must have been something that was aborted for the doctor to believe that he had performed the procedure.
 
Hmmm.... and she bears absolutely NO responsibility in this situation at all? Unless this was a rape situation, the mother is MORE responsible for this "unwanted" child than the doctor. What about adoption? Was it too late for the mother to make THAT choice?
 
SHe went in for a legal medical procedure that was botched by the doctor. She made a responsible decision, but because of the doctor's error, not hers, there is now a child in need.

Let's not put this back on "the woman shouldnt have had sex", please.
 
Hmmmm.....

The cynical part of me wonders if the physician was pushing a personal agenda. Is it possible he knew very well he was not aborting this fetus, thereby violating his patient's trust and his physician's oath? It's hard to fathom how he could have botched the procedure. On the other hand, medical/surgical errors are made all the time because physicians/surgeons are human, and at times unreasonable expectations are placed on them by a naive and sometimes greedy consumer. Not sure how I feel about this, but I'm suspicious. If it was an anomaly on the part of the physician/procedure, I would think for her son's sake she would've kept quiet about it. Hope she's not just in it for the money.
 
SHe went in for a legal medical procedure that was botched by the doctor. She made a responsible decision, but because of the doctor's error, not hers, there is now a child in need.

Let's not put this back on "the woman shouldnt have had sex", please.

Why not? Because women can never be at fault?

She made a mistake. The doctor made a mistake. Sounds like they are even to me. Why is one more responsible than the other? I'm not excusing the doctor, but the woman DID have the option to give said child up for adoption. If *I* was the judge, I would have ruled that the doctor must pay child support TO SOMEONE ELSE WHO ACTUALLY WANTS THE CHILD. Not the mother. She should just get the $189K.

I think I am entitled to have an opinion (if I'm not mistaken...) and you are entitled to yours. My opinion is no less or more valuable than yours, and I respectfully ask you to be considerate of it.
 
Hmmmm.....

The cynical part of me wonders if the physician was pushing a personal agenda. Is it possible he knew very well he was not aborting this fetus, thereby violating his patient's trust and his physician's oath? It's hard to fathom how he could have botched the procedure. On the other hand, medical/surgical errors are made all the time because physicians/surgeons are human, and at times unreasonable expectations are placed on them by a naive and sometimes greedy consumer. Not sure how I feel about this, but I'm suspicious. If it was an anomaly on the part of the physician/procedure, I would think for her son's sake she would've kept quiet about it. Hope she's not just in it for the money.


BBM.... that's where my heart is at. This poor baby!!! I hope she has had a change of heart, or at least someone in his life is showing him that he is wanted and loved. There are TONS of people out there who desperately want to be called parents.
 
Why not? Because women can never be at fault?

She made a mistake. The doctor made a mistake. Sounds like they are even to me. Why is one more responsible than the other? I'm not excusing the doctor, but the woman DID have the option to give said child up for adoption. If *I* was the judge, I would have ruled that the doctor must pay child support TO SOMEONE ELSE WHO ACTUALLY WANTS THE CHILD. Not the mother. She should just get the $189K.

I think I am entitled to have an opinion (if I'm not mistaken...) and you are entitled to yours. My opinion is no less or more valuable than yours, and I respectfully ask you to be considerate of it.

BBM What mistake did the woman make?
 
BBM.... that's where my heart is at. This poor baby!!! I hope she has had a change of heart, or at least someone in his life is showing him that he is wanted and loved. There are TONS of people out there who desperately want to be called parents.

According to the article she claims she is now accepting and glad. And if her intentions by suing the doctor were genuine and designed to help raise the child then I agree it was a tragic scenario for all involved and my heart goes out to her for having tried to do the responsible thing only to have it backfire. Personally, I wouldn't have wanted to ever burden my child with even the tiniest notion that they may not have been wanted by me personally, whether or not that was truly the case. I hope this child never hears the story.
 
BBM What mistake did the woman make?

The one that brought her to the doctor in the first place. Like I said, with the exception of violence or medical hoopla which the article doesn't specify, the woman was most likely obtaining an abortion because she did not intend to get pregnant. There is a reason why the word "misconception" sits next to "mistake" in the dictionary.
 
According to the article she claims she is now accepting and glad. And if her intentions by suing the doctor were genuine and designed to help raise the child then I agree it was a tragic scenario for all involved and my heart goes out to her for having tried to do the responsible thing only to have it backfire. Personally, I wouldn't have wanted to ever burden my child with even the tiniest notion that they may not have been wanted by me personally, whether or not that was truly the case. I hope this child never hears the story.

BBM.... I am happy for that! However.... it is kinda odd that if she is glad she would sue the doctor. I would be huggin' that doctor's neck! Wonder if the dad can't provide the support?
 
was she raped or not?

my opinion hinges on that info
 
Why not? Because women can never be at fault?

She made a mistake. The doctor made a mistake. Sounds like they are even to me. Why is one more responsible than the other? I'm not excusing the doctor, but the woman DID have the option to give said child up for adoption. If *I* was the judge, I would have ruled that the doctor must pay child support TO SOMEONE ELSE WHO ACTUALLY WANTS THE CHILD. Not the mother. She should just get the $189K.

I think I am entitled to have an opinion (if I'm not mistaken...) and you are entitled to yours. My opinion is no less or more valuable than yours, and I respectfully ask you to be considerate of it.

No one ever said you're not entitled to an opinion. We all are. However, if we throw them out for public discussion on a discussion forum, you can't really expect that they won't be questioned, can you?

Further, I'm not sure where you get the idea that I think women can't make mistakes. Never said anything close to that.

I this case though, with the facts known, I don't see where the woman made a mistake. She went in for a legal procedure, assumed it was completed successfully, and went on with her life. You don't know what brought her to that appointment in the first place - maybe there was a birth control failure? It happens, quite often. But perhaps not. Either way, our moral opinions about why she went in for an abortion are irrelevant to the legal case, and we certainly don't know that she made any mistake at all.
 
The one that brought her to the doctor in the first place. Like I said, with the exception of violence or medical hoopla which the article doesn't specify, the woman was most likely obtaining an abortion because she did not intend to get pregnant. There is a reason why the word "misconception" sits next to "mistake" in the dictionary.

We don't know that she made a mistake. (Or maybe I didn't scrutinize the article closely enough---I don't recall that the circumstances of conception were detailed, she may have taken all reasonable precautions to prevent this pregnancy) In any case, she did attempt to rectify her situation in a legal, responsible manner. It's the money that is troubling to me, as well as the possible future psychological vulnerability and insecurity this child may encounter as he becomes aware of the circumstances of his existence.
 
There is going to be one royally-screwed up kid as a consequence.
I can't even imagine knowing that my mom sued someone for big bucks because that someone failed to kill me as mom asked him to do, and now he has to be punished for his mistake and pay my mom for the irreversible disruption and moral damages she suffered ("damages", in this scenario, is another fancy word for "me").

What a way to make a child feel wanted and loved.
 
There is going to be one royally-screwed up kid as a consequence.
I can't even imagine knowing that my mom sued someone for big bucks because that someone failed to kill me as mom asked him to do, and now he has to be punished for his mistake and pay my mom for the irreversible disruption and moral damages she suffered ("damages", in this scenario, is another fancy word for "me").

What a way to make a child feel wanted and loved.

I agree morally. Totally. But legally, she has the right to sue and win. I can't even imagine knowing this was my mom. I would probably feel a little confused and hurt by the legal wording in the documents. I hope, though, that telling him I just wanted to be able to provide for you can ease some of the harm.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 
I am prochoice, most everyone here knows that. But this, this travesty, I don't support this.

When you go in for a medical procedure, and it fails, that's your problem. There's no guarantees in any medical procedure. Now what, every oncologist that doesn't get all the cancer, every orthopedist that can't set a shattered bone so that there is no loss of function, and every brain surgeon that can't fix their patients slurred speech and migraines, will be sued. And the patient will win.

She is not the first woman to have a failed abortion. The rest of the women that suffered one didn't sue...they either bit the bullet and raised their child, alone if need be, or they gave it up for adoption. And don't even get me started on the money for her ruined morals.
 
There is going to be one royally-screwed up kid as a consequence.
I can't even imagine knowing that my mom sued someone for big bucks because that someone failed to kill me as mom asked him to do, and now he has to be punished for his mistake and pay my mom for the irreversible disruption and moral damages she suffered ("damages", in this scenario, is another fancy word for "me").

What a way to make a child feel wanted and loved.

Actually, it doesn't always mess a kid up. My mother was honest with me...she got as far as the needle in her arm to sedate her for her abortion with me and then changed her mind. In essence, this is no different. The procedure failed, for whatever reason. Just because a woman considered abortion, or attempted to have one, doesn't mean that you are incapabale of showing a child love once it's born. She might feel a lot like I do...once it's born, it's a baby, deserving of love and attention, but before it's born, it's just cells. I know a lot of pro life advocates can't understand that mindset, but a lot of people have it. She might have had personal reasons, such as fear of delivery to not want to have the baby, but once the worst had already happened, she was okay with raising the child. Let's not assume what the child feels or will feel. My guess would be that since the boy has lived for a year and half and is still in her care, that she obviously is capable of meeting his basic needs, and that's a lot better than a lot of the parents that make it to WS. He'll be alright.
 
Actually, it doesn't always mess a kid up. My mother was honest with me...she got as far as the needle in her arm to sedate her for her abortion with me and then changed her mind. In essence, this is no different. The procedure failed, for whatever reason. Just because a woman considered abortion, or attempted to have one, doesn't mean that you are incapabale of showing a child love once it's born. She might feel a lot like I do...once it's born, it's a baby, deserving of love and attention, but before it's born, it's just cells. I know a lot of pro life advocates can't understand that mindset, but a lot of people have it. She might have had personal reasons, such as fear of delivery to not want to have the baby, but once the worst had already happened, she was okay with raising the child. Let's not assume what the child feels or will feel. My guess would be that since the boy has lived for a year and half and is still in her care, that she obviously is capable of meeting his basic needs, and that's a lot better than a lot of the parents that make it to WS. He'll be alright.

I am sure a lot of perfectly fine mothers have considered abortion at some point of their lives or even had several and I don't want to make it a pro-choice-pro-life debate. But I see a difference between your mother and this mother in that yours made a choice to change her mind and have the baby (and hopefully was okay with it later). This mother didn't make the choice to keep the baby, it just happened, and now she a) says she's happy she got the baby and b) wants to sue the pants off the doctor who is responsible for causing her the suffering of having to have the baby.

It's not so much the plan to have an abortion that is the problem here imo, it's the double message that that the law suit communicates. It does not sound like you love the baby and are happy with it being in existence if you also feel like you need to and are within your rights to punish the person who didn't succeed in terminating the baby because he's caused you irreversible harm and moral damages. The words say I love you but the action says I hate you, you're a disaster in my life.

There are some not-so-loving mothers who figured out that a baby not irreversible after all, you can terminate the baby even after it's born. I am not suggesting that this is what will happen to this child but it's just beyond comprehension to me that any emotionally nurturing mother would think of their precious baby that they've come to love after he's born in terms of irreversible damages that she's suffered.

People sue other people because the other people have caused BAD things to happen in their lives, not because the other people have had a hand in the birth of a new family member that they love a lot.
 

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