December 10 abortion stories

Maurine W. submitted to an abortion performed by Ralph Robinson at Summit Medical Center on December 10, 1982. Maurine faulted the clinic with lack of informed consent, failure to provide proper post-abortion care, and improper and negligent advise regarding her deteriorating condition. Maurine was been discharged after her abortion.

She called the clinic on December 14, and spoke to a woman who told her no nurse was available and diagnosed her feelings of morning sickness as a "neurotic reaction." On December 18 Maureen called again, again was told a nurse was not available. She reported cramping and morning sickness, and was told her symptoms were normal.

Maurine suffered sharp pains at 4 PM, after calling the clinic. She got up and fainted. She awoke cold and clammy, and tried to go for help but fainted again. A neighbor saw her and called an ambulance.

Maurine needed lifesaving surgery to address an ectopic pregnancy that the clinic had failed to diagnose.

In his defense, Robinson argued that Maureen "failed to produce even a scintilla of evidence that this defendant violated any standard of care." Robinson's operative report stated "product of conception was normal and the fetal age was 6 weeks," but the pathology report showed endometrium and chorionic villi only with no fetal parts.

Robinson contended in his deposition that the fetus was microscopic, although the normal length of 6 week embryo is 22-24 mm (just under an inch). The post-operative report from Maurine's emergency surgery found "fetal tissue fairly well preserved" in the removed segment of fallopian tube. Robinson also contended that Maureen never called him to report her symptoms, although she did call the number she was instructed to call and the clinic failed to relay her symptoms to Robinson. (Jefferson County Circuit Court Case No. CV84 460; Alabama Supreme Court No. 85-1055)

This story is told by a woman who remained prochoice, and posted it to a prochoice board: "On December 10, 1998 I found myself sitting in a local Planned Parenthood clinic .... It all felt so wrong but still I decided to go through with it. ... It wasn't very painful, just extremely uncomfortable. I was then taken into a recovery room where I was given antibiotics and sent home. I ran out of the clinic, my boyfriend followed, and just cried and cried. Ever since that moment I've been miserable. I've tried committing suicide twice since December. The last time I tried killing myself they put me in a psychiatric hospital. I was there for almost five days. I still think about my baby everyday. I ask myself if it were a boy or a girl ... every night I get down on my knees and ask God for forgiveness. I think he's forgiven me, but I haven't been able to forgive myself for what I have done. I hate myself more than ever and am very depressed. I cry myself to sleep every night."