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Friday, April 10, 2020

The Lime 5 Gestational Age Screw-Ups

In Lime 5, we documented a lot of cases in which abortions were performed on women who were a lot further advanced in their pregnancies than they'd been led to believe. In these cases, the cause appears to be sloppiness rather than deceit.

Dr. Joseph Rucker (John Roe 674)

Lime 5 notes two cases against Rucker of the many that we documented. ("Doctor thumbs his nose at the medical board," segments 12, and 3Detroit Free Press, November 14, 1982; "The case against Dr. Rucker: A study in delays," Detroit Free Press, November 14, 1982)

In 1977, "Cecelia," age 14, went to Rucker's clinic for an abortion. Rucker estimated her pregnancy at 14 weeks. When she began to hemorrhage, he loaded her into a car and took her to a hospital, where she was diagnosed as 7 months pregnant. She was released, but returned four days later when she gave birth to a premature baby with part of the scalp missing.

In 1974, "Nancy" paid a $75 referral fee for an abortion, expecting a reputable hospital. Instead she was sent to Rucker's nasty clinic. Nancy said that once she was on the table, Rucker walked in, put his hand on her abdomen, and announced, "Fifteen weeks." After he started the abortion he concluded that her baby was closer to six months gestation. He struggled to complete the abortion, cussing up a storm because he couldn't get the baby's head out. He ended up tearing Nancy's uterus and leaving the skull behind. He took Nancy to a hospital and turned her over to a surgeon who decided, without consulting Nancy, to do a tubal ligation and take her appendix out. When Nancy complained to Rucker, he told her that he'd refunded her abortion fee so she should be happy.

John Roe 161

Since all we have as a cite for this case is court documents (Suffolk, MA Superior Court Civil Action No. 47117), and don't have any other John Roe 161 cases in Lime 5, I don't know the abortionist's name and can't provide any clippings. "Robin," age 19, went to Roe for an abortion in 1980. He thought she was 11 or 12 weeks pregnant and started using a first-trimester abortion technique. Once he started he realized that the baby was bigger than he'd originally thought -- perhaps 15 or 16 weeks of gestation. He struggled for over an hour to perform the abortion, lacerating Robin's cervix and perforating her uterus and bladder. Finally he sent her to the hospital in a taxi. There she had to have a hysterectomy to save her life and was hospitalized for a month. Her baby had actually been 19 to 21 weeks in gestational age.

John Roe 299

Our source for "Alexandra's" case was California Board of Medical Quality Assurance Case No. D-3132 L-31034, therefore I can't provide the doctor's name or a clipping. Roe told Alexandra that she was 24 weeks pregnant. He tried to grab the head but when he couldn't grasp it he sent Alexandra to a hospital. There she delivered a 4 1/2 pound stillborn infant of about 34 weeks gestation.

Erma Roe 401

Once again I don't have an abortionist's name or a clipping because our source was a court case: Multnomah County (OR) Circuit Court Case No. A 8605 03177. "Darla" was told that she was 16 weeks pregnant. Roe tried twice to abort Darla's baby with forceps and suction before finally giving up and sending Darla to the hospital. There, she gave birth to a little girl she named "Brandi." Brandi was of about 29 or 30 weeks gestational age and was bruised and lacerated from the abortion attempt. She spent 5 1/2 weeks in the hospital.

Dr. Harold Ticktin (John Roe 821)

"Jane" was 16 years old when she went to Ticktin for an abortion in 1986. Ticktin said that although Jane was slender, she was so tense that it was difficult for him to accurately determine gestational age. He decided that she was 12 weeks pregnant and started the abortion. He pulled off the baby's arm and realized that she was much further advanced than he'd thought. He delayed for seven hours before sending her to a hospital, where she underwent an emergency hysterectomy. Her baby, dead due to the dismemberment injury, had actually been 28 weeks -- seven months -- of gestational age. ("Doctor to go before board in abortion case," The Tampa Tribune, August 6, 1988)

Dr. Abram Zelikman (John Roe 664)

When Zelikman performed the fatal abortion on Eurice Agbagaa in 1989, he had originally said that she was 11 - 12 weeks pregnant. At autopsy it was discovered that Eurice had been at least 19 weeks pregnant.

Dr. Karen Smiley (Erma Roe 801)

Tralishia was 17 years old when she went to Family Planning Clinic for Reproductive Health in Nashville in 1989. Dr. Karen Smiley told Tralishia that she was six weeks pregnant, performed a suction abortion, and sent the girl home. Four days later, Tralishia gave birth to a 1 pound 13 ounce baby girl who ended up in the NICU with a 60% chance of survival. Tralishia's mother sued the clinic on her behalf. The attorney noted that Tralishia needed psychiatric care after the abortion, saying, "She's devastated, obviously. She never would have dreamed of having an abortion if she had known that it was 26 weeks old." ("Infant given 60% chance following botched abortion," The Tennessean, January 11, 1990; "Health Authorities Will Investigate Clinic," The Leaf-Chronicle, January 12, 1990)

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