Lime 5: Unsought Abortions

"Patricia" went to John Roe 484 on January 29, 1983 for routine obstetric care. He told her that her 10-week fetus had died in-utero and had her sign a consent form for him to remove it. During the procedure, Roe punctured Patricia's uterus in two places. He called an ambulance for her. She underwent surgery removing her uterus, fallopian tube, and ovary. During the week she spent hospitalized after surgery she learned that her fetus had not been dead prior to the procedure. (Cook County Illinois Circuit Court Case No. 83L 1941)

In November of 1989, "Dianna" went to Dr. George Tiller (John Roe 686) for advice about health problems she was experiencing during her pregnancy. Dianna told Tiller that she was opposed to abortion except as a last resort. Tiller told her that the pregnancy was ectopic and that he had to perform surgery to prevent her death. Reluctantly, Dianna consented to the surgery. Afterward she learned that her pregnancy and her fetus had been perfectly normal and that Tiller had performed a routine abortion procedure. Dianna characterized Tiller's actions, conning her into the unwanted abortion of a wanted baby, as "extreme and outrageous conduct, going beyond all possible bounds of decency, and was atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community." (Sedgewick County Kansas District Court Case No. 92C1280)

"Alcida" was 28 when she went to a Planned Parenthood in Washington, DC on February 25, 1992 for birth control pills. Alcida spoke only Spanish. She was led to a procedure room by a Spanish-speaking employee who had her disrobe, then put her in the stirrups, inserted a speculum, and left the room. John Roe 180 walked into the room and without speaking to Alcida, initiated an abortion in spite of her pleas and screams. It turned out that he had walked into the wrong room and failed to identify the patient. When Alcida sued, Planned Parenthood blocked her request to file anonymously on the grounds that since she was not an abortion patient she was not entitled to any privacy. And yes, they made her go to court rather than settle with this patient who had been traumatized because of their slipshod procedures. (Washington, D.C. Legal Times, May 24, 1993)

Watch Lime 5: Unsought Abortions on YouTube.