Linda Noie was between six and eight weeks pregnant when she went to Fox Valley Reproductive Health Care on January 10, 1979 to get information about abortion. She was accompanied by the baby's father, Brian Rusch. The couple agreed to go ahead with an abortion and scheduled it for January 12.
They returned on the 12th, and Linda did all of the consent paperwork. Several hours later, Dr. Benjamin Victoria performed the abortion. Linda was discharged from Fox Valley Reproductive Health Care under the impression that the abortion had been successful.
It had not.
On September 18, Linda was in labor but there were signs of fetal distress so the baby that had survived the abortion attempt was delivered via C-section. He was named Joshua. He was placed on a respirator and hospitalized for two weeks prior to discharge.
Joshua suffered hearing loss in his left ear as well as asymmetry in the lateral ventricles of his brain. However, the parties disagreed as to whether the abortion was the cause.
I'm unclear as to why Joshua's surname is Vandervelden, but such it is.
A suit was filed on Joshua's behalf, and on March 29, 1991 the doctor was found to have committed a battery on Joshua while he was in the womb. The award for damages was $25,000 for future medical expenses, $300,000 for loss of earning capacity, and $800,000 for pain, suffering, and disability. The suit was struck down by the court on the grounds that Linda consented to the abortion. Linda appealed, but the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the lower court's refusal to hear the case. You can find all the legal arguments at the Justia.com page about the case.
According to this site (translation below by Google Translate), Joshua's mother became prolife after the birth of her son, and together they picket the clinic where the attempt on Joshua's life was made.
Their son survived the abortion and now they both protest in front of the clinic where he had been sentenced to die.
When Linda Noie pickets the abortion clinic next door to her house, she holds up a sign that reads, "We can't forget aborted children!" And certainly she Linda cannot forget her own son, whom she nearly miscarried: Joshua is a constant memory.
On January 12, 1979, Joshua was the target of an abortion at a clinic in the State of Wisconsin, USA. But God had other plans for him. The abortionist failed in his attempt to perform the abortion. Now Joshua joins his mother in picketing the very clinic where he had previously been sentenced to die.
Through this traumatic experience, Linda converted to a pro-life stance. When told that the house next to the abortion clinic was available, Linda asked God for guidance, and she felt the Lord say, "That's where I want you to live." Linda and Joshua moved in and have been displaying a sign ever since that says, "We Can't Forget Aborted Children"!
Source: First Congress of Abortion Holocaust Survivors, April 29-May 3, 1992, in Ottawa, Canada, organized by Human Life International.
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