Doctor Must Pay Support For Child After Failed Abortion
By The Circle of Moms Editors - May 24, 2012
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In a case unlike any we've yet seen, a doctor has been ordered to pay for the support of a child who was born after a failed abortion attempt sought by the mother.
An unnamed woman in Spain sought to terminate her pregnancy at a clinic in April 2010 when she was eight weeks pregnant. Unbeknownst to her or her doctor at the time, the abortion was unsuccessful. Thinking she had become pregnant again, the woman went back to the clinic three months later, where she was informed that she was actually five months pregnant and that the abortion had failed. The woman was refused another abortion because she was farther along than Spain's legal time limit of 14 weeks. The only compensation she was offered was a refund of the fees she'd paid for the failed abortion.
The woman has since given birth to a healthy baby boy. A judge has recently ordered the gynecologist and the private clinic to pay the mother 150,000 euros ($190,000) in "moral damages" for their negligence and a monthly maintenance of 978 euros ($1,230) until the boy reaches his 26th birthday.
The woman, whose identity has been kept secret, spoke through her lawyer of her happiness at the sentence and how she had no regrets about having the child.
"I'm fine now and have accepted things, I haven't any other choice," she said.
"When the day comes for me to explain to my son what happened I will tell him hoping he understands.
"I didn't want him when I went to have an abortion but that's not the case now."
Her lawyer Eva Munar, admitting the sentence was a legal first in Spain, added: "It's a fair sentence for what is medical negligence."
The doctor will launch an appeal to have the sentence overturned.
Spain reformed its abortion laws under the previous socialist government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in 2010. Under the new law, women have the right to choose an abortion on demand after up to 14 weeks of pregnancy in public hospitals.
Under previous legislation, abortion was illegal across Spain unless in the case of rape, serious deformity or if the woman's health was at risk.
More than 100,000 abortions were carried out annually under the old legislation, the vast majority in private clinics and under the justification that the pregnancy posed a "psychological risk" to the mother.
The relaxation of the laws was meant with fierce opposition from conservative elements within Spain and especially the Roman Catholic Church.
Spain's new conservative government of Mariano Rajoy, which came to power in December, has suggested it may overturn the reform - provoking a backlash from women's groups.
Thoughts??
Wow! I believe that the medical negligence is correct, but the child support is not something the doctor should have to pay. He didn't father the kid.
wow, i can't believe some of you are actually blaming the mother for all of this.
the doctor should have to pay the first amount, CS, nah, but he should have to pay back the fees, and anything else that the judge ordered. only fair, he did not do his job the right way.
i think that the law in our country should be the same as spains was.
That's what I'm saying, but I think we are def in the minority here.
Quoting Mom2Addison12:wow, i can't believe some of you are actually blaming the mother for all of this.
the doctor should have to pay the first amount, CS, nah, but he should have to pay back the fees, and anything else that the judge ordered. only fair, he did not do his job the right way.
i think that the law in our country should be the same as spains was.
First off, we do not know why this woman wanted an abortion, nor do we know how she got pregnant. In response to one person's comment about this woman "spreading her legs", you do not know if she willingly had sex or was raped since that was not mentioned. The choice to have an abortion is difficult and personal, no one should judge as we are not God. None of us know what this woman's story or struggle is. All we know what is they said in this small artical. Stop condeming the woman for the medical error on behalf of the doctor.
I agree that the doctor should have to refund the medical fees paid by the woman, as well as money for malpractice. However, child support for 26yrs is ridiculous and over the top. I guess I can see the reasoning behind it from the judges pov, but I do not agree.
Also, I'm not so sure it's a good idea to tell your child you tried to abort him. However, depending on what the back story is also determines what should be said at all to the child when they come of age.
If this idiot wanted the doctor to be liable for something she should have gave a different reason for suing him.
This is beyond ridiculous.
That child is going to have serious issues once he is told that his mother didn't want him. WOW.
Scared to get out of my comfort zone
- MamaFLgurl
on May. 24, 2012 at 7:25 PM