Caution: Graphic subject matter.
A woman filed suit Friday against a West Virginia abortionist claiming he forced her to proceed and then left part of her preborn baby inside her womb, according to court documents.
Itai Gravely, 26, went to the Women's Health Center (WHC) of West Virginia in April. She was told she was 11 weeks pregnant and was persuaded to proceed with an abortion. According to court documents, she was given both an oral sedative and intravenous sedation before abortionist Rodney Lee Stephens began.
During the abortion, Gravely complained of severe pain, court documents state. She immediately and repeatedly told Stephens and those who were assisting him to stop. They did not, according to the legal complaint, and physically restrained Gravely.
"A woman's life is more important than an abortionist's bottom line," said Jeremy Dys, an ADF attorney representing the Gravely. "What Stephens and Women's Health Center did to Itai is beyond the pale. She has been exposed to extraordinary cruelty, and her life was put in jeopardy."
Gravely went home shortly after the abortion, and was still in immense pain. The next day, she was transported to Charleston Area Medical Center—Women's and Children's Hospital (CAMC). Physicians conducted an ultrasound and found parts of the preborn baby—including his or her skull — had been left in Gravely's uterus. They were able to remove it and other remaining parts.
Dr. Byron Calhoun, the medical expert who examined Gravely's complaint and medical records, said Stephens and the WHC were negligent. They violated standards of care "by failing to account for the fetal skull following Ms. Gravely's surgical abortion… (F)etal parts…, if retained, could lead to serious injury or even death."
Meanwhile, the country's largest abortion seller continues to put women and children in danger.
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging an Alabama law designed to raise the standard of care at abortion centers in the state. The law requires abortionists to have staff privileges at a local hospital. The law is set to take effect next month.
"Abortionists should be held to the same health and safety standards as all other medical facilities," said ADF Senior Counsel Casey Maddox. "It's not too much to expect that abortionists meet basic standards to protect women's health."
In addition, an appeals court heard arguments also on Tuesday in a case involving a Planned Parenthood lawsuit fighting an Arizona bill prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds for abortion.
The American people should not have to support this, said ADF Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton.
"Our tax dollars should not fund abortionists who are irresponsible and only promote their own self-interest and bottom line."
Support Pro-Life Resolution in U.S. Senate
On May 6, 2013, Sen. Mike Lee (Utah) introduced a resolution calling on Congress and state governments to investigate abortion industry practices that allow illegal activities as well as dangerous and unsanitary conditions. Lee wants Congress to hold hearings on topics including the number of post-viability abortions in the U.S. and how many babies are born alive.
Please contact your two U.S. Senators and ask them to support the Lee resolution and Congressional hearings into the abortion industry.
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Source: CitizenLink
