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Gynaecologist on trial for attempted abortion

An Iraqi woman gynaecologist stood trial in absentia on Sunday in the Court of First Instance on the charge of attempting to abort a pregnant woman.

According to prosecution records, the 56-year-old defendant administered a medical pill to the patient and when the patient did not have a miscarriage, she tried to conduct a caesarean operation on her. She stopped short of it as the hospital administration where she worked did not give her the necessary authorisation to do the operation. The case dates back to May 2010.

The complainant, a 41-year-old Iraqi housewife, said during the investigation that she had many miscarriages in the past prior to the incident. She began seeing the defendant, who was a gynaecologist, in 2008.

In September 2009, she became pregnant and visited the defendant for check-ups.

As of the third month of pregnancy, she developed symptoms of fever, exhaustion, swelling and bleeding. The defendant used to give her medicine and reassure her that the foetus was healthy. As of the sixth month, the complainant became unable to walk and she used a wheelchair. The defendant kept reassuring her that the baby was normal.

When the complainant checked at a specialised medical centre at the Healthcare City she was told that the baby had many deformities. She was told that such abnormalities could have been detected long time before. She said that the defendant was reassuring her that everything was alright and the baby was fine.

The following day the defendant put a pill inside the complainant, claiming that it was a sedative but the complainant knew later that it was an abortion pill.

When confronted about it by the complainant, the defendant denied the pill was for abortion. The complainant then had a file opened for her elsewhere. She gave birth to an abnormal baby, with brain haemorrhage and swelling allover his body.

He lived for about one hour and died.

A British woman doctor at another hospital confirmed that the defendant had given the complainant a pill for aborting her deformed foetus, which was about seven-month-old. She said that the defendant was about to conduct a caesarean operation on the complainant when the pill did not had any effects on her.

The doctor added that abortion was not allowed here unless the foetus causes a risk to the mother’s life. It also necessitates official authorisation.

mary@khaleejtimes.com