The Story Says It All
Boston woman sues for child-rearing costs after failed abortion
BOSTON --A Boston woman who gave birth after a failed abortion has filed a lawsuit against two doctors and Planned Parenthood seeking the costs of raising her child.
The complaint was filed by Jennifer Raper, 45, last week in Suffolk Superior Court and still must be screened by a special panel before it can proceed to trial.
Raper claimed in the three-page medical malpractice suit that she found out she was pregnant in March 2004 and decided to have an abortion for financial reasons.
Dr. Allison Bryant, a physician working for Planned Parenthood at the time, performed the procedure on April 9, 2004, but it "was not done properly, causing the plaintiff to remain pregnant," according to the complaint.
Raper then went to see Dr. Benjamin Eleonu at Boston Medical Center in July 2004, and he failed to detect the pregnancy even though she was 20 weeks pregnant at the time, the lawsuit alleges.
It was only when Raper went to the New England Medical Center emergency room for treatment of pelvic pain in late September that year that she found out she was pregnant, the suit said.
She gave birth to a daughter on Dec. 7, 2004.
She is seeking damages, including child-rearing costs.
Raper and her lawyer, Barry C. Reed Jr., refused comment when contacted by The Boston Globe.
A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood said the organization does not comment on pending litigation.
Neither doctor responded to requests for comment.
Raper alleges in the suit that Planned Parenthood and Bryant were negligent for failing to end her pregnancy and that Eleonu was negligent for failing to see she was still pregnant.
The state's high court ruled in 1990 that parents can sue physicians for child-rearing expenses, but limited those claims to cases in which children require extraordinary expenses because of medical problems, medical malpractice lawyer Andrew C. Meyer Jr. said.
Raper's suit has no mentions of medical problems involving her now 2-year-old daughter.
As with all medical malpractice suits in Massachusetts, Raper's complaint will have to be screened by a tribunal consisting of a Superior Court judge, a lawyer, and a doctor to determine whether it has merit to go to trial.
posted by Chris Hill @ 3/11/2007 12:19:00 AM
11 comments
11 Comments:
I heard about this a week or so ago, but Erik Tisthammer (an amazing Army man) suggested it was worth mentioning the story here.
I find her last name funny considering the situation and what she's trying to do with the law.
That being said, why would she raise the child herself if the issue was money? She could very easily have given her daughter up for adoption if that was the case.
Anyways, how's the new house, Chris? Is Bunker warming up to you?
(Also, your page seems to hate me.. the CAPTCHA doesn't show up in Firefox, and the 'Publish Your Comment' link doesn't work in IE)
Yeah, google took it over and it's kinda messed up.
Bunker's doing well, but he's going through a rebellious phase. He's certainly well adjusted to us, and is very friendly.
The house is great, too. It's a little depressing being out in a smaller-town type area. Everything's 20 minutes away, and the "nice" beaches are about 30. But I'm closer to work (it was 35-40 minutes before, and I have to be alert when I'm there, so long drives make that hard... I also have 12-14 hour days sometimes, so a long drive on top of that is just horrible), so it's kind of a necessity. Also, living in a house versus an apartment is day and night.
Thanks for asking. You're always welcome down here.
I'd love to visit; it sounds like Mom really wants to have all of us go down there during some vacation in the next year or two, but it's a bit tough with cost and time considerations.
Do you know if you're going to be able to make it for either of the Clamshell Beach weeks this summer?
These are the people I live among. It's stories like these that make me wonder how society hasn't completely collapsed yet.
Isn't it "amongst"? Hmm... actually, "among" sounds good too. That would be a good thing to know.
Anyway, Stephen, we might be out of here by summer, depending on when I get done with Primary and what aircraft I select. So if anyone plans to visit, they'd have to do it by June or August (at the latest). Otherwise, we might be somewhere else in the country. We'd like to come up for Clamshell... we're definitely going to try. I can't take leave during the week while in flight school, though, so I'm not sure if it will work. Pretty much the only way it will work for sure is if I get done with Primary right before those weeks and can take some leave.
Well that's got to make the kid feel good. Mom tried to off ya, but failed, and is now sueing people over the heavy burden of having you around. Well, at least some psychotherapist will make some dough.
Amongst is a variant of among, but there is no difference in meaning. Among is probably preferred, with amongst being more archaic.
Unrelated: Lately I have been annoyed that no one uses the subjunctive form. "If I were going to the land of Oz" not "if I was going to the land of Oz" and "I wish I were" not "I wish I was"
hey chris, I've got a little global warming ditty for your next post~ check this link, be sure to read the last line! Wikipedia says, "the coldest average temperature is approximately -68°C (-90.4°F)"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Bancroft
Damn.
I heard something about the subjunctive that I hadn't known before. It of course just confused me more. I guess you use "If I was" if it is something that is very possible and "I were" if it's not. I will try and make up an example....
If I were a woman...I'd paint my nails.
If I was dating a woman, I'd paint her nails.
That was a really lame example. I am not even sure which one is more likely ....
And that abortion story is stupid. When the kid gets older I bet he kicks the crap out of his mom one day.
ah, i'm commenting on a blog that is not on the top so it will probably never be viewed. But if it was I wouldn't be suprised. I think I used that right.
mark
Mark,
Thanks for the advice. Yes, I did read it. So it was possible for someone to read it, event though it weren't in the top entry. Wait... something didn't work there...
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