A Chicago-based pro-life law center has launched a law suit against staff of a clinic involved in a botched late-term abortion in hopes it will result in charges of "infanticide" and "change public opinion" about this controversial procedure.
The Thomas More Society said the law suit was filed last month on behalf of a young woman, Sycloria Williams, whose baby was allegedly killed by staff members of Hialeah clinic, Worthy News learned Tuesday, February 11.
The Florida Board of Medicine already revoked the license of Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique on charges of medical malpractice, delegation of responsibility to unlicensed personnel and failing to keep an accurate medical record.
Renelique arrived too late at a Hialeah clinic to perform an abortion on eighteen year-old Williams back on July 20, 2006, who instead managed to deliver her live baby.
The civil lawsuit claims that that while the baby, Shanice Osbourne, was still trying to breathe, Belkis Gonzalez – a staff member who had no medical license – came into the room and cut the umbilical cord. Gonzalez then allegedly "scooped up the baby” and the afterbirth, placed everything in a red biohazard bag, sealed it and tossed the bag into the trash.
A series of anonymous calls led police to discover the baby's body in a cardboard box in a clinic closet one week later, according to investigators. An autopsy apparently revealed that Williams' baby had air in her lungs and was trying to breath; the cause of death was said to be extreme prematurity.
"Its infanticide," said Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society, which investigated the case. "We're trying to make sure we don't tolerate infanticide here," Brejcha told the Baptist Press news agency. "The baby was gasping for air. They used a pair of shears and didn't tie (the cord) up so the baby was going to bleed to death. They treated the baby like a piece of garbage."
The suit against Renelique, Gonzalez and other clinic staff claims wrongful death, medical negligence and personal injury; it was filed by a local counsel hired by the Thomas More Society.
Brejcha said the suit is intended to "pressure prosecutors to file murder charges," but to date, no criminal charges have been filed in the case. However, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office is reportedly investigating the matter.
"Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, we can all agree that this is tragic and morally reprehensible," Florida State House Majority Leader Adam Hasner said in a statement, monitored by Worthy News Tuesday, February 11. "Administrative action against the physician by the Department of Health is not enough, anything less than murder charges being filed is unacceptable."
State Representative Rachel Burgin added that Florida's safe-haven law would have allowed the baby to be dropped off anonymously at any hospital and eventually adopted if she survived.
Williams was originally scheduled to receive a dilation and evacuation, which involves dismembering the baby while still in the womb, Worthy News learned.
"The degree of barbaric medical malpractice in this case is absolutely astonishing," explained Brejcha. "And that's something that pro-life people should not be hesitant to let the world know about, because the abortion industry is keeping that quiet and talking about safe, legal abortion. It's never safe for the baby." |
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