The Malpractice Option
By CHARLES RICE
The Wanderer, March 3, 1994
Not many physicians are willing to kill unborn babies for a
living. Pro-life protests at abortuaries and picketing of the homes of
abortionists have brought social as well as economic pressure to bear on
abortionists.
Perhaps the most useful deterrent against abortionists,
however, is the threat of malpractice litigation. This reality drew recent
notice when Life Dynamics (Denton, Texas) last summer mailed to 4,000 attorneys
a 72-page guide on suing abortion providers for malpractice. According to the
president of Life Dynamics, Mark Crutcher: "The dirty little secret is how many
women are getting injured out there. I believe that a lot of women are suffering
in silence because they don't know they can sue." Described in the guide are
"lawsuit tactics" on how to "argue in court that woman experiencing depression
or conflicts after her abortion has suffered 'emotional damages'." The manual
also contains information about how to allege that abortion providers "do not
obtain adequate informed consent from women who often experience the
post-abortion syndrome of psychological Depression." On March 4th and 5th Life
Dynamics will hold a conference on abortion malpractice litigation in Dallas.
The malpractice tactic was examined on CBS's Eye on America
in December: "The doctors that we represent," said Center for Reproductive Law &
Policy attorney Kathryn Kolbert "the doctors who are performing abortions today,
are under siege." The malpractice tactic, however, is not a new invention. A
pioneer group, Legal Action for Women (Pensacola, Fla.), active since 1985,
illustrates the authentically grass-roots character of most effective pro-life
activity. Mike and Vicky Conroy of Pensacola, Fla., formed LAW as an extension
of their work in providing alternatives to women contemplating abortion. "Babies
were being saved by sidewalk and telephone counseling," recalls Vicky, "but we
were seeing women's lives destroyed also. We saw a way to put a dent in the
abortion industry by targeting the motive, which was greed. We want to put the
abortionists out of business by making them accountable for their own
negligence." Mike, 44, and Vicky, 39, committed evangelical Christians, see
their LAW activity as a ministry for Christ. They are active in the Brownsville
Assembly of God in Pensacola and, incidentally, they home-school their five boys
and five girls, who range in age from 15 to 1.
"Part of the cost of doing business for the abortionist,"
Mike explains, "is malpractice insurance, and this insurance is expensive
because the insurance companies are aware of the dangers of abortion. Each time
an abortionist is sued, his insurance company must be notified. When an
abortionist is sued repeatedly, his insurance company will drop him like a hot
potato. He will then find it difficult, if not impossible, to be accepted by
another insurance company at any cost."
Since 1988, LAW has distributed over 100,000 copies of its
Abortion Malpractice Report, which provides reviews of malpractice cases
against abortionists and details procedures that can be followed by women to
obtain redress for abortion injuries. LAW, a tax-exempt organization under
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, also has a registry of
cooperating attorneys who are willing to consider taking such cases. According
to Vicky, "one-third of the abortionists practicing in the U.S. are not
obstetrician/gynecologists. Many doctors are out-of-towners who ride the
abortion circuit. They are not part of the local medical community. The woman,
in most cases, is not allowed the privilege of consulting with the doctor before
the surgery. Many times she doesn't ever know his name. Abortion is the only
medical field that this happens in, and women need to know this." LAW receives
numerous inquiries on its toll-free number, 1-800-U-CAN-SUE (1-800-822-6783).
Legalized abortion is a fraud on the public as well as on the women who are
induced or allowed to kill their children. The Supreme Court has left open
practically no legal means by which the people of any state can actually forbid
a single abortion. The constitutionalization of abortion, however, has not
wholly displaced the law of torts, which provides money damages for negligent
injuries. The activities of LAW, Life Dynamics, and other pro-life agencies
(including Free Speech Advocates, the American Center for Law and Justice and
others) indicate that the malpractice option may be an effective way to deter
baby killers by separating them from that which they prize most, i.e., money.
Abortionists are hired murderers. If appeals to conscience have no effect,
economic disincentives may do the job. Mike and Vicky Conroy and the others
working in this field continue to render an essential service.
(Dr. Rice is a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame.)
