Victims of Belief-based Denial
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Paulina (2000) – Mexico
13-year old Mexican Rape Victim Denied Abortion Due to CO Paulina Ramírez Jacinta was 13 years old when she was raped in 1999 and subsequently denied a legal abortion. She was subjected to repeated interference by state officials, doctors, and priests, who all tried to persuade her out of having an abortion. Paulina finally got […]
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Laurie B Roberts(1996) – USA
From Bearing Faith: The Limits of Catholic Health Care for Women of Color Miscarrying woman almost dies after being denied termination at Catholic hospital Laurie Bertram Roberts was twelve weeks pregnant when, fearing that she was experiencing a miscarriage, she rushed to the only hospital in her community, a Catholic facility. After examining her, the […]
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Kathleen Hutchins (1998) – USA
Woman at risk of death with doomed pregnancy was refused abortion at Catholic-controlled hospital and forced to travel 80 miles In 1998, Kathleen Hutchins was working at the drive-thru window at Dunkin’ Donuts. She was fourteen weeks pregnant when her water broke. Her ob/gyn, Dr. Wayne Goldner, told her that her chances of carrying the […]
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Susan (1995) – USA
Pregnant woman at risk of fatal bleeding was refused treatment by religious nurse In 1995, Susan Johnson (a pseudonym) arrived at a New Jersey hospital emergency department eighteen weeks pregnant, standing in a pool of blood. An ultrasound revealed that she suffered from a complete placenta previa, a condition that could become fatal to both […]
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Sophie (1994) – USA
Woman at risk of death refused abortion in Catholic hospital by a lawyer In 1994, 19-year-old Sophie Smith (a pseudonym) of Nebraska was admitted to the emergency room of a Catholic hospital with a blood clot in her lung. Tests revealed she was about 10 weeks pregnant, and the clotting problem resulted from a rare […]
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Heidi (late 1980’s) – USA
Miscarrying woman nearly bleeds to death after being refused abortion at Catholic hospital In the late 1980s in Detroit, Democratic Senator Gary Peters and his then wife, Heidi, were pregnant with their second child, a baby they very much wanted. Heidi was four months along when her water broke, leaving the fetus without amniotic fluid—a […]