Failed abortion compensation claim rejected

Single mother vows to fight on with her claim against hospital trust

News, 11 September 2006

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The mother whose child survived an attempted termination of pregnancy is determined to continue her fight for compensation, despite a court's decision to reject her claim against the health board involved.

Stacey Dow, 21, of Perth, said she had not been given a proper warning by medical staff at Perth Royal Infirmary that terminations were not always successful. She sued for £250,000 to support her childcare costs.

Miss Dow discovered she was pregnant in 2001 at the age of 16. She opted for an abortion, but gave birth to a daughter Jayde in August 2001, having discovered seven weeks previously that one foetus had survived the procedure.

Last Friday Sheriff Michael Fletcher at Perth Sheriff Court rejected her claim against Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust. He said patients could not expect a legally binding contract from their doctor, and that it did not matter what Miss Dow subjectively thought the use of the word "termination" implied.

This patient/doctor relationship, the sheriff continued, would have been different if Miss Dow had gone to a private clinic, as then the relationship was contractual.

Miss Dow said she was determined to continue and would be talking to her lawyer.

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