Investigative

Woman sues late-term abortionist after nearly dying from procedure

abortionist LeRoy Carhart

A severely botched late-term abortion by Maryland abortionist LeRoy Carhart is the subject of a lawsuit brought by 34-year-old Wendy Devine, who nearly lost her life following her abortion in January of this year. Operation Rescue reports that Devine “endured such extreme injuries that she continues to suffer permanent disability and will likely never bear another child.” Devine went to Carhart’s Germantown, Maryland, facility on January 18, 2016, for a two-day Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) abortion (described below by former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levatino):

Operation Rescue notes that “D&E abortions are commonly used in the majority of late-term abortions — especially if the abortionist is in a hurry. The rarer Induction Method, which births an intact — but still very dead — baby, requires three to four days to complete. The D&E method can be done much quicker.”

Carhart is what’s known as a “circuit rider” abortionist, who travels from facility to facility, state to state, to perform abortions, and then travels back to Maryland. The video below, provided by Operation Rescue, has audio of the 911 call placed from Carhart’s facility on the day of Devine’s abortion and also shows that after the ambulance departs, two vehicles — which OR states are Carhart and his wife — leave, going in the opposite direction. According to other reports, it is not unheard of for the Carharts to leave, luggage ready for traveling, following a patient’s abortion.

Operation Rescue shares the details of Devine’s case:

Devine’s court records filled in the details that the redacted recording left out.

When Devine finally arrived at the hospital at 8:35 p.m., she was bleeding heavily, was extremely weak, and still suffering severe abdominal pain….Hospital E.R. doctors called in a gynecologist who examined her and prepped her for surgery. At 10:20 p.m., Devine was rolled into the emergency room for an exploratory laparoscopy, but what was discovered was so serious that the procedure was converted to an open laparotomy and an additional specialist was called in.

Doctors at the hospital found a hematoma (blood clot) containing more than a liter of blood in the patient’s abominal cavity, a top-to-bottom tear in the right side of the patient’s uterus, a tear in the artery on the same side, a severely damaged right ovary which was, according to Operation Rescue, “left hanging by a thin piece of tissue,” and a “significant tear in the tissue that holds the lower colon in place.” The patient’s hematocrit and hemoglobin numbers were at “panic levels,” according to the lawsuit. OR reports, “Normal hematocrit levels for females is 36 to 48%, but Devine’s measured only 16%. Normal hemoglobin levels for females is 12-16, while hers came in at 5.4.”

Devine suffered further complications, which are detailed in the lawsuit and by Operation Rescue.

 Abortionist LeRoy Carhart has killed other patients due to negligence, including 19-year-old Christin Gilbert, who, Live Action News’ Cassy Fiano reports, “was found to be bleeding from every orifice in her body [after arriving at the hospital]. Her body was so ravaged by sepsis and infection that her organs were unable to be donated. Her death was quickly swept under the rug.” His negligence also killed 29-year-old Jennifer Morbelli, who was 33 weeks pregnant. Live Action News’ Sarah Terzo says Morbelli “bled to death after amniotic fluid entered her bloodstream and affected her blood’s ability to clot.”

Carhart has held no hospital privileges since 1982, and has a reputation for numerous ambulance calls and injuries to women. Complaints against this abortionist “go back decades,” according to Fiano.

In Live Action’s InHuman investigation, Carhart was filmed likening deceased babies in utero to “meat in a crock pot.” In another InHuman undercover investigation video, Carhart’s shoddy practices were exposed:

Operation Rescue notes that “Maryland has no gestational limit on abortion that would limit [Carhart’s] business,” meaning he can abort children throughout all nine months of pregnancy, despite inaccurate claims from the media that such late abortions don’t happen. OR also notes that in Maryland, there are “few laws to protect women from shoddy abortion practices” like Carhart’s.

What is Live Action News?

Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective. Learn More

Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.

GUEST ARTICLES: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated. (See here for Open License Agreement.) Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!



To Top