A doctor allegedly left half a fetus inside an Indiana woman’s body during a botched abortion, a harrowing lawsuit claims.
An anonymous woman filed a medical negligence lawsuit last week against Dr Keith Reisinger-Kindle, an OBGYN at Equity Clinic in Illinois.
Identified only as Jane Doe, the 32-year-old traveled across state lines to have an abortion in April 2023 when she was about halfway through her pregnancy.
But the suit alleges two days after the procedure, scans revealed the 23-week-old fetus’ legs and part of its arms had been left behind.
Dr Reisinger-Kindle also tore the woman’s uterus, the lawsuit claims, leaving her at risk of deadly bleeding and sepsis, as well as infertility.
Already a mother of four, the woman had to undergo emergency surgery at her local hospital to remove the remaining fetal parts from her pelvis and intestines.
While later abortions can increase the risk of complications like, blood clots, and bleeding, doctors reviewing Jane Doe’s case called it the ‘worst thing’ they had ever seen.
She told local media she is now suing Equity Clinic for $50,000 to help other women who have suffered negligence during an abortion.
Dr Keith Reisinger-Kindle, pictured here in 2022, is being sued by a 32-year-old Indiana woman who alleges he left half of her unborn fetus in her body during a botched abortion
She told The Kansas City Star that ‘for us to confide [trust] in someone to take care of us’ during a vulnerable moment like an abortion should never be taken likely.
She said: ‘You’re a doctor. My doctor, and I don’t understand.’
Dr Reisinger-Kindle and Equity Clinic did not respond to a request for comment.
Illinois has become a haven for women seeking abortions, as many of its bordering states have restricted or banned the practice altogether.
Indiana, where the anonymous woman is from, passed a total ban on abortion in 2023 with exceptions only for cases where a mother’s life is at risk, if the fetus is not expected to survive, and in cases of rape or incest.
A 2023 Chicago-Tribune profile of Dr Reisinger-Kindle reports 95 percent of his clinic patients come from out of state, mainly from Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri.
Abortion is illegal in 11 other states besides Indiana. Illinois, meanwhile, has protected the practice under its state constitution.
Jane Doe, who was working multiple jobs at the time, said she had scheduled her abortion once before at another clinic before backing out.
Facing mounting pressure and struggling to make a decision, by the time she scheduled the procedure at Equity Clinic, she was between 22 and 23 weeks pregnant.
Any abortion performed after 21 weeks is considered a ‘later abortion.’ A fetus is considered viable around 22 to 24 weeks, weighing around one pound.
The above map shows abortion access by state and US territory. Indiana, where Jane Doe lives, has one of the strictest bans. Illinois, where the abortion was performed, codified abortion in its state constitution
The lawsuit claims she visited Equity Clinic on April 1 and April 2, 2023, for the abortion.
Later abortions are typically performed with a dilation and evacuation (D&E) procedure. This involves softening and dilating the cervix and removing the fetus with forceps.
Following the procedure, Dr Reisinger-Kindle reported a final examination confirmed the woman’s uterus was empty and ‘products of conception were visibly inspected and confirmed to be complete.’
Jane Doe was discharged but called the clinic several times the next day to report heavy cramping.
She claims in the lawsuit Dr Reisinger-Kindle told her to take some Tylenol and a laxative, but she ‘didn’t agree with that. It was not supposed to be that bad.’
She also told The Kansas City Star the pain was so unbearable she could barely get into the CT scan machine.
Doctors told her, ‘You have a baby in there, and you need emergency surgery.’
One of the surgeons who operated on Jane Doe told The Kansas City Star: ‘We knew from the CAT scan that she could have a perforated uterus because you could see what looked like a human body.
‘This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen at surgery, and I’ve been doing this for over 30 years.’
Surgeons reported they removed the fetus’ legs and part of its arms. Some parts were found in the right pelvis, while others ‘were adhered’ to the patient’s intestines, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges the hole in Jane Doe’s uterus was about the size of a quarter or half-dollar.
Experts estimate uterine perforations occur in between 0.1 and two percent of all abortions.
A perforation can leave patients vulnerable to bleeding and infections, which raises the risk of sepsis, the body’s extreme reaction to an infection that causes the body to attack healthy organs.
The injury has also been linked to infertility, as the tear can lead to scarring and adhesions, making it more difficult for a fertilized egg to implant.
The unnamed woman claims she had to undergo emergency surgery to remove the parts of the fetus that were still in her pelvis and ‘adhered’ to her intestines (stock image)
New Mexico has seen the largest increase in abortions, which could be due to it bordering Arizona and Texas, which have restrictions
It’s unclear if the woman has suffered any further complications.
In a medical report included in the lawsuit, doctors working on Jane Doe’s case said that in their professional opinion, Dr Reisinger-Kindle ‘deviated from a reasonable standard of care’ by perforating her uterus and not realizing he had done so, along with failing to examine fetal parts after the abortion.
The woman is suing Dr Reisinger-Kindle and Equity Clinic for $50,000 in a case of medical negligence.
Following emergency surgery, Jane Doe claimed she had trouble finding a lawyer to take case because her abortion was ‘elective.’
Richard Craig, a Chicago-based lawyer who did take the case, told The Kansas City Star that while the abortion was a choice the woman made, ‘I don’t think anybody elects to have half of her baby left behind; that’s a bone-chilling event.’
