Chicago

Suit: Hospital Pressured Woman to Get Abortion After Medical Error

According to Morris’ attorney, the hospital gave Morris $2,000 in cash and a letter stating the money was for “a consultation” at a Chicago-area Planned Parenthood clinic

A 23-year-old mother of two says she was pressured to get an abortion at an Illinois hospital after a medical error put her baby at risk, a lawsuit filed Thursday said.

Reneizha Morris said she found out she was pregnant in November 2017 after she went to UnityPoint Methodist Center in Peoria for a separate medical reason.

But after she learned the news from doctors, she was injected with a drug that could cause birth defects in her baby, the lawsuit said. 

"This is the kind of mistake that would happen in the 1960s," said her attorney, Thomas Mulroy III, with Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard. "The fact that this is happening in 2019 is unbelievable." 

Mulroy said the hospital tried to cover up the error by pressuring Morris to have an abortion, which she ultimately did. 

According to Morris’ attorney, the hospital gave Morris $2,000 in cash and a letter stating the money was for "a consultation" at a Chicago-area Planned Parenthood clinic.

Morris said she felt pressured in a series of meeting to terminate the pregnancy and the baby was ultimately aborted on Dec. 15 that year, the suit states.

"This case has one of the ugliest fact patterns I have ever seen,” Mulroy said in a statement. “A perfectly healthy fetus was given a deadly injection based on reckless communication. The hospital administration knew full well they would have been legally responsible for the considerable healthcare costs associated with the baby’s birth injury. The hospital purely had their own interests in mind and failed to take Reneizha’s wishes into consideration.”

The hospital said it could not comment on pending litigation.

“No one should ever have to make that decision. I think about what happened every single day and I hope another woman will never have to feel the pain I have felt since this happened,” Morris said in a statement.

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