A British doctor was jailed for six years for trying to induce a miscarriage in a woman without her consent. Now he’ll lose his medical license too.
According to the BBC, Edward Erin was having an affair with Bella Prowse, a secretary at his hospital, when she got pregnant. He was married with two kids, and wanted her to get an abortion, but she refused. So he spiked several of her drinks with ground-up methotrexate, a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and cancer that can also cause miscarriage. In her case it didn’t — her baby boy was born healthy — but it could still have long-term effects on the child’s development.
Erin was sentenced to six years in prison in 2009, and has now lost his license to practice medicine. Said the disciplinary panel that heard his case,
As a doctor, he knew or should have known that Methotrexate in particular could cause long-term harm to his intended victim and her unborn child. The panel considers that Dr Erin has never acknowledged fault in this case and has shown no remorse for his actions and the panel has received no evidence to suggest he has now gained insight into the gravity of his actions.
Methotrexate is the same drug a Colorado pharmacist accidentally gave a pregnant woman back in February. She didn’t miscarry either, but the drug could still affect her fetus. Both cases are reminders that a woman’s right to choose includes the right to carry her pregnancy to term if she so desires, with full knowledge of what she’s putting into her body and what its potential effects could be.
‘Poison Doctor’ Edward Erin Struck Off For Abortion Bid [BBC]
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