Abortion complications nearly killed a friend

[Iwanthelp]

If you don't have/can't answer for the legal aspects, that's fine - but I'd like some sort of response if you can. To preface, friend is in England.

My friend had an abortion - they told her the foetus had less weeks than it did, perhaps it looked a little more developed she wound up traumatized from seeing it. I think it was something like 2 or three weeks off - it had toes and features that put it as older than what she saw on gestation period/pregnancy websites. That was horrible but she seems to be coping.

...Except recently, she passed a blood clot the size of a fist and was in pretty bad pain. I got my mum to look at a picture of it (She's a nurse) and we both thought it looked like tissue. She called a non-emergency/101 number, they said to wait two hours, when they called back it was basically "okay hospital now". Turns out she had retained tissue from the abortion weeks later (I think she was on a contraceptive jab so perhaps lack of periods made it as invisible as it was) and had to have it removed via contraction drugs. Apparently she could have died plus is at risk of infertility, there is a piece left that will require her getting a D&C (Dilation and curettage) if it doesn't come out on its' own. This has apparently killed people before.

I guess my question is...Is this something you can sue over? I mean - fair enough if you're not sure on regional specifics, but is this just "one of those things" or is a doctor meant to actively prevent shit like this from happening? Is it like an unfortunate rare-but-possible complication or a fault of them not being thorough enough with the original abortion? I thought abortions were 99% safe but my friend had to get hospitalized weeks after one...And I'm not saying that as a pro-life scare, just to illustrate that I had no idea this kind of thing could go down.

[Redskies]

As with any medical procedure, there's always a risk of complications, even if that risk is very low, like it is for abortion. While that means it's very, very unlikely that any one individual person will experience complications, it does mean that complications happen to someone, somewhere. I'm sorry that person was your friend, and I hope she returns to better health very soon.

With medication abortions, about 5% won't completely remove all the products of the pregnancy: that's why a follow-up appointment is usually recommended. With surgical abortions, it's much lower - under 1% - but yes, it can still happen. An abortion provider should give information about what to expect in the days and weeks after an abortion, and a 24-hour helpline to call with any questions, and information about when a patient should seek further medical help. It's true that a person can die from untreated complications (and again, that applies to all other medical procedures); I think the key part there is untreated, which is why abortion providers give information, have helplines and encourage people to get medical care if they have any concerns.

If your friend has concerns about the treatment she received with her abortion, the first people to take it up with is the clinic or hospital that did the procedure. The doctor who did the procedure should be able to talk with her about it. Then, if she doesn't feel satisfied, she has the option of taking it further and making a complaint. How she does that depends on whether this was an NHS procedure or not; the abortion provider should be able to give her information about a complaints procedure. She can also ask her GP about her situation, and the GP will be able to give her information themself or direct her to the right people and places for that information.

If your friend is struggling with some feelings after her abortion, she might want to consider some counselling. Most abortion providers offer post-abortion counselling, and it's usually free from the provider who did the abortion. If it was an NHS procedure, she would also likely be able to get counselling on the NHS. If those free options aren't available to her, providers like the BPAS http://www.bpas.org/bpaswoman offer counselling to people who were not their patients, for a fee. Of course, it's important to be careful to get that counselling from an unbiased source: good routes might be asking her GP, asking at a sexual health or contraception clinic, or asking BPAS for advice. We would strongly advise against any kind of crisis pregnancy service - that is, any organisation which tries to persuade people not to have abortions - because their information is often medically inaccurate and biased, which is obviously only harmful to someone who already has their own big feelings.

[Iwanthelp]

Thanks for the advice. Even if it's not insta-sue material I'm glad to see some sort of 'here is a course of action that could be taken/options' illustrated out. Thanks a bunch for doing that.

[Redskies]

You're very welcome.

[Heather]

I also want to add something that got left out here which is that if your friend didn't go for a follow-up visit after her procedure, which is always advised, and usually scheduled before someone leaves a clinic post-abortion, then this may actually be on her.

That's not to say it's her fault or doing there was a complication like this, because it is simply something that happens sometimes (and was likely listed in the consent paperwork she signed with getting the procedure, as possible complications with any surgery, including abortion, are; too, blood clots are a possible complication with pregnancy, period, not just with abortion), but this is one of the big reasons why following aftercare directions, including a follow-up exam, is so important.

People can't sue for malpractice if and when they developed a complication they were informed about in their paperwork or consultation that they signed on to. OTOH, if she had an abortion where she was not informed about possible complications with that procedure and did not sign paperwork around that, then as would be the case with any surgery and a complication, THEN we may be looking at malpractice.

In terms of providers not being dead-on with a gestational date, that's something else where poor practice or breaking the law is not likely an issue here. Estimates of gestational date are just that, estimates, and using both ultrasound technology and LMP (last menstrual period dates) still only provide an estimate, so sometimes having a difference of a week or two is pretty common and usually not about anyone making mistakes or doing their job poorly. The unless with that one is if that happens because a clinic or provider hasn't got their equipment set properly. In that case, especially given her emotional distress around that, then yes, that may be a malpractice, or, more likely a poor practice, issue.