Woman in Coma After Surgery at Planned Parenthood

Source: KMBC-TV News

Date: November 14, 2000

Woman in Coma After Surgery at Planned Parenthood Washington, DC (ProLifeInfo.org) -- An abortion practitioner apparently botched a tubal ligation surgery at a Planned Parenthood facility in a Kansas City suburb last week. Did the person at Planned Parenthood place an oxygen tube in Linda McCowen's stomach instead of her lungs? This is the question the family of Linda McGowan wants answered. This fact first came to light when Ed Szymkowiak, national director of the pro-life group STOPP International, spoke with McCowen's sister, Shannon Fisher. Fisher said the family speculates the oxygen tube, which was supposed to be placed in McCown's lung, was placed in her stomach instead. Linda McCown, 27, of Sedalia, Mo. remained comatose on Nov. 10 following a tubal ligation she had at a Planned Parenthood facility in Overland Park, Kansas on Nov. 2. KMBC-TV News in Kansas City reported that during the surgery, McCown, a mother of four, had gone without oxygen for a long period of time. Fisher said that the doctor who performed the operation is Robert Crist. Crist is Planned Parenthood's chief abortionist at the Forest Park Street abortion facility in St. Louis. Fisher also said that the family will be taking legal action. Malpractice at Planned Parenthood is nothing new. Lawsuits filed against Planned Parenthood facilities across the country include medical malpractice, plus violations of health codes, medical record and patient care deficiencies, unsanitary conditions, altered lab reports, fraudulent billing, equipment and utility deficiencies, and other offenses. Nearly one year to the date, on November 6, 1999, Crist nearly killed a St. Louis woman in a botched abortion. Crist is a lightning rod in the abortion debate because, by his own count, he has performed more than 100,000 abortions during his 30-year career. He has killed two women by his abortions, including the only two such deaths documented in St. Louis since abortion became legal in 1973. The most recent was in April 1997. At last count, Crist has been sued at least eight times; none has been successful. "We urge people to keep Linda and her family in their prayers," Szymkowiak said. "This tragic incident should lead women to think twice before they go to Planned Parenthood for any type of health care."