Abortion Death Trial Begins

Jan. 22 -- Lawyers for Dr. John Biskind say the bleeding death of Lou Anne Herron after he performed a late-term abortion on the 33-year-old woman was tragic misfortune.

Prosecutors in Phoenix say it was criminal, and are set to make that case today as the doctor's manslaughter begins with opening statements.

It's one of the first times in the state when a doctor has been accused of a crime for the death of a patient, and a case that has sparked intense debate on abortion, with new laws passed to regulate clinics more closely.

The Maricopa County Attorney's office says the 75-year-old Phoenix obstetrician let Herron bleed to death with a perforated womb because he was too busy eating his lunch to check on her condition as she rested in a recovery room at his now-defunct A-Z Women's Clinic in April 1998.

They also allege that one of his assistants, Carol Stuart-Schadoff, 63, who also faces manslaughter charges, prohibited clinic staff from calling paramedics because she feared bad publicity. After several hours, nurses called 911 against her orders.

By the time they got to the clinic, Herron was dead.

Witnesses also claim Herron may have also been passed the 22-to 26-week limit for an abortion.

Biskind and Schadoff have pleaded innocent to the manslaughter charges. But prosecutors say other incidents point to a history of medical incompetence.

A Revoked License

Last year, Biskind got his license revoked in Arizona and Ohio after an investigation concluded he was responsible for the botched abortion of a 17-year-old patient in June 1998. The baby turned out to be full-term, well beyond Arizona's limit for abortion. Another woman suffered a tear on her uterus, according to prosecutors. But the jury in the current manslaughter trial will not hear this evidence because a judge deemed it not relevant.

Pro-life advocates have argued that this is the kind of tragedy waiting to happen in an industry lacking sufficient regulation.

"The whole situation is a real tragedy. It just goes to prove what we have been saying about this industry," said Shane Wikfors, executive director for the Phoenix chapter of the Right to Life Organization. "This is an industry that does not care for women in the sense that they are more interested in profit than the health of their patients."