– mother of two succumbed after an unauthorised physician allegedly performed an illegal abortion procedure on her
THE Health Ministry has begun investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of 18-year-old Karen Badal, a mother of two who succumbed after an unauthorised physician allegedly performed an illegal abortion procedure on her. Health Minister Dr. Bheri Ramsaran disclosed this to the media during an interview earlier this week, and disclosed that the investigation would be headed by Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud.
“There are regulations governing that practice, officially called ‘termination of pregnancy’… The Ministry of Health has a board which oversees the Terminations of Pregnancy legislation and its enforcement, and the Chief Medical Officer is a powerful member of this board,” Minister Ramsaran explained.
He noted that there is existing legislation which addresses illegal abortions, and the investigation would be undertaken in accordance with this. “For example, in 2009, we had 24 maternal deaths; and this year just gone, 2011, we have registered — according to my latest information — only 11.”
He said that the Health Ministry does not just conduct works ‘miscellaneously’, but is guided by various laws. Giving a similar case, he said that maternal deaths are governed by an extensive piece of legislation which indicates the procedure that should be taken in dealing with that.
Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle during a telephone interview, Bisham Surujpaul, brother-in-law of the deceased Karen Badal, said the police have given the family assurance that they are making every effort to apprehend the suspect.
“They haven’t found him as yet. The police told us that they are doing everything they could, and that investigations continue … They said till when they find him, and after questioning, then they will further press whatever the charges are.”
Almost two weeks after the mishap, ‘the doctor’, who has since fled his place of work and home, is still a fugitive from the authorities. However, the Guyana Police Force is continuing to vigorously search for him.
Badal died at the Georgetown Public Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, despite undergoing surgery there to repair a perforated uterus and damaged bowels.
The late mother of two was allegedly ‘operated on’ in a botched abortion conducted at a doctor’s private clinic on the East Coast of Demerara. The ‘physician’ who allegedly performed the abortion holds a prominent post at a private hospital, apart from running his East Coast clinic.
Badal, then four months pregnant, was continuously requesting an abortion, since she already had a two-year-old and a four-month-old to attend to.
The teenager’s relatives said that she was complaining of abdominal pains; and because of the abortion, she was taken to GPHC on December 24, where she was immediately admitted.
According to reports, On Boxing Day, relatives received a call from a doctor from the GPHC, who requested that Badal’s husband and one of her relatives meet with him at the hospital.
Doctors at the hospital observed that the patient’s abdomen was still swollen, and had a fever and was vomiting. She underwent a second ultrasound and this time it was observed that there was fluid in her stomach.
Medical staff then observed that both the teen’s uterus and bowels were perforated, and she underwent surgery to repair the damage. But by then fluids from her bowels had already leaked into her stomach, and peritonitis had developed. The teen’s condition worsened and she was placed on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit.
Doctors said that everything was done to save Badal’s life, but her situation was hopeless.