A doctor who never said No

Florida health
officials have revoked the licence of an abortion doctor who performed a
“selective reduction” on IVF twins in 2006 and selected the wrong foetus. Dr Matthew J. Kachinas had never performed the procedure before.
Although he thought that he had killed a male foetus which had congenital
problems and possibly Down syndrome, he actually killed the healthy female. His
patient aborted the boy not long afterward.

“It
seemed like something that was within my purview, that I would be able to do
safely and appropriately,” Kachinas told the St Petersburg Times. “I
have never, ever in my entire career ever said ‘no’ to a patient,” he
added. “And that was my downfall.”

The doctor who pioneered selective
termination, Dr Mark Evans, of New York, told the Times that  he had not heard of a similar incident
in 25 years, although he said that it is a  procedure which requires great skill. “In my hands,
it’s not complicated because I do it every day of the week,” he said. ~ St
Petersburg Times, Apr 13

Michael Cook
abortion
Down syndrome
IVF
selective reduction

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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