Akron mom's suit alleges failed abortion by clinic

AKRON, Ohio - A northeast Ohio woman filed a malpractice lawsuit alleging that a clinic failed to successfully perform the abortion she sought, eventually leading to her child's birth.

Ariel Knights filed the lawsuit this month against the Akron Women's Medical Group and two doctors, the Akron Beacon Journal ( http://bit.ly/13XaXpz ) reported.

Knights, 22, of Cuyahoga Falls, says she has a genetic condition that results in a double uterus with individual cervices. She said she discovered the condition -- uterine didelphys -- during an earlier pregnancy.

In that earlier pregnancy, Knights carried a son to full term in her left uterus. But during her second pregnancy, Knights said a February 2012 exam showed the fetus was in the right uterus, which her doctor told her was unstable and put her pregnancy and her life at risk.

Knights told the newspaper that she felt she had little choice but to have an abortion.

"It was a decision made because my life was in jeopardy," she said.

Knights said she then went to the medical group for the abortion, but a week later found herself in an emergency room, where she was told she was still pregnant. She said she gave birth about seven months later to a healthy 6-pound girl.

In her lawsuit filed in Akron's county court, Knights is seeking unspecified damages for pain, suffering and emotional distress and compensatory damages of more than $25,000.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants "were negligent and deviated from the appropriate standard of care in performing the abortion." It also says that Knights had been referred to a second abortion clinic after she found out she was still pregnant, but that clinic was unwilling to become involved in "somebody else's mistake."

A woman answering the phone at the Akron Women's Medical Group on Friday said neither the business nor the doctors would have any comment.

Knights told the newspaper that she is not sure why the doctor at the Akron clinic believed the procedure was complete, or what -- if anything -- was removed from her body, but she is hoping to get some answers.

She said the doctor told her after the procedure that everything was "good and clear," but she was constantly ill and in pain days afterward, leading to the emergency room visit where she learned she was still carrying a fetus.

"The look on (the doctor's) face when he found out, he was like, `Oh my goodness, honey, you're still pregnant,"' she said, adding that she and her fiance "were kind of in shock."

Knights said her daughter, born Sept. 20, was delivered by C-section and was in neonatal intensive care for breathing problems but is now healthy.

She said she considers the girl her "miracle baby."