New Zealand Woman Has Abortion After Failed Tuberculosis Diagnosis
RSS Newsfeed 
Email article
Printer friendly
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 14, 2008
Auckland, New Zealand (LifeNews.com) — A woman in New Zealand is upset that she decided to have an abortion after a test wrongfully diagnosed her with a drug-resistant tuberculosis. The woman may consider a lawsuit in the case seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation.
The woman received the misdiagnosis from the Auckland laboratory LabPlus, which is part of the Auckland District Health Board.
The lab apparently cross-contaminated the woman’s test samples when it conducted the test in March 2007.
The Dominion Post newspaper indicates the boar has apologized to the unnamed woman and acknowledged that its error resulted in "serious consequences" for the woman and her family.
However, the board has offered no compensation for her.
The newspaper fought for months to make information about the case public and it finally received several redacted records which reveal the steps leading up to the misdiagnosis that came even though a senior health board official questioned it.
The woman is a recent immigrant to New Zealand who now has legal residency but neither the health board nor immigration officials will reveal information about her, the newspaper said.
Health board chief medical officer David Sage told the Post that the board fully accepts its mistake in the case.
"This is a very distressing case and the Auckland District Health Board has offered our deepest apologies to the family concerned," he said. "We now have a responsibility to implement the appropriate systems and process changes to ensure we are doing everything we can to stop an incident like this happening in the future."
Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
Daily Pro-Life News Report Twice-Weekly Pro-Life
News Report Receive a free daily email report from LifeNews.com with the latest pro-life news stories on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here. Receive a free twice-weekly email report with the latest pro-life news headlines on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here.
