A hearing will take place next month on a lawsuit filed by a woman who accuses it of doing an abortion on her without her consent. Brandy Hildreth of Granite City is suing the Hope Clinic for Women, located outside St. Louis, for having a different abortion practitioner do the abortion.
Hildreth filed the lawsuit in April 2008 in Madison County Circuit Court.
According to a copy of the lawsuit local pro-life advocate Angela Michael provided LifeNews.com, the 26-year-old Hildreth went to Hope for an abortion on February 8. She was treated by a Dr. Palmer — presumably abortion practitioner Alan Palmer — but Chicago-area abortion practitioner Lisa Memmel eventually did the abortion without her knowledge.
“That the performance of the abortion upon Plaintiff by Respondent in Discovery was totally without consent; or, alternatively, was against the Plaintiff’s will; or, alternatively substantially varied from the specific consent granted by Plaintiff,” the complaint indicates.
Hildreth was “unaware of the specific individual performing the abortion,” the lawsuit continues.
The suit says Hildreth “sustained damages in the form of physical injuries, emotional harm, medical expenses, including past and future medical expenses, disability, disfigurement, and the loss of normal life” as a result of the “battery.” She is seeking damages in excess of $1.4 million and costs in a 28-count suit
A third hearing on the case is slated for February 4 on the summary judgment moves filed by the Hope Clinic abortion center, Memmel and other defendants that was required in December. The defendants claim in their motions that Hildreth knew Memmel would perform the abortion before and during it and, according to the Record newspaper, Hildreth knew Memmel would do the abortion.
The suit claims Hildreth was the victim of a battery because an unknown person touched her body without her consent.
Hildreth is represented by attorney Rhonda Fiss of Belleville, and the lawsuit names Memmel as a respondent for purposes of discovery. Fiss also asks the court to be able to name Memmel as a defendant in the case within six months.
In the press release that accompanied the lawsuit, Michael told LifeNews.com that Memmel “should never have done the abortion because of [Hildreth’s] other pre-existing medical conditions.”
Michael also says a complaint about the incident has been filed with the Illinois Division of Professional Regulation and that the agency “is currently conducting an investigation” into the case.
“Abortions aren’t any safer than they were 30 years ago, they just cost more,” Michael says.
