Bianca Coons and her partner Cristobal Ruiz have filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood for providing a medication to induce an abortion that ultimately failed.
The couple traveled all the way to a Planned Parenthood in Albuquerque in February 2016 to terminate a pregnancy that they claim they couldn’t afford. They said they made the trip to avoid Idaho’s mandatory waiting period, which would result in the baby being much more advanced in development. Coons was six weeks pregnant at the time.
Planned Parenthood gave Coons a medication abortion to end the pregnancy in the early stages. The procedures causes an abortion in 94 to 98 out of 100 cases when a woman is eight or fewer weeks pregnant.
According to the lawsuit, Coons took the first medication at the clinic and was instructed to take the second pill later.
When the couple returned to Boise the next day, Coons had to go to the emergency room for severe nausea. She was treated for dehydration and found out that her baby was fine. A doctor at the hospital called Planned Parenthood and was told that Coons should take the next round of medication.
Several days later, the staff at Planned Parenthood told Coons that she should get a blood test to see if the medication worked or not. She told the staff that she would like to have a second medication abortion if she was still pregnant.
The lawsuit claims that Planned Parenthood told Coons that she could receive a free second procedure if she came back to New Mexico or visit a clinic in Idaho where she would have to pay for the procedure. Coons told the staff that she couldn’t afford a second round of the abortion protocol.
Planned Parenthood also sent Coons a letter warning her that the medication she took could cause birth defects.
The couple’s son was born a month early with jaundice and blood sugar issues.
“The defendant’s failure to properly supervise and administer the abortion service directly resulted in the failure of the pregnancy termination which resulted in injury to plaintiffs’ interests in family planning and their interests in financial planning for the future of their family,” the lawsuit says.
The couple seek $765,000 in compensatory damages, in addition to damages for breach of contract, unfair trade practices, violation of consumer protection laws and emotional distress.
If you would like information about personal injury claims, visit Cohen & Cohen to learn more.
