Doctors abort wrong twin at 32 weeks

Don't read on if you don't cope well with medical horror stories this is definitely the worst one I have heard in a while. One expectant mother in Melbourne, Australia, was pregnant with two boys and had already decided on their names when doctors told her and her husband that one boy had a congenital heart problem. If he survived birth at all, they said, he would require years of operations. The family decided on an abortion of the sick twin boy at 32 weeks into her pregnancy. Doctors performed the procedure on the wrong baby.

Abortion, at this late stage, can only be performed for medical reasons. I don't agree with abortion or selective reduction, but can imagine how hard it must have been for the family to make that choice. The twin boys both had separate amniotic sacs, and the abortion procedure involves essentially euthanizing the baby, through an injection.

The healthcare team at the Royal Women s Hospital did this to the healthy baby. After this, the mother underwent a cesarean section to deliver the sick baby, after which he was, according to press reports, also aborted. It's difficult to imagine what that would even look like in practice, and I, for one, don't even want to think about it.

A friend of the family was quoted in the media as saying: "She went to the hospital with two babies and now she has none. And she had the heartache of giving birth to her sick baby. She's traumatized. How horrible. That's all there really is to say about this situation."

A hospital spokesperson declared: "We are conducting a full investigation and continue to offer support to the family and affected members of staff." Melbourne Premier Ted Baillieu described the case as a "horrible tragedy" and added that he would ensure that the investigation is as though as possible. According to tabloids, the family is going to undertake legal action.