Tuesday September 14, 2010
Abortionist Pleads ‘Guilty’ to Manslaughter – Sentenced to 6 Months in Jail
By Peter J. Smith
Updated 09/14/10 – 19:00
BOSTON, September 13, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Today Abortionist Rapin Osathanondh was sentenced to six months in jail, after pleading guilty to manslaughter charges yesterday in the death of one of his clients.
Osathanondh, 67, will serve three months in a county jail after which he will likely be paroled. He must then serve nine months under home confinement with an electronic monitoring device, and three years of probation. In addition, Osathanondh is barred from practicing medicine and teaching, according to a plea agreement that was reached after a day of in-court negotiations.
The abortionist entered the guilty plea in Barnstable Superior Court on the third anniversary of the death of Laura Hope Smith, 22.
According to the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine, Osathanondh “engaged in conduct that calls into question his competence to practice medicine,” including failing to monitor Smith’s heart or “adhere to basic cardiac life support protocol,” and failing to call 911 immediately after her heart stopped.
The abortionist, noted the board, also neglected to keep oxygen or a functioning blood pressure monitor in the room, and later lied to them in an attempt to cover up his negligence.
Osathanondh actually marked down Smith’s death as due to internal hemorrhage. He was also accused of enlisting an out-of-county sheriff’s deputy to give him and his staff CPR training after Smith’s death which was then backdated to cover-up the fact that no one in his office was competent in basic heart resuscitation procedures.
Osathanondh resigned his license in February 2008 after the state medical board lodged charges against him. He was indicted on the manslaughter charge by a Barnstable grand jury in 2008.
Ordinarily cases of medical malpractice are tried in civil courts, however Osathanondh’s actions were considered so extreme that they merited a criminal trial.
“Today, justice was done,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who helped advise Eileen Smith after her daughter’s death and encouraged her to file complaints with the medical board and prosecutors. “Our condolences and prayers continue to be with the Smith family, who showed such an amazing strength of faith and courage throughout this ordeal.”
“This conviction is an object lesson to prosecutors across the nation that abortionists can and should be held criminally accountable to the law for the sake of justice and public safety,” he said. “There are abortionists out there right now who are endangering the lives of women who should be joining Osathanondh in jail. We hope today’s sentencing will encourage prosecutors to file criminal charges against abortionists who are breaking the law. Leaving these kinds of cases to the medical boards and civil courts is simply not good enough.”
Smith’s parents are both professed Christians active with the Calvary Chapel of Sandwich around Cape Cod and adopted Laura as an orphan from Honduras. Eileen Smith told Operation Rescue in 2007 that she never realized her daughter was 13 weeks pregnant and considering an abortion until both her daughter and the child were dead. One of Laura’s friends had taken the girl to Osanthanondh’s facility without her mother’s knowledge.
Laura Smith was an active member of the church and graduated from Upper Cape Tech with a degree in cosmetology. Over 600 people attended Laura’s funeral and one young woman reportedly changed her mind about abortion after hearing the Smiths’ testimony about their daughter’s tragic death.
See previous coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:
Mother Demands Justice against Abortionist for Letting Daughter Die As He Was Killing Her Child
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07100106.html
Abortionist Who Killed 22-year-old Barred from U.S. Medical Practice
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08022103.html
Grand Jury Issues Indictment Against Abortionist in Patient’s Death
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jul/08071612.html