By John Connolly
HYANNIS, Massachusetts, February 21, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An abortionist responsible for the death of a 22-year-old woman permanently resigned his medical license in the United States on Wednesday.
Dr. Rapin Osathanondh, a gynecologist from Massachusetts, relinquished his medical license in an effort to avoid an investigation by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine. Osathanondh was responsible for the death of Laura Hope Smith, a 22-year-old woman who went to Osathanondh’s clinic for an abortion on September 13, 2007.
Although early reports indicated that Laura Hope Smith died of hemorrhage from the abortion, her mother, Eileen Smith, contended otherwise.
“There was no bleeding,” said Smith in an interview in September. “She stopped breathing and went into cardiac arrest.”
The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine confirmed Eileen Smith’s claims, declaring the death due to “cardiac pulmonary arrest during anesthesia during a voluntary termination of pregnancy.”
Osathanondh, according to reports, administered anesthesia without aid and while alone. Laura Hope Smith died later that day, with Osathanondh marking her death up to hemorrhage. Eileen Smith never knew her daughter was pregnant until she received a phone call telling her that her daughter and grandchild were both dead.
“To say my world was rocked to its core is an understatement,” she said.
The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine had already moved to revoke Osathanondh’s medical license, calling him a “risk to public safety.” In consequence of giving up his medical license, Osathanondh will never be permitted to practice medicine in any of the 50 states again. He still faces disciplinary action and a possible grand jury indictment.
Eileen has asked for prayers, and is glad that her efforts in the last five months have been fruitful. She never believed her daughter would have an abortion, and thought she was doing enough to combat it in raising her family in the Christian tradition.
“I believed if I lived my Christian life, preached the gospel, raised my children with Christian principles, that not only would abortion not touch my home, but we could make converts to Christianity and thereby lower the numbers,” she said. “I was wrong on all counts.”
Eileen Smith has vowed to spend the rest of her life battling abortion in memory of her daughter. She says that God “is the head of the pro-life movement and He will guide and direct and empower us if we but hear His voice and follow His heart.”
See previous LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Mother Demands Justice against Abortionist for Letting Daughter Die As He Was Killing Her Child
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07100106.html