By Gudrun Schultz
GREENFIELD, Massachusetts, February 2, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A 50-year-old woman who performed an illegal abortion on a young woman, causing infection so severe she required hospitalization, has been given a sentence of two months probation and a $500 dollar fine.
Deva Skydancer pleaded guilty to one count of practicing medicine without a license—the State then dropped a charge of illegal procurement of an abortion.
Skydancer admitted to the court that she performed a suction abortion on a 25-year-old woman, who was ten and a half weeks pregnant. Skydancer called the abortion a “menstrual extraction.”
Skydancer’s lawyer David Hoose argued for a light sentence on the grounds that severe infections such as the woman suffered sometimes occur when licensed doctors perform abortions in more clinical settings.
Deputy First District Attorney Elizabeth Dunphy Farris said the fact that the young woman agreed to the procedure, and that Skydancer had no previous record, contributed to the light sentencing.
The maximum penalty for practicing medicine without a license in the state of Massachusetts is $100,000, with a sentence of one year. Maximum penalty for performing illegal abortions is up to seven years, with a $2,000 fine.
Skydancer has been ordered not to perform any more “menstrual extractions” nor to train or solicit others to do so. She will pay $200 to the young woman in restitution.