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COLUMBIA, South Carolina (LifeSiteNews) – Like most Republicans, the incoming Speaker of the South Carolina House has voted for a range of pro-life measures over the years, but in 2015 he successfully defended a Planned Parenthood abortionist against claims of medical malpractice for allegedly leaving parts of an aborted baby in the mother’s uterus and ignoring her pleas not to go through with the abortion.

G. Murrell Smith is an attorney and current chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and is slated to become the next Speaker this coming Thursday. He has voted for numerous pro-life bills, including to ban abortion at 20 weeks, to ban abortion upon detection of a fetal heartbeat, to institute waiting periods and ultrasound requirements for abortions, and to recognize preborn children as second victims in acts of violence against their mothers.

In 2015, however, Smith was also one of the attorneys representing Planned Parenthood Health Systems, Inc. and abortionist Harvey N. Brown against claims of medical malpractice by Kimberly Burgess, who alleges that she went to Brown for an abortion in 2012 that left her with “pelvic pain and vaginal bleeding with clots and ‘pieces of my baby’” that had been left in her uterus.

“[A]t no time did Dr. Brown or any other doctor discuss the procedure with her,” the complaint reads. “She states she was given a tablet to insert in her vagina before the procedure and shortly after that her legs felt numb. She states she was alarmed and by that time the doctor had walked in but had not begun the procedure. Ms. Burgess indicated she expressly told Dr. Brown she did not want to go through with the procedure and for it to be stopped. She states Dr. Brown slapped her on the thigh three times very hard and said, ‘Shut up before you run off my clients.’ Ms. Burgess said he then stuck some type of vacuum device inside her and then started the procedure.”

The defendants denied the allegations, insisting they “rendered medical care in accordance with the generally accepted Standards of Care applicable to hospital nurses caring for patients in the same or similar circumstances,” and that any “damages or injury” to Burgess were “due and caused by” her “underlying medical conditions,” “physical infirmities and natural disease process,” or “one or more independent and intervening causes,” over which Brown and Planned Parenthood “had no control.”

Follow-up documents provided to LifeSiteNews reveal that Smith and his colleagues settled the case via a mediator, and ultimately dismissed with prejudice.

While, as stated above, Smith does have a pro-life voting record, the revelation raises questions as to the kind of pro-life leadership South Carolinans can expect from him as Speaker. LifeSiteNews reached out to Rep. Smith for comment but did not receive a reply by publication time.

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