Baby Trashed After Botched Abortion

23-Week-Old Delivered While Teen Waited For Late Doctor; Clinic Owner Tossed Infant In Garbage

(AP)  Eighteen and pregnant, Sycloria Williams went to an abortion clinic outside Miami and paid $1,200 for Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique to terminate her 23-week pregnancy.

Three days later, she sat in a reclining chair, medicated to dilate her cervix and otherwise get her ready for the procedure.

Only Renelique didn't arrive in time. According to Williams and the Florida Department of Health, she went into labor and delivered a live baby girl.

What Williams and the Health Department say happened next has shocked people on both sides of the abortion debate: One of the clinic's owners, who has no medical license, cut the infant's umbilical cord. Williams says the woman placed the baby in a plastic biohazard bag and threw it out.

Police recovered the decomposing remains in a cardboard box a week later after getting anonymous tips.

"I don't care what your politics are, what your morals are, this should not be happening in our community," said Tom Pennekamp, a Miami attorney representing Williams in her lawsuit against Renelique and the clinic owners.

The state Board of Medicine is to hear Renelique's case in Tampa on Friday and determine whether to strip his license. The state attorney's homicide division is investigating, though no charges have been filed. Terry Chavez, a spokeswoman with the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office, said this week that prosecutors were nearing a decision.

Renelique's attorney, Joseph Harrison, called the allegations at best "misguided and incomplete" in an e-mail to The Associated Press. He didn't provide details.

The case has riled the anti-abortion community, which contends the clinic's actions constitute murder.

"The baby was just treated as a piece of garbage," said Tom Brejcha, president of The Thomas More Society, a law firm that is also representing Williams. "People all over the country are just aghast."

Even those who support abortion rights are concerned about the allegations.

"It really disturbed me," said Joanne Sterner, president of the Broward County chapter of the National Organization for Women, after reviewing the administrative complaint against Renelique. "I know that there are clinics out there like this. And I hope that we can keep (women) from going to these types of clinics."

According to state records, Renelique received his medical training at the State University of Haiti. In 1991, he completed a four-year residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Interfaith Medical Center in New York.

New York records show that Renelique has made at least five medical malpractice payments in the past decade, the circumstances of which were not detailed in the filings.

Several attempts to reach Renelique were unsuccessful. Some of his office numbers were disconnected, no home number could be found and he did not return messages left with his attorney.

Williams struggled with the decision to have an abortion, Pennekamp said. She declined an interview request made through him.

She concluded she didn't have the resources or maturity to raise a child, he said, and went to the Miramar Women's Center on July 17, 2006. Sonograms indicated she was 23 weeks pregnant, according to the Department of Health. She met Renelique at a second clinic two days later.

Renelique gave Williams laminaria, a drug that dilates the cervix, and prescribed three other medications, according to the administrative complaint filed by the Health Department. She was told to go to yet another clinic, A Gyn Diagnostic Center in Hialeah, where the procedure would be performed the next day, on July 20, 2006.

Williams arrived in the morning and was given more medication.

The Department of Health account continues as follows: Just before noon she began to feel ill. The clinic contacted Renelique. Two hours later, he still hadn't shown up. Williams went into labor and delivered the baby.

"She came face to face with a human being," Pennekamp said. "And that changed everything."

The complaint says one of the clinic owners, Belkis Gonzalez came in and cut the umbilical cord with scissors, then placed the baby in a plastic bag, and the bag in a trash can.

Williams' lawsuit offers a cruder account: She says Gonzalez knocked the baby off the recliner chair where she had given birth, onto the floor. The baby's umbilical cord was not clamped, allowing her to bleed out. Gonzalez scooped the baby, placenta and afterbirth into a red plastic biohazard bag and threw it out.

No working telephone number could be found for Gonzalez, and an attorney who has represented the clinic in the past did not return a message.

At 23 weeks, an otherwise healthy fetus would have a slim but legitimate chance of survival. Quadruplets born at 23 weeks last year at The Nebraska Medical Center survived.

An autopsy determined Williams' baby - she named her Shanice - had filled her lungs with air, meaning she had been born alive, according to the Department of Health. The cause of death was listed as extreme prematurity.

The Department of Health believes Renelique committed malpractice by failing to ensure that licensed personnel would be present when Williams was there, among other missteps.

The department wants the Board of Medicine, a separate agency, to permanently revoke Renelique's license, among other penalties. His license is currently restricted, permitting him to only perform abortions when another licensed physician is present and can review his medical records.

Should prosecutors file murder charges, they'd have to prove the baby was born alive, said Robert Batey, a professor of criminal law at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport. The defense might contend that the child would have died anyway, but most courts would not allow that argument, he said.

"Hastening the death of an individual who is terminally ill is still considered causing the death of that individual," Batey said. "And I think a court would rule similarly in this type of case."

[whycantwestopthis]

Why is there such a noxious fog that obscures our perception of how evil and murderous it is to practice abortion? I'm shocked at how little I personally do to both get educated about it and educate others. Why should we ever have to get educated or argue that killing a baby is evil? It has to be the case that any future civilization, more or less advanced than ours, will remember our use of abortion as one of the key evils in our disgusting pursuit to ensure our selfish pleasure. How many of us look down on the ignorance and inhumanity of the practice of ancient human sacrifices and yet somehow even tempt our minds to consider abortion an issue of the woman's right to choose? At least ancient human sacrifices were through fear or hope to their gods, as they understood them; modern abortion is a sacrifice in honor of extreme selfishness and the wretched pursuit of pleasure. If our hearts are hard enough to ignore this as a crime against life, how far into darkness will we go? Will we even know it when we're there?

[altcap]

i find it completely disgusting that i have to share my oxygen with animals like this. what difference does it make what side of the cervix this poor child was on? because we kill them in the womb it's ok? this type of conduct is reprehensible. the mother should be charged with murder as well. the gall of this woman who now claims some right of parentage over a child she wanted dead is astonishing. her parents should be allowed to do a twentieth year abortion on her. it's a child for jesus' sake. you were all fetuses once, too.

[joule18]

He''s not Pro-Abortion....he''s Pro-Choice.

Posted by shanev137 at 3:34 AM : Feb 7, 2009

"I wouldn't want one of my daughters to pay for a mistake," said Obama during the campaign.

He supports not giving any medical support to those born alive after attempted abortions and voted as such during his term in the Illinois Senate.

I think we know exactly where he stands. An unwanted pregnancy is a "mistake" and if you can't successfully abort, then let it die anyway since the mother shoulded be punished for the "mistake."

Many childless couples would be more than willing to raise the babies others do not want. Instead, they go to China, Korea, Russia, India or elsewhere.

These women who seek abortion are thoughtless and irresponsible.

[jessybe11e]

Yeah, stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about your defenseless child. You are suppose to be the baby's protector. That is a very selfish statement.

[jessybe11e]

I do not agree with you at all. The "fetus" was a baby inside the womb, inside the birth canal just as it was out. Isn't it weird how people think that a few inches or feet in a direction matters. In the womb or in your arms. Alive is alive. The baby could have survived had the "mother" not had an abortion, it is murder, in my opinion. Because you are causing a circumstance that wouldn't have occurred. You are having somebody ripped apart which makes any chance for them obsolete. Also, why can a "doctor" end the life of somebody through abortion and its the legal "right to choose" for the mother, but when the mother herself drowns, suffocates, throws her baby out and kills her child that it is called murder. MURDER IS MURDER no matter how you look at it. People love to play dumb: "oh we are going to call the baby a fetus to dehumanize it and then say it is not alive until it takes its first breath, just so woman can have their "rights"". I am sorry that is not a good excuse. Rape victims use that excuse too. I know 5 different people through a rape help program who got pregant as a result and those kids (one of which is now 25) are absolutely wonderful people. The most beautiful girls and boys. How can you say that their life is any less important than yours? Yes that child is the rapist child, but that is MY child too. You think you are going to hurt my child....THINK AGAIN. I was 17 when I got pregnant. I have three now. I am 22 (same age as Casey Anthony..daughter is the same age as Caylee. Young parents don't have an excuse). I am a nurse. I found out I was pregant 3 days before my first college classes started. No job, no money, no health insurance, no family, no help. I have provided a three bedroom house for them, health insurance, savings accounts, I own a Corvette and a family vehicle. IT IS CALLED DETERMINATION. People use kids as an excuse to not improve themselves or their careers to have an abortion. My kids are my life, my everything, my joy. Yes, it takes sweat and tears, but they literally wipe those tears for you.

[motter2006]

I had a child when i was 17 and i would not even think about abortion, cause you was the one who had sex with out thinking about what would happen. You should not even think about that cause it is just like murder.

[motherbear36]

Almost 18 years ago as a college freshman, I considered having an abortion because I was so afraid of being ill-equipped as a parent. I thought that I would have to put everything I had worked for on pause only to not be able to do a good job anyway. I entered the clinic and while I was in the waiting area a nurse came out into the hall and through someone''s baby into a bag like refuse...I thought my heart had stopped my mind had definitely frozen. I stood to my feet, gathered my courage, got my money back and went shopping for my son...The Best Money I Ever Spent. He is now 17, graduating high school, never a day of trouble. He is so incredible, and I am so thankful.

[clovernyc]

Belkis Gonzalez and her partner have been running sleazy illegal abortion mills and botching procedures for years.

She was arrested in 2007 and released on a mere $1000 bail. They shut down temporarily then re-open under a different name.

The problem is that women like Sylcloria wait until the third trimester before they decide to spend the money for an abortion - most of the time these women have been using abortion as a form of birth control anyway.

Pro-abortionists are so busy defending their `rights` to kill someone that they have forgotten about the right to life.

[cheekygal-2009]

"Gonzalez knocked the baby off the recliner chair where she had given birth, onto the floor. The baby''s umbilical cord was not clamped, allowing her to bleed out. Gonzalez scooped the baby, placenta and afterbirth into a red plastic biohazard bag and threw it out."

This is murder plain and simple! The callousness with which the baby was treated and disposed of speaks volumes as to why I detest abortion. Women and young girls need to take responsibility for their actions regarding having s.e.x. and if they get pregnant carry the baby to term then give it up for adoption. Childbirth was intended by God to painful for a reason. Birthing can be easier yet most modern medicine still does not teach nor allow for water birth or standing/haunched birth which opens the birth canal more easily without drugs.

[clovernyc]

According to the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, signed into law by President Bush:

`Born Alive` is defined as the complete expulsion of an infant at any stage of development that has a heartbeat, pulsation of the umbilical cord, breath, or voluntary muscle movement, no matter if the umbilical cord has been cut or if the expulsion of the infant was natural, induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion.
-------------------------

Put them all in jail!

[bfloxword]

The older I get, the more I think that abortion is the worst of all the options when you are pregnant. The time to stop a pregnancy is before it happens. I honestly think some young women think that getting pregnant might make their boyfriend want to get married. Some do, most don''t. Creating a human being on purpose, then aborting it is not a good moral choice.

[volleymom3]

When the "fetus" was delivered it became a baby. Someone is guilty of murder!

[psinger589]

I was born 53 years ago and was 12 weeks premature which was unheard of way back when."Abortion" was a "four-letter word".My mother laid in bed the entire 28 weeks cause she was told that the pregnancy would be lost if she got out of bed.I was not my mom''s first pregnancy and she was bedridden for each of the 8 times she was pregnant and she gave birth to 3 sons.Unfortunately,my older brother,who did not survive,was born 14 weeks premature and that was too much for his tiny body to overcome.Give the baby up for adoption if need be BUT abortion is NOT an option!!!!

[sandy19731]

psinger589
So, are you going to pay pregnant women to stay in bed for 28 weeks. Your mother did a brave thing, no doubt enabled by a supportive father. That does not mean that every pregnant woman can or should.
Try to think beyond yourself.

[psinger589]

I was born 53 years ago and was 12 weeks premature which was unheard of way back when."Abortion" was a "four-letter word".My mother laid in bed the entire 28 weeks cause she was told that the pregnancy would be lost if she got out of bed.I was not my mom''s first pregnancy and she was bedridden for each of the 8 times she was pregnant and she gave birth to 3 sons.Unfortunately,my older brother,who did not survive,was born 14 weeks premature and that was too much for his tiny body to overcome.Give the baby up for adoption if need be BUT abortion is NOT an option!!!!

[psinger589]

I was born 53 years ago and was 12 weeks premature which was unheard of way back when."Abortion" was a "four-letter word".My mother laid in bed the entire 28 weeks cause she was told that the pregnancy would be lost if she got out of bed.I was not my mom''s first pregnancy and she was bedridden for each of the 8 times she was pregnant and she gave birth to 3 sons.Unfortunately,my older brother,who did not survive,was born 14 weeks premature and that was too much for his tiny body to overcome.Give the baby up for adoption if need be BUT abortion is NOT an option!!!!

[thewisewoman]

My apologies, fullmerdvm. Apparently it is CBSNews that will not allow us to use that infamous 3-letter word that gender and/or the practice that leads to procreation.

Are THEY for real? LOL!

[thewisewoman]

"...The Pro-choice movement should be about making responsible decisions about *** and then having the maturity to deal with those choices in a responsible manner. The choice for women is to have *** or not to have ***, not to kill the consequence of their choice. It appears that Ms. Williams made the choice to engage in unprotected *** and then made the choice to abort what she created through her choices... Posted by fullmerdvm at 03:04 PM : Feb 08, 2009

Good grief. It took me a few minutes to figure out just what sort of heinous, blasphemous swear word would fit into those sentences and require being asterisked-out, and then I realized the word was "***."

Are you for real?

[kjost21]

In 1965, I survived an attempted abortion. Today, I am the father of 3 and I''''m glad to be alive. Life is not to be treated with contempt. The most innocent deserve protection and compassion. My mother was sorry for what she tried to do. Years after the event she told me she was sorry for what was attempted. I am glad that I was alive to hear her apologize.


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Posted by ericdrexil at 06:12 PM : Feb 08, 2009


Wow! That''s quite a story. I am glad you were there to hear your mother apologize. I wonder how many other women who have had abortions wish they could take it back. That would be one tough "what if" to face.

[ttimx]

So it''s legal and a womens right to choose to stick a steel spike into the babies brain and kill it as long as it has not passed through her Va.... at which piont it becomes murder. Yeah, that makes sense. If a women had to first look at the baby they were killing I wonder how many abortions there would still be.