SYDNEY, Nov. 01, 2006
Santosh Kumari
NRI doctor, Suman Sood, 57, was today
given a two year good behaviour bond and escaped a prison
term after she was found guilty of performing unlawful
abortions. Carolyn Simpson, Supreme Court Justice, today
held that a custodial sentence would be inappropriate.
Justice Simpson ruled the banned doctor's behaviour,
which the Crown had argued had shown disregard to the
patient for her own convenience, could not be taken
into account in sentencing because it occured after
the crime.
Suman also found there was little evidence
of emotional injury to the patient, because any injury
she might have suffered would have been due to the circumstances
of the birth of the baby or its death in utero. She
became the first person in New South Wales (NSW) in
more than 25 years to be found guilty of performing
unlawful abortions.
Earlier this month a NSW medical tribunal banned Sood
from practicing for 10 years. Sood should not receive
a igher sentence to deter other doctors, Justice Simpson
said because her conviction and the publicity of the
case should be enough to discourage them.
SYDNEY, Nov. 25, 2005
Santosh Kumari
NRI, (non-resident Indian) Dr. Suman Sood, 56 has
been charged with manslaughter because she allegedly
failed to follow the procedures which make abortion
legal in NSW. Dr Suman Sood allegedly gave a 20-year-old
woman an abortion drug who was about 23 weeks pregnant
in May 2002, then asked her to come back the next
day. But she didn't make it, delivering the baby boy
into a toilet. He survived for about four hours.
Dr. Sood's lawyer had argued that the young woman's
evidence was unreliable because she could not remember
all details of the consultation with Sood.
Tony Marsden, Liverpool local court magistrate found
yesterday that the woman, who cannot be named for
legal reasons, was a "straightforward and uncomplicated
young woman" who showed no ill will or bias to
the doctor and never denied she had wanted the abortion.
He found there was a reasonable prospect of a conviction
and committed Sood to trial.
Doctor says she didn't perform
abortion
By Geesche Jacobsen
August 13, 2005
The doctor at the centre of the first NSW abortion
court case in more than 30 years says she did not
agree to perform the abortion that has seen her charged
with manslaughter.
Dr Suman Sood, the owner of the Fairfield abortion
clinic Australian Women's Health, said in a document
tendered in Liverpool Local Court that she had instead
referred the woman to Brisbane for the late abortion,
saying it could not be legally performed in NSW.
Sood has been facing a committal hearing on charges
of manslaughter because she allegedly failed to follow
the procedures which make abortion legal in NSW.
It is alleged she gave the woman a tablet and sent
her home, where she gave birth about 12 hours later,
22 weeks into her pregnancy.
The statement is contained in an affidavit by Sood,
prepared weeks after the incident in 2002 .
In it, Sood said she had advised the woman on Saturday,
May 18, to consider whether she wanted an abortion,
and if so, to return on Tuesday to get a referral
to a Brisbane clinic.
In Queensland, abortions are illegal only after 24
weeks.
Sood said in the statement the woman, who cannot
be named for legal reasons, came to the surgery on
Monday - when it was closed - complaining of abdominal
pain. Sood said she happened to be there to fetch
something, and examined the woman.
"I concluded that the patient was not in labour
but could be having Braxton Hicks [false] contractions.
I recommended that the patient take paracetamol and
also gave her two Tri-Profen [pain relief] tablets,"
the affidavit says.
"At no time did I agree to perform a TOP [termination
of pregnancy] for this patient or did I give her any
medication which would have that effect. I did not
administer anything in the patient's vagina. I did
not ask for or receive any money."
The woman this week told the court she had come to
the surgery by appointment and was given one tablet
vaginally and two orally to "soften up the baby"
for the procedure the following day. She said Sood
had asked for a $500 payment, but she had only $400
and was not given a receipt.
By the time of her next scheduled appointment she
had given birth and been taken to hospital.
There, the woman said, she received a call from Sood,
who was checking whether she was keeping her appointment.
When she told Sood she had delivered the baby, she
said the doctor reminded her that she still owed $100
from the previous day. The woman said she was told
the total cost of the abortion would be $1500.
A nurse at the clinic, Minna Zoretic, told police
in a statement tendered in court that she had counselled
the woman and had asked her about her circumstances
and her reasons for seeking an abortion.
Abortion is legal in NSW if a doctor considers the
dangers to the woman's physical and mental health,
and her economic and social circumstances, before
agreeing to the woman's request to perform the procedure,
and weighs up the risks.
In another statement tendered, Joan Chodat, another
staff member at the clinic, said Sood gave her some
tablets to give to the woman on Monday because the
doctor had to leave. She said she did not know what
the tablets were.
