A young woman who gave birth to a severely brain-damaged child after being told by a doctor opposed to abortion that she was too late for a termination yesterday launched a High Court battle for damages.
Michele Johnston, now 33, of Corby, Northants, was in the throes of anorexia and bulimia and had attempted suicide, when GP Sheila Matthews told her that her pregnancy had progressed too far for the operation, and she did not meet the legal criteria.
In reality Mrs Johnston was just 12 weeks pregnant at the time, in December 1988, when the legal limit for an abortion was 28 weeks. Moreover her psychological state and 'very unstable' domestic and personal life meant she was 'an eminently proper candidate', her QC, James Badenoch, said.
Dr Matthews was 'philosophically and possibly religiously' opposed to abortion, said Mr Badenoch.
When she had joined the Neville House surgery in Northampton, she had said she 'wouldn't willingly be party to abortion,' and would usually refer patients who requested one to a colleague.
But, in the case of Mrs Johnston, then 23, she had given her no chance of a second opinion and had failed to disclose her objections. 'It was quite improper; it was in breach of the duty she owed,' said Mr Badenoch.
She is being sued for the 'wrongful birth' of Samuel, born prematurely in April 1989 suffering from severe cerebral palsy. Mrs Johnston is seeking the full cost of bringing up and caring for her nine-year-old son, who was born brain-damaged, and has had to spend his life attached to an ileostomy bag after his intestines were removed.
Yesterday the court heard how Mrs Johnston, then Ms Barr, had a 'very unstable' personal, domestic and financial life when she became pregnant. She had had to abandon a career in the RAF to care for her recently-separated mother, had just been through a divorce, and had a relationship with the baby's father, who had no wish or intention to marry.
Mr Badenoch added: 'Very sadly she was at that time very unstable psychologically.' In July 1988, she had slashed her wrists in a 'half-hearted' suicide attempt.
The couple's reaction to the pregnancy was: 'The best thing we could see was to have a termination. That was what we both wanted,' the QC said.
Describing her feelings when she learned she was pregnant, Mrs Johnston, who has since married and had two other children, said: 'I felt absolutely desperate.'
'He needs help for all aspects of daily living,' she told Mr Justice Alliott. 'He is unable to walk unaided and needs a normal and electric wheelchair. He is totally dependent on my husband and I and on his brother and sister.'
Mr Badenoch said Dr Matthew, who is contesting the claim and denies negligence, would argue Mrs Johnston had voluntarily decided against abortion. But the judge would have to decide if this claim was 'bunkum'.
The hearing continues.
