A Seattle woman went to a health clinic to get a Depo Provera shot and got a baby instead, because the clinic gave her a flu shot rather than the birth control she asked for.
The woman, Yesenia Pacheco, visited NeighborCare Health for a second Depo shot when they came to her with the news that, actually, she was already pregnant. According to Pacheco, they told her she didn’t have to have the baby and offered to cover the cost of an abortion – which is all well and good, and it’s good that it was presented as an option, but it’s not the point. Pacheco’s personal beliefs aren’t in line with getting an abortion, which is why she was trying to do her due diligence in her family planning and obtain birth control.
Her daughter was born in 2012 and suffers from severe health issues. Which also isn’t really the point – it’s that the clinic didn’t keep adequate records on their patients, and made a huge mistake. Pacheco is suing to try to get help covering the costs of raising a child she loves but wouldn’t have had if the clinic hadn’t made a mistake.
The clinic, of course, hasn’t apologized (that would look like an admission of guilt, after all) but have released a statement saying that they “feel great empathy” for Pacheco. Hopefully she and her lawyer can wrangle some accountability out of the clinic.
[Jezebel]Image via KIRO
Original by Rebecca Vipond Brink
