Rome, Italy, Aug 28, 2007 / 08:26 am
The Vatican daily, Osservatore Romano, has published a scathing editorial, condemning a double abortion performed in a Milan hospital.
The incident happened at the San Paolo Hospital earlier this summer but only emerged over the weekend in newspapers. A woman, carrying twins, decided to have one of her babies aborted after learning that it would have Down’s syndrome.
Doctors mistakenly aborted the healthy baby instead. After the mistake was discovered, the 38-year-old woman returned to the hospital and aborted the surviving fetus. She later went to police to report the doctors.
Doctors at the hospital said the two babies appeared to have changed positions in the mother's womb after the medical scan. Milan’s prosecutor's office has opened a file on the case, although no crime is suspected at present.