NM Medical Board Clears Abortion Doctor of Bogus Negligence Claim by Operation Rescue
The New Mexico Medical Board has exonerated Dr. Shelly Sella of allegations of gross negligence in her handling of a late term abortion in 2011.
The board voted unanimously this morning to exonerate her of the complaint after more than 45 minutes of deliberation. The board gave no explanation for its decision.
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The board investigation was spurred not by a complaint from the patient, but from local and national abortion opponents, including Operation Rescue.
The anti-abortion advocates had no first hand information about the case, but submitted a 911 emergency recording to the board as evidence along with recordings of other nearly a dozen 911 calls involving abortions at Albuquerque clinics. The recordings that dated back to 2008 were obtained from the city of Albuquerque through the state Inspection of Public Records Act.
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The complete article is here: » Breaking: N.M. Medical Board Clears Abortion Doctor of Negligence Claim
There’s a little more about the doctor involved, who worked with Dr. Tiller before his death, here:
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Sella, 55, is a native of Israel who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Sackler School of Medicine in Israel.
Her New Mexico medical licensing file shows three prior medical board investigations in Kansas that were triggered by complaints from the national anti-abortion group, Operation Rescue.
Only one was sustained, involving a handwritten note in a patient’s medical file that wasn’t legible or sufficient. She was required to take a course on record keeping.
Sella testified at the hearing that she lives in Oakland, Calif., but shares a practice in Albuquerque with Dr. Susan Robinson, who also worked with Tiller.
She and Robinson are featured in a documentary called ‘After Tiller’ that was screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in January.
Sella testified during the disciplinary hearing that she felt ‘bereft’ after Tiller was assassinated.
‘Why did you continue to provide abortion services?’ her attorney Joseph Goldberg asked.
‘… I never thought of stopping, very committed to this work,’ she responded. ‘Everyday that I go to work renews my commitment.’
I don’t understand why Operation Rescue should be allowed to bring a case like this to the New Mexico Medical Board. I’m glad the doctor was exonerated. I’m sorry she is being harassed this way.
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