Doctor guilty in abortion death
http://www.azcentral.com/news/0221biskind21.html

Jurors convict Biskind,
assistant

Carol Sowers
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 21, 2001

In what is believed to be the
first time a doctor has ever
been found guilty of killing a
patient in Arizona, a jury on
Tuesday convicted Dr. John
Biskind of manslaughter and
his assistant of negligent
homicide.

Jurors concluded that Biskind's patient, LouAnne Herron, would still be
alive if not for her botched abortion in 1998 at the A-Z Women's Center in
Phoenix.

The verdict came shortly before noon in Maricopa County Superior Court
after jurors had listened to a month of sometimes disturbing, sometimes
tedious testimony. During a press conference two hours later, Maricopa
County Attorney Richard Romley described the case as the first time in
Arizona that a doctor has been convicted in the death of a patient.

Jurors concluded that Biskind, 75, demonstrated a "reckless disregard"
for Herron's life, and that the clinic administrator, Carol Stuart-Schadoff,
63, also could have prevented her death, said Russell Craig of Phoenix,
jury foreman.

Jurors made up their minds
to convict Biskind and
Stuart-Schadoff immediately
upon beginning deliberations
Thursday, he said. But they
spent three hours Thursday
and an hour Tuesday
deliberating the precise
nature of the crimes.

"The evidence kind of spoke
for itself," Craig, 56,
observed.

Superior Court Judge Michael
Wilkinson set sentencing for
March 20. The defendants
remain free on $32,000 bail.
Biskind could receive a
sentence ranging from
probation to 12* years in
prison. Stuart-Schadoff could
get probation or a prison term
of up to 3* years.

Evidence showed that Herron, 33, bled to death after Biskind punctured
her uterus during the late-term abortion in April 1998 at the A-Z
Women's Center. At one point, Biskind testified that he left the clinic to
go to his tailor as Herron lay bleeding. He also testified, however, that he
could not have prevented Herron's death and that he did not realize the
serious nature of her condition.

Craig said the seven-woman, one-man jury was offended by Biskind's
smiling arrogance on the stand and his testimony that he left the clinic
while Herron was bleeding. And jurors were concerned about
Stuart-Schadoff's failure to act on Herron's behalf.

"If she had, LouAnne Herron
would be alive today," Craig
said.

As the verdict was read,
members of Herron's family
gasped and cried softly. Jay
Schadoff, Stuart-Schadoff's
husband, would not
comment, but whispered the
word "travesty" after the jury
left the courtroom. Neither of
the defendants commented
on the outcome of the case.

Michael Gibbs, Herron's
father, called the verdict "just
step one" in the family's
search for justice. With tears
welling up in his eyes, he
said family members did not
want to talk about the
criminal case because they
worried it would endanger
their civil suit against
Biskind, Stuart-Schadoff and Dr. Moshe Hachamovitch, owner of the A-Z
Women's Center. The suit is expected to go to trial in June.

Prosecutors Paul Ahler and Susan Brnovich told jurors Biskind should
be convicted of manslaughter because he acted recklessly, leaving the
clinic although he knew she had spent too many hours in the recovery
room and declining to return even after being told she had trouble
breathing and had no pulse.

The prosecutors said Stuart-Schadoff arranged the abortion and failed to
schedule a registered nurse in the recovery room the day Herron died.

Ahler, who hugged each of
Herron's family members as
the jury filed out of the
courtroom, said he was
surprised at the speed of the
jury's decision.

"I thought it would be a bit
longer," he said, "but I am
gratified by the way it came
out."

Attorneys for Biskind and
Stuart-Schadoff said they
will appeal.

Herron, the mother of two
boys, had been separated
from her husband of 15
years when she went to the
clinic because it was the only
one in the Valley advertising
that it would do abortions up
to 24 weeks. She knew it
was a late-stage abortion
and was desperate to have it
done because she and her
husband had separated and
she was a single working
mother who already had two
children.

Even before Herron came to
the clinic, Biskind had a long
history of problems with
abortions, including the
death of another patient in
1995. The previous
troubles, however, were not
admitted as evidence.

Within hours after the verdict, County Attorney Romley called for
tougher laws forcing doctors to do a better job of regulating
themselves. He vowed to go to the state Legislature next year to
demand stiffer rules if the state Board of Medical Examiners "doesn't
make some changes" first.

Romley said he will ask for a pre-sentence hearing where he will
present evidence of Biskind's other mishandled abortions, including
the death of the other woman and his delivery of a full-term baby that
he intended to abort.

Told of the previous cases, Craig, the jury foreman, said it "makes me
feel better about my decision."

Biskind will join a handful of doctors across the country who face
prison time because of their medical care.

Their legal fates may provide a clue into what Biskind may face. In
California last year, a doctor pleaded guilty to involuntary
manslaughter and was sentenced to one year in jail and 1,000 hours
of community service.

In 1995, a New York doctor was found guilty of murder and
sentenced 25 years to life. The case is similar to Biskind's. A woman
went to Dr. David Benjamin for a late-term abortion. He lacerated
her uterus and did not return when his staff called saying that she was
in danger.

Lawrence Kazan, Biskind's attorney, would say only that he was
disappointed with the verdict. Cameron Morgan, Stuart-Schadoff's
attorney, said the defense plans to appeal.

He said the appeal will be based in part on the introduction of an
ultrasound of Herron's fetus even though it was described as useless
by one of the prosecutor's key witnesses. The prosecutor's case was
based heavily on the theory that Biskind chose the ultrasound that
showed the fetus to be 23 weeks old, but rejected other ultrasounds
that suggested the fetus was 26 weeks, putting it close to gestational
age when it could have survived outside the womb.

Kazan also said his client was not kept informed by medical assistants
of Herron's condition and left the clinic that day believing she was
ready to be discharged.

Dr. Brian Finkel, a longtime abortion doctor, on Tuesday called
Biskind an incompetent doctor who deserves to pay for his
mishandling of Herron's abortion. But he said the verdict will fuel the
fire of abortion opponents who want to prevent women from "getting
the services they have a right to."

John Jakubczyk, a prominent attorney who opposes abortion, said he
was pleased with the victory and believes Biskind should be sent to
prison.

"Biskind seems oblivious that a woman is dead because of him," he
said. "I don't think he knows the value of life and maybe he needs to
spend the next 10 years in prison thinking about it."

Reporters Senta Scarborough and Jodie Snyder contributed to
this report.

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