Washington Examiner
Illinois doctor sued for leaving fetal remains in woman’s body in late-term abortion
By Gabrielle M. Etzel
March 24, 2025 3:11 pm
An abortion provider in Champaign, Illinois abortion, is facing a rare medical malpractice suit from a former later-in-pregnancy abortion patient, who is accusing him of leaving more than half of her deceased fetus inside her and causing permanent harm.
The Indiana woman, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, filed her complaint in Champaign County on Friday against Dr. Keith Reisinger-Kindle and his Equity Clinic, a facility opened in 2022 following the overturning of Roe v. Wade federal protections for abortion.
Lawsuit documents indicate that Doe, a 32-year-old mother of four, was 22 weeks pregnant when she traveled from her home in Indiana to obtain an elective abortion at the Equity Clinic in early April 2023.
Elective abortions are not legal in Indiana except in cases of rape or incest, but they are legal in Illinois up to fetal viability, at between 20 and 24 weeks gestation, depending on the pregnancy.
Doe’s medical reports indicate that Reisinger-Kindle confirmed that there were no fetal remains, or what is medically termed “retained products of conception,” following the completion of the dilation and curettage procedure, or a D&C.
When Doe called the Equity Clinic the next day, complaining of severe abdominal pain, she was instructed to take over-the-counter pain medication and a laxative.
Two days after the abortion procedure, Doe went to an emergency room in Indianapolis, and approximately half of the fetus, including the spine and parts of the arms, was found in her uterus.
The medical report accompanying the lawsuit said there was a perforation in Doe’s uterus “approximately the size of a quarter to half dollar,” a complication of the scraping of the uterine lining done during her D&C.
Physicians in the Indianapolis hospital also identified “small bony fragments” throughout the mother’s abdomen, as well as a “baby skull that was adherent to the patient’s ileum,” or small intestines.
The lawsuit also alleges Reisinger-Kindle “refused to answer any questions or provide any information” to the physicians treating Doe in Indianapolis when they called to ask questions about her procedure.
Reisinger-Kindle did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
Richard Craig, a medical malpractice attorney representing Doe, told the Washington Examiner that his client had difficulties finding representation in her case in part due to the politically charged climate on abortions later in pregnancy, often called late-term abortions.
“Who could be against her, regardless of where you come from on this on the political spectrum,” Craig said. “You should be rooting for her. Nobody signs up for this.”
Cases such as Doe’s are comparatively rare because later-in-pregnancy abortions are uncommon.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 92.5% of abortions in 2020 occurred at or before 13 weeks of pregnancy. Only 7.5% of abortions occurred after the 13-week mark, or at the start of the second trimester.
About 1% of abortions in the United States in 2020 occurred after 21 weeks of pregnancy. That means about 9,300 abortions were performed at or after 21 weeks gestation in 2020.
But, according to a profile about Reisinger-Kindle published in the Chicago Tribune in April 2023, more than 60% of Equity Clinic’s patients are in their second trimester for abortions.
Reisinger-Kindle is on the obstetrics and gynecology faculty at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, but in 2023, he drove every weekend to his Illinois clinic to provide medical and surgical abortions to patients.
Illinois is one of the few states in the region that moved swiftly following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision to protect access to abortion. Equity Clinic primarily serves women traveling from neighboring states in the Midwest, such as Indiana, that have banned or severely limited elective abortions.
More than 36% of the over 72,000 abortions performed in Illinois in 2023 were on out-of-state residents, according to the state health department.
About 6% of abortions conducted in Illinois were those over 16 weeks in pregnancy. Gestational age was unknown for another 2%.
Craig said this was the first abortion-related malpractice case in his 35 years of practicing personal injury law. He said this case should not be politicized.
“This is not a pro-life advocacy effort,” Craig said. “This is a medical negligence case after a horrific abortion gone awry.”
AH: The paragraph about Doe's difficulty in finding a lawyer to represent her let's abortionists know they can do a lousy job and not have to be too worried about being sued.
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