A real tragedy took place in the Bulovka Hospital in Prague where a healthy woman in the fourth month of pregnancy was mistakenly subjected to an abortion procedure instead of a scheduled routine check-up.
According to information obtained by the media, both patients were foreigners of Asian origin and did not speak Czech well, which may have contributed to the misunderstanding.
Hospital spokeswoman, Eva Stolejda Libigerová, confirmed the alarming reports, telling CNN that there was a serious violation of internal regulations by employees at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, which resulted in the commencement of a procedure on a wrongly identified patient.
"The main problem is that she made it to the operating table at all."
The facility expressed deep regret and apologised to the injured party and her family for this unfortunate event, assuring that it would do everything to mitigate the damage and compensate her for her losses.
Jan Přáda, gynecologist and vice-president of the Czech Medical Chamber, emphasised that the blame for this tragedy lies with all the staff involved, not only the doctor. "The main problem is that she made it to the operating table at all," he said.
Shadow Health Minister, Kamal Farha, stressed that if wrongdoing is proven, the mother who underwent an abortion should receive compensation. However, he added, "No one can alleviate the loss that the mother has experienced with financial means."
Abortion in the Czech Republic is legal up to the 12th week of pregnancy for any reason, for medical reasons up to the 24th week, and at any time in the event of serious fetal defects. In this context, the Prague incident calls into question the effectiveness of identification and security procedures used in Czech medical facilities.
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This article was originally published on Onet Woman.