Saudi hospital accused of hiding aborted fetus

Baha: A man has accused a public hospital of causing his pregnant wife to abort her pregnancy due to a medical error.

Khalid Al-Ghamdi said his pregnant wife was admitted to King Fahd Hospital in Baha on March 4.

“My wife was 14 weeks pregnant. She needed to go to hospital and I rushed her to the emergency ward. The medical staff took her into the operating room and I was left waiting outside. The medical staff came out and told me that my wife had an abortion as the fetus had died,” said Al-Ghamdi.

He also said the medical staff informed him that the dead fetus was sent to the laboratory for testing. “The medical staff did not explain to me why my wife had to undergo an abortion. They just told me that the fetus was sent to the laboratory to figure out the cause of death.  I went to the laboratory at the hospital and the laboratory staff told me they never received a fetus, only an embryo,” said Al-Ghamdi. He added he spoke to the administration of the hospital demanding they hand over the fetus for burial.

“They kept me waiting with no answer or reply as to where the fetus is. They kept beating around the bush about my direct questions and they never gave me the fetus. I think my wife underwent an abortion due to a medical error and they are trying to cover the incident up,” said Al-Ghamdi.

Baha Health Affairs spokesman Majed Al-Shatt said the patient had undergone an abortion; however, he denied the existence of a fully-formed fetus.

“The medical staff at the hospital reported that the patient was pregnant and in the third month of her pregnancy. Her abortion was inevitable and natural. She aborted her pregnancy without any medical interference,” said Al-Shatt.

He added the medical staff reported the patient aborted a mass of flesh measuring 3 cm by 7 cm. The flesh was sent to the tissue testing laboratory whose staff reported there was no fully formed fetus.