Doctor Suspended for Agreeing to Abortion Just Because Foetus was a Girl

A doctor in Birmingham, Dr. Palaniappan Rajmohan, who allegedly agreed to abort a foetus simply because it was a girl, and then lied on medical records about the reason for the termination, has been suspended for only three months by a medical tribunal.

Dr. Rajmohan who had been filmed approving the abortion at the Calthorpe Clinic in Edgbaston as part of a sting operation. The medical panel said the decision to suspend him was made based on his dishonesty, adding that the medic had ‘immediately volunteered’ to list the reason for the abortion as ‘too young for pregnancy’ on the woman’s medical records, and sought her ‘agreement’ for this.

The medic had originally faced a criminal prosecution after the uncover sting by The Telegraph, Daily Mail reports. However, the case was later dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which claimed it ‘was not in the public interest to pursue’. The CPS also stepped in to prevent a private prosecution against Dr Rajmohan by pro-life campaign.

As part of The Telegraph sting, a pregnant woman, known as Ms A, visited Dr Rajmohan and told him she wished to have an abortion because she and her husband did not want to have a baby girl. In response, the doctor allegedly said: ‘That’s not fair. It’s like female infanticide isn’t it?’ However, when the woman then asked if he could list an alternative reason for the termination, he reportedly said, “’That’s right, yeah, because it’s not a good reason any time.” He reportedly added: ‘I’ll put too young for pregnancy, yeah?’

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A probe was launched by the police and Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service following the visit, which was videotaped secretly. The hearing, led by Chair Paul Curtis, found that Dr Rajmohan agreed to record a false reason for a woman wanting to terminate her pregnancy – and was therefore acting dishonestly. The panel concluded:

‘Despite you apparently believing that the request for a termination of pregnancy was being based on the gender of the foetus, you immediately volunteered to Ms A the alternative reason ‘too young for pregnancy’ and sought her agreement to this reason. That false reason was so far away from what you knew to be true, that the panel concluded you must have realized at the time that your actions would be considered as dishonest by the ordinary standards of reasonable and honest members of the medical profession.’