Allegations of misconduct brought against local doctor

FLINT (WJRT) -- (11/23/09)--Allegations have been brought against a Flint doctor by a Genesee County teenager who says that doctor physically forced her to have an abortion.

She has filed a civil lawsuit against the doctor, and that lawsuit is now drawing national attention from anti-abortion groups.

It is a controversial lawsuit. Caitlin Bruce says she is seeking justice with the lawsuit she filed in June against the doctor who she says went to far.

That Flint doctor says he had no choice and did nothing wrong.

"They ripped the life out of me that day," Bruce said.

Bruce was just 18 years old and 6 weeks pregnant when she says walked into the Feminine Health Care Clinic in Flint last year.

"I was nervous and I really didn't have the moral support I needed. And I just didn't know what to do," Bruce said.

Bruce says she wrestled with her decision in the waiting room.

"They started the ultrasound. The lady turned the ultrasound toward me and said, 'This is your baby. This is the heart flicker,'" Bruce said.

Bruce says that's when she changed her mind. But she claims Dr. Abraham Hodari did the procedure anyway.

"He told his assistant, 'Hold her down.' They had my arm pinned," Bruce said.

"His weight was all on my chest and then he took his hand and he had it so tight on my mouth that it was muffled. I was trying to scream, 'Stop!'

"I was screaming. I was crying. It felt like they were ripping a life out of me. When he was done, he looked at me. He gave me a smirk and he left he room."

We tried to reach Hodari at his clinic on South Saginaw Street, but he wasn't available.

In court documents, Hodari denies the plaintiff's claims and says they are untrue and defends his actions, saying: "The surgical instrument was inside her uterus and she was already bleeding when she verbalized any misgivings."

"My client acted properly under the circumstance. This was an abortion that was consented to," said Steve Weiss, Hodari's attorney.

"When the patient first expressed misgivings about it, it was too far along for Dr. Hodari to stop."

Bruce's lawyer admits Hodari has long been a target for anti-abortion groups, but he says that shouldn't matter.

"This is shockingly wrong no matter what camp you're in," said Tom Pabst, the plaintiff's attorney. "This shouldn't have happened. If a woman says stop, it should've stopped."

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton says he is not investigating this case for possible criminal charges.

No police report was filed.

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david leyton, flint, genesee county, local, gabe gutierrez

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