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New York Doctor Who Let Patient Bleed To Death Receives Short Sentence

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Grace Carr Reporter
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An abortion doctor who let a pregnant woman bleed to death in a botched abortion procedure received a minimal sentence Tuesday and will endure only a short stint in prison.

After hearing three weeks of testimony, a judge sentenced New York Dr. Robert Rho 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison, according to the Associated Press. The sentence comes after Rho entered a plea deal with prosecutors on May 4 to avoid 15 years for second-degree manslaughter, which was the original charge issued against Rho.

Rho will serve time for allowing Jamie Lee Morales to bleed to death after a failed abortion procedure on July 9, 2016, Operation Rescue reported. One week after learning she was pregnant, 30-year-old Morales went to Rho’s clinic, Liberty Women’s Health Care in Flushing, New York, and paid him $6,000 to abort her unborn child.

Rho performed the procedure, but severe bleeding began during the operation. Rather than call the hospital to report an emergency, Rho quickly stitched up Morales and allowed her to continue hemorrhaging internally. The doctor let Morales leave the clinic with her sister five minutes after the procedure, giving her no further instructions or advice to seek immediate medical attention. (RELATED: Doctor Admits Letting Patient Bleed To Death In Botched Abortion)

Morales fell unconscious while driving home and her sister called 911. By the time the medics arrived, Morales was dead. Rho — whose clinic had previously been investigated for inadequately trained medical staff as well as unsanitary operating conditions — closed his clinic shortly after Morales’s death. He was arrested three months after her death.

The doctor plans to open up another abortion clinic after he finishes his prison sentence, Operation Rescue reported.

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