Lawsuit: Hospital forced doctor out over her abortion stance

A West Virginia doctor says a hospital run by a Republican state lawmaker prevented her from performing a medically necessary abortion, falsified records and forced her out.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports Lori Tucker is suing Princeton Community Hospital in federal court.

She says she resigned as chief of staff in 2016 after being barred from performing an ethics committee-approved abortion. The congenitally deformed baby died shortly after birth, and complications then caused the mother to undergo multiple surgeries.

In 2017, Tucker was suspended from major surgeries after publicly advocating the use of buprenorphine for opioid-addicted pregnant women, despite hospital opposition. She said the documentation for a peer review of this suspension was misleading.

The hospital, whose president is an anti-abortion delegate, Joe Ellington, declined to comment on the federal lawsuit.

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Information from: The Charleston Gazette-Mail, http://wvgazettemail.com.

source: abcnews.go.com