
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 26, 1991                   TAG: 9103260472
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: WILMA N. THURMAN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DR. EGGLESTON HAS HIGH-RISK CLIENTELE

I READ with great interest the article March 11 about a physician, Mark Eggleston, who stopped a scheduled abortion after a fellow doctor asked how certain he was that the child had Meckel-Gruber syndrome, a rare and almost always fatal genetic disease.

The article explained that the child's mother, Donna Caldwell, had decided to have an abortion because Dr. Eggleston had informed her that "her son would likely live only a few hours or days or, with luck, a few weeks." The article also explained that Dr. Eggleston "opposes abortion, but will agree to perform them when the fetus is likely to be stillborn or severely deformed."

Dr. Eggleston apparently was acting in accord with the mother when the abortion was started. He agreed, however, to stop the abortion. I really can't understand how Mrs. Caldwell could have filed a wrongful-life lawsuit for "allowing her son to be born deformed." She goes on to say that Dr. Eggleston "never should've stopped [the abortion], but I'm grateful he did." It seems to me that no matter what Dr. Eggleston did, he would have been sued.

I feel that any mother with a history of high-risk pregnancies experiences "distress." However, I can't imagine bringing suit against concerned physicians willing to give care. I thoroughly understand now why those with problem pregnancies have a difficult time finding physicians willing to provide the critical care that is so necessary.

As a former patient of Dr. Eggleston, I feel the article was grossly misleading in regard to his actions and abilities. I found him a compassionate and concerned individual whose patients received excellent care.

Dr. Eggleston always took the time to explain important details, and he kept patients informed of the risks they could expect to face. He went the extra step to explain medical terminology in layman's terms and was more than willing to respond to questions or concerns. Nowhere did the article mention that most of Dr. Eggleston's patients were candidates for high-risk pregnancies and that problems were often anticipated and expected.

by CNB