Underground abortion doctor charged in Spain

Barcelona, Spain, Mar 6, 2012 / 12:06 pm

A Peruvian doctor accused of leading an underground abortion ring in Barcelona will face 101 counts of criminal activity on Sept. 13, in a trial that analysts say could last three months.

Prosecutors are asking for a sentence of 309 years in prison for Dr. Carlos Morin who, together with 12 collaborators, performed dozens of illegal abortions in his clinics in Barcelona.

The indictment against the Peruvian doctor states that he performed abortions on some women who were more than seven and a half months pregnant.

Morin argued that abortions performed beyond the twenty-second week of pregnancy were allowed under Spanish law if they were for reasons of grave physical or psychological danger to the life of the mother.

However, in most of the cases, Morin and his staff performed the procedure without any consultation with a psychiatrist. He instead enlisted the help of two psychiatrist friends, Pascual Javier Ramon Mora and Javier Carrato, who signed off on his diagnosis without assessing the women.

Morin is also being charged with falsifying documents and illicit association. He additionally carried out abortions in cases of alleged physical or mental deformities, without any confirmation by outside doctors.

Morin admitted during an opening hearing in the case that abortions were performed on girls as young as 13. His activities were first uncovered by a Danish television report in 2007.