Woman Sues Clinic That Swapped Her Birth Control For A Flu Shot, And Boy Does She Ever Have A Case

birth control pillsThe last time I heard about someone filing a “wrongful life” suit I rolled my eyes because it was a couple who sued a sperm bank for sending a different vial of sperm than what they ordered, and as a result the baby they got was half black. It is true that the clinic made a huge mistake in that case and sent the wrong sperm, but we live in a world where Google exists and part of being a good parent means making sure your daughter never finds out that you filed a lawsuit because she was black. But one Seattle woman has a pretty good case against the clinic that screwed up her regularly scheduled birth control shot and gave her a flu shot by mistake.

(Related: Wheaton College Cancels Students’ Health Insurance To Avoid Providing Access To Birth Control )

According to Yahoo Parenting, Yesenia Pacheco already had two children and had decided that was enough, so she went to a neighborhood community health clinic for Depo-Provera birth control shots. Pacheco went every three months for shots, but one day in 2011 she allegedly went to the clinic for her birth control shot, and someone mixed something up and gave her a flu shot instead. The mistake was not noticed until three months later when she showed up for the next shot, and someone at the clinic looked at Pacheco’s record and saw that it said she’d received a flu shot at her previous appointment, but no Depo-Provera shot at all.

”They instantly gave her a pregnancy test before giving her the Depo-Provera shot she came in for, and it showed she was pregnant,” said Pacheco’s lawyer, Steve Alvarez, to Yahoo Parenting.

The clinic allegedly offered her a free abortion, but Pacheco is Catholic and opted not to terminate the pregnancy. Now she has a daughter whom she loves very much, but she is still filing suit because that clinic screwed up in a big, big way.

Pacheco’s daughter was also born with brain malformation that causes seizures and affects her speech and motor skills. She will need lifelong care, and her parents say they are suing for the funds to provide that care for her.

Pacheco has filed her suit against the federal government because it funds the clinic that screwed up her birth control, but she has reportedly not named the clinic in the suit. Not all states recognize “wrongful life” claims, but according to Pacheco’s daughter Washington does.

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