The parents of an 18-year old Quebec woman are launching a medical malpractice suit after their daughter died as a result of an abortion in Sherbrooke last year.

Karine Rivard, who already had a child with her boyfriend, Robert Davidson, went for an abortion without telling her parents of the decision.

"If only we had known she wanted the abortion, we would have helped," said her father, Jean-Claude Rivard. "We weren't there to judge her." He was quoted in a story in the Sherbrooke Tribune. The story also added that the parents have become vigorously pro-life.

Her father says Karine changed her mind just before the operation was about to begin and was crying and telling the medical staff she didn't want the abortion, according to the front-page story. The doctor went ahead with the abortion anyway on July 25, 1992, at 11 a.m.

Ten minutes later, the abortion was over and the young girl, who had asthma and also smoked, developed breathing problems. The doctors administered Ventolin, and then adrenalin. She stopped breathing and the doctors tried to insert a tube into her lungs but that failed and she went into cardiac arrest.

At 11:21 a.m. she was transferred to the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS). She was revived but because of complications which arose during the abortion, she died five days later.

The family is suing the doctors and the hospital for $205,000. They allege that the abortion clinic was badly organized, that the doctors improperly assessed Karine and that they were negligent during the abortion.

The Coroner, Dr. Michael Loyer, said the probable cause of death was severe secondary anoxic encephalopathy due to a severe bronchial spasm and subsequent bilateral bronchial pneumonia. He said there should have been proper medical evaluations before abortions and proper equipment on hand.

Karine's son, Cory, was six months old when she died. Her parents are claiming $150,000 for him, $25,000 each and $5,000 for the cost of the funeral.

The family has received the backing of the Secours et vie, a group in Quebec, which will help them raise money for the lawsuit.

Gitane Maltais, of Secours et vie, said the Sherbrooke-based group is hoping to raise $6,000 for the case. She organized a march which drew 100 people, including the Rivard parents, to the abortion clinic.

"The lawyer said the case is very important for pro-life," Maltais said. She added that the case has "credibility" and will likely convince a judge.

She said the case is important for the pro-life cause to show the dangers of abortion