 | Orange County District Attorney |
Tony Rackauckas, District Attorney
401 Civic Center Drive West
Santa Ana, CA 92701
For Immediate Release
August 28, 2009 | Susan Kang Schroeder Farrah Emami |
WOMAN CONVICTED OF ACTING AS MIDWIFE WITHOUT CERTIFICATION DURING HOME
DELIVERY OF BABY GIRL
*The baby was later stillborn at the hospital
SANTA ANA – A woman was convicted today of acting as a midwife without proper certification during the home delivery of a baby girl in which the baby was stillborn. Megan Marie Roy, 34, pleaded guilty to one felony count of the unauthorized practice of medicine. Roy was sentenced to three years of formal probation, 400 hours of community service at a facility caring for sick children, donate $2,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and ordered to pay restitution to the victim.
Pregnant victim Jane Doe wanted to deliver her baby at her Garden Gove home and hired another midwife for the delivery. Prior to the birth of the baby, the midwife moved out of state and introduced Roy to Jane Doe as a substitute. Roy told the victim that she was not certified to be a midwife.
On March 24, 2008, Roy acted as a midwife without medical certification for Jane Doe’s delivery. The defendant failed to have present a doctor or any other qualified medical personnel at the victim’s home during the delivery. She acted as the primary medical care provider to Jane Doe without the necessary skills, licensing or knowledge to deliver the baby, or handle medical complications.
After several hours in labor and obvious physical signs of distress, the baby’s father called 9-1-1. Jane Doe was transported to the hospital, where her baby girl was later delivered stillborn.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Olivieri of the Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted this case.
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