A Utah doctor charged with murder after allegedly botching an abortion in Maryland on Monday agreed to be transported there to face the charges against her.
Nicola Irene Riley, 46, waived her right to an extradition hearing during an appearance in 3rd District Court.
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A Maryland court last month indicted Riley and her colleague, physician Steven Brigham of Voorhees, N.J., after an investigation into a patient’s medical complications led to the discovery of approximately 35 frozen late-term fetuses.
Riley is charged with murder in the first and second degree, and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Brigham is charged with five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree.
Riley’s attorney in Utah, Edwin Wall, argued Monday the charges against Riley are an attack on Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion using a trimester approach.
"This case relates to Roe versus Wade because if doctors can be prosecuted for criminal offenses in connection with providing critical medical care to women who are in need of it, there is going to be a chilling effect," Wall said. "Women are going to be afraid to go to doctors when they need that medical assistance."
Wall asked Judge Ann Boyden to give Riley the option of posting a $30,000 bail, arguing she was a low flight risk as she operates a family practice in Utah and also has strong ties to the area, including family and two children in Salt Lake City. Riley has also already twice appeared in Maryland court on her own accord and would attend future court hearings, Wall said.
Calling Riley a "danger to the community," Boyden sided with prosecutor Michael Postma’s request to deny bail.
Maryland suspended Riley’s medical license in August 2010 following an investigation by the state’s medical board into her practices. Her license to practice medicine in Utah remains active, but she is not allowed to perform abortions in Utah.
According to Maryland licensing documents, Riley perforated the uterus of an 18-year-old patient, who was about 21 weeks pregnant, during an Aug. 13, 2010, abortion at an Elkton medical clinic. After refusing to call an ambulance, she and Brigham took the semi-unconscious patient by car to a hospital in Elkton.
The teenager was transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for emergency surgery to fix her uterus and bowels. In the meantime, Riley returned to the clinic to perform another abortion. A subsequent investigation found a chest freezer with dozens of late-term fetuses and fetal parts. Clinic documents show fetuses at the clinic were aborted at 28, 33, 35 and 36 weeks of gestation, by multiple doctors, including Riley.
Maryland is one of 38 states with a law that allows the filing of a murder charge against someone accused of killing a viable fetus. The 2005 law has so far only been used for cases in which defendants were accused of assaulting or killing pregnant women, Wall said.
The statute that Riley is charged under is "not designed to go after doctors" who should be granted immunity from criminal charges, Wall said.
Brigham, who has never been licensed in Maryland, allegedly initiated abortions in New Jersey — where he was licensed — and Riley completed the procedures in Maryland. Brigham’s New York medical license was revoked in 1994 for repeated negligence.
Riley did not speak in court. Family members who attended Monday’s hearing declined to comment outside the courthouse.
Wall said he believes Riley will be cleared from criminal wrongdoing when the Maryland case concludes.
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