Mass. doctor pleads guilty to manslaughter charges in death of Cape Cod abortion patient

Mass. doc pleads guilty in abortion patient death

BOSTON — A Massachusetts doctor has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the case of a woman who died after he performed an abortion on her.

Dr. Rapin Osathanondh (O-SATH’-an-on) entered the plea Monday as his trial was getting under way in Barnstable Superior Court on Cape Cod. It was the third anniversary of the death of Laura Hope Smith.

Attorney David Angueira, who represents Smith’s parents in a lawsuit they filed against the doctor, says Osathanondh will be sentenced Tuesday.

Prosecutors allege Osathanondh did not properly monitor the 22-year-old woman from Sandwich while she was under anesthesia and failed to call 911 in a timely manner.

Osathanondh resigned his medical license after the state Board of Registration in Medicine issued a list of charges against him.

His lawyer calls Smith’s death a tragedy but says Osathanondh gave her good care.