Doctors said she'd had a miscarriage, only to find her baby was still alive

A Las Vegas woman is suing her doctors, who allegedly told her that her preborn baby had died and performed a D&C. Soon after, she found out her baby had actually survived.

Key Takeaways:

• Stacy Norris said that she was told twice by doctors at Women’s Health Associates of Southern Nevada that her preborn baby had no heartbeat and had died.

• It was suggested that she undergo a D&C surgical procedure for miscarriage management, so she agreed.

• After the D&C Norris still felt something was wrong, so she returned to the clinic again, where she was given Cytotec to pass her baby's body. But she didn't take the pill.

• She went to Centennial Hills Hospital, where doctors found that her baby was eight weeks old, with a strong heartbeat — very much still alive. At 35 weeks, Norris safely delivered her daughter via c-section.

The Details:

In 2024, Norris filed her lawsuit and is now speaking publicly about her ordeal. In an interview with KTNV, Norris explained she was initially hopeful about her pregnancy, and had previously experienced a miscarriage.

At Women’s Health Associates of Southern Nevada, she was given a pregnancy test, which came back positive; two days later, she began bleeding, and returned to the clinic. Staff then performed an ultrasound, where she was told that she had fibroid tumors, and that while a fetal pole could be seen, there was no heartbeat.

At first, Norris was told it might simply be too early, and another test still came back positive for pregnancy. She was told to return in a week for another ultrasound, which she did; again, Norris was told there was no heartbeat, and that her preborn baby showed no signs of growth. Nurse Paige Cook reportedly recommended that Norris undergo a D&C, because she did not have a "viable pregnancy."

“We just wanted to make sure everything was going to go right before we told anybody,” Norris said. “It’s incredibly traumatic. You know you kind of just go, this was it… this was probably the last chance to have a baby."

Dr. Sheldon Paul performed a D&C the same day, and sent Norris home.

The main difference between a D&C abortion procedure and a D&C for miscarriage management is that in an abortion, the preborn baby is still alive and is intentionally killed. With a miscarriage, the baby has already died.

These things — miscarriage treatment and abortion — are often intentionally conflated by pro-abortion media.

1st Trimester Abortion | Suction Dilation and Curettage (D&C) | What is Abortion?

Zoom In:

A little later, Norris returned to the clinic, feeling like something wasn't right.

This time, she was seen by Nurse Jennifer Wagner; Norris told Wagner she was still bleeding, and experiencing sharp, extreme abdominal pain. Wagner performed another ultrasound, but no pregnancy test, and told Norris that the most common reason for miscarriage is a "genetic incompatibility with life" and that "when a viable fetus does not form, SAB (spontaneous abortion) can not be prevented and that nothing could have been done to change the outcome.”

Wagner then prescribed Cytotec to Norris, saying it would cause contractions to pass her baby's body, which was apparently believed to have been missed during the D&C.

But instead of filling the prescription, Norris went to Centennial Hills Hospital.

"I don't know if it was just a gut instinct, maternal instinct," she said.

There, doctors discovered that her hormone levels were rising, and an ultrasound showed her baby's strong, beating heart.

“He (the doctor) kneels down next to me in the chair, and he says, 'You know, I have to know, Why did you have a D&C?' and I went, 'It’s because I was told there was no baby,'" Norris said. "And he said, 'there’s an eight-week-old baby with a heartbeat,' and at that point, I don’t remember what happened next."

KTNV explained that the state began to pay attention:

The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners later investigated the care Norris received.

Disciplinary records state Dr. Paul performed a D&C on a viable pregnancy, documented it as failed, and continued diagnosing the pregnancy as nonviable.

The Good News:

On April 12, 2022, Norris gave birth to a healthy baby girl via c-section at 35 weeks.

“We called her our miracle baby. I don’t have another word for it," Norris said, adding, “She is everything that I wanted in a baby I didn’t think I was going to have, and I feel blessed every day and try and let her know every day how lucky I am."