Former Midwife Pleads Guilty to Role in Baby’s Death
A former Orange County midwife pleaded guilty Friday to contributing to the 1998 death of a stillborn baby boy, marking the first successful criminal prosecution of a licensed midwife in California.
Lori Jensen, 46, was stripped of her license and given five years’ probation by Superior Court Judge Gregory H. Lewis. Jensen admitted that she induced the labor of a San Juan Capistrano woman by injecting her with a drug without the supervision of a doctor.
Caroline Phan, 37, survived, but her baby was pronounced dead after being rushed to a hospital. Midwives are prohibited from administering drugs without supervision.
Though Jensen faced a potential three-year sentence, prosecutors were satisfied with the outcome.
“She is never going to do this to anybody again,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Ebrahim Baytieh.
Since the passage of state licensing requirements in 1993, 111 midwives have been authorized to assist deliveries.
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