(LifeSiteNews) –– An Edinburgh woman has broken her silence after surviving what Edinburgh Live called a “sick plan” by a married paramedic who secretly drugged her with an abortion pill to destroy their unborn child.
Stephen Doohan, 33, pleaded guilty in Glasgow’s High Court last week to assault, sexual assault, and causing the woman to undergo an abortion without her knowledge or consent.
He denied stealing the misoprostol from his workplace, and the court accepted that part of his plea.
Doohan, a clinical team leader with the Scottish Ambulance Service, crushed the abortion drug misoprostol and administered it via syringe while the woman lay in bed at his home.
When she began to suffer cramps the next day, he offered her diazepam – and later initiated sexual contact while she was semi-conscious.
She collapsed in the shower. Soon after, she miscarried. She later found a syringe and pills under his mattress and began piecing the horror together.
Still, she hesitated to go to police, even as Doohan tried to buy her silence with gifts and pleas for sympathy. But a secretly recorded confession finally gave her the courage to report him.
“Today was for you, my angel,” she said after his guilty plea, in a tribute to the child she lost. “We finally got justice for you.”
The woman met Doohan in Spain in 2021 and had no idea he was married. After she became pregnant in March 2023, he took steps to terminate the child covertly.
At one point, the woman was so traumatised she worried she would “ruin” him if she reported the crime. Now she hopes her story encourages other women to come forward.
“No woman should have her baby’s life taken from her,” she said. “There is help out there, and there is hope.”
Doohan’s lawyer said that he was “deeply sorry” for his actions. He remains free on bail pending sentencing, despite his conviction and placement on the sex offenders list. The judge warned he faces a “fairly lengthy” custodial sentence.
The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is gravely immoral, because it destroys the life of an innocent. Murder, especially of the innocent, is one of four sins so grievous that they “cry to heaven” for God’s vengeance.
However, the Church not only proclaims the truth about life but also offers compassion and healing for men and women in pain.
If you’ve been involved in abortion – whether voluntarily or through coercion or deceit – know that help is available.
Counselling ministries like Rachel’s Vineyard offer support for those suffering grief or guilt after abortion.
The child’s life cannot be restored—but truth, justice, and healing remain possible.