Alleged abortionist arrested in QC

A 60-year-old alleged abortionist was arrested during an entrapment operation Monday night at her house in Quezon City just before she was supposed to abort the baby of a female tipster.

Chief Inspector Cherry Lou Donato, who led the raid on the house of suspect Pilar Morados in Barangay Bagbag in Novaliches, said they believe a cubicle underneath the residence is where the aborted fetuses are dumped. “She (denies) the allegations but the house reeks of blood. There were also blood stains on the bed sheet,” Donato told The STAR in an interview.

The raid was done by operatives of the Quezon City Police District-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit at past 7 p.m. Monday after a tipster came to the police about the scheduled appointment that night with the suspect.

Donato said the pregnant woman had given Morados a down payment of P300 when the woman came to see her that morning. The alleged abortionist had reportedly asked for a payment worth P 5,000.

“Apparently the amount of payment varies depending on how old the fetus is and how difficult the procedure would be on a particular patient,” Donato said. He said the suspect just “heavily massages the womb of a patient until she bleeds.” The procedure lasts about 15 minutes.

According to Donato, they did not find any other abortion equipment at the house except for bottles of alcohol and kerosene.

Upon her arrest, Morados made “inconsistent claims” saying she was not performing abortion, according to Donato.

Morados said she took a six-month midwifery course in the 1960s. The suspect also said the allegations were made by those who were trying to destroy her reputation in “helping women” about their concerns relating to pregnancy.

But Donato said Morados is “known in the community as a manghihilot,” although the term refers to an abortionist and not a faith healer. Add to this, Donato wondered why there was a bed positioned at the living room of the house.

Donato noted that the suspect and her husband run a shop making steel windows at the “spacious residence surrounded by walls.” Only the shop, and not the supposed clinic, has a business permit.

Morados is facing charges of intentional abortion under Article 256 of the Revised Penal Code. – Reinir Padua