The Region - News from July 11, 1985

A severely brain-diseased woman was released from the University of California, Irvine, Medical Center after receiving an abortion for a rape-caused pregnancy, her attorney said. Laura Eldridge, 35, who doctors have said is mentally incompetent and unaware of what is happening, was allegedly raped while in the care of a convalescent hospital about five months ago. Doctors performed the abortion June 25 after Orange County Superior Court Judge Henry T. Moore ruled that her pregnancy was potentially life-threatening and named Eldridge’s parents her conservators. Attorney Dick Runels said she was transferred to a convalescent hospital in Los Angeles County that he declined to identify.