Characters

Doctor Robert Nixon

One of the reasons I wrote, Goodbye My Baby, was to explore the world of abortion through a work of fiction. A novel about abortion might not be something readers would pick up, per se, but since the topic is commented on almost daily – by journalists, politicians and other public figures of the day, my goal was, to approach the subject from a unique point-of-view, those whom it impacts the most – the women who undergo them, doctors who perform them and lastly, loved ones who deal with the aftermath.

Robert Nixon is a central character to the novel. He is an OB/GYN who practices in Greenwich, Connecticut. In 1973, he makes an abrupt, about-face agreeing to provide abortions, alongside the other gynecological services he provided women. This decision brings about a lot of pain to his sister, Claire, a devout Catholic and to her son, also named Robert. At the start of the book, the younger Robert is nearing the end of his sophomore year, enrolled in UCLA’s premed program. He is aghast to learn his uncle intends on performing abortions. The nephew always admired his uncle and is, in fact, pursuing a career in medicine, partly due of him.

Another pivotal character, Doctor Eric Livman, is a medical associate of Doctor Nixon’s, who influences him tremendously. Livman provides all of Nixon’s intricate, surgical training, shepherding him smoothly inside the abortion field. He advises him at one point, (when carrying out abortions) he should separate his emotions from the jumble of his conscious mind and the moralistic morass bouncing around inside his head. Nixon buys into the older doctor’s persuasive ideology; and soon embarks on a career as an abortion doctor, eventually specializing in performing partial-birth, late-term abortions. Learn more about Doctor Robert Nixon

Kyle Adolph Decker

Decker is a bad guy, a really bad guy, but he was a fascinating character to create. He’s guided by a religious, fanatical bent. He calls himself a missionary, though, not the only one in the story. Claire, Robert’s mother is also on a quest, a mission if you will, to save the lives of the unborn, though she doesn’t go around blowing up abortion clinics. It’s interesting to see how Decker experiences true love for the first time in his life. Yes, Doctor Evans finds love, too, first with Carole at college, then with Renee after his wife dies of breast cancer. But Decker’s relationship with Alice is developed with more detail, and I believe displays greater sensitivity. The age difference between the two is incredible. When they meet, she’s nineteen to his forty-six.

Decker’s childhood years growing up were just awful. His prostitute of a mother was a terrible, (physically and mentally) abusive woman. When her boyfriend at the time (any random John) would run off to leave her, she would get drunk, abandon her home, leaving the children alone for a week to fend for themselves. Kyle was nearly an abortion himself. One night, Linnie Ronson landed at the hospital after she perforated her intestines with a hanger due to an attempt at a self-abortion. The infant Kyle survived the ordeal when her water broke. Afterward, she always referred to him as, “my little abortion”.

As a child, when his grandmother told him all abortions were “bad”, he thought that meant HE was bad. After his Grammy learned about the nickname and how it came from his own mother, she cradled Kyle in her arms to comfort him. She had hoped Decker’s father would become a missionary, but that was impossible because he’d died in jail fighting over a pack of smokes. Nineteen years later, Decker resolved to honor his Grammy’s fervent wish, deciding, he would become the missionary in the family, someone who worked for God. In his twisted mind, because of the built-up animus toward his mother, whom he would later murder, Decker turned into a (self-proclaimed) missionary, vowing to strike a blow at abortion doctors, because, like his Grammy told him, all abortions were bad. Learn more about Kyle Adolph Decker

Doctor Robert Evans

Doctor Evans is yet, another person on a mission, not at the beginning but later on. Initially, Robert was a young, idealistic student, filled with dreams of becoming an OB/GYN like his uncle. Robert’s father died when he was only sixteen-years-old and his Uncle Robert became like a father figure. His decision to go into medicine was made partly because of him. Which is the reason, while studying premed at UCLA in California, when he learned about his uncle’s decision to begin performing abortions, Robert’s view of the world began to change.

Years later, after his wife, Carole, died rather suddenly, Robert lost his footing, his anchor, any desire to live on the west coast. Then, his uncle experienced a series of heart attacks and strokes. At his mother’s urging, he flew home to Connecticut. Robert chose to put aside how he felt about his uncle even though the two men hadn’t spoken in years. Over the course of his visits, Doctor Nixon presented his nephew with a gift. First, Nixon revealed he planned to retire; second, he offered Robert his entire medical facility, the one built up alongside his Greenwich home. Feeling a deep sense of remorse for his years performing abortions, Doctor Nixon told Robert, he wanted him to take over the facility – bring it new life. His uncle insisted there must be no more abortions. The younger Robert made no final decision about accepting his gift except to say it was a generous offer and that he would think about it.

Returning to Los Angeles, Robert was still inside the airport when he received a phone call from his mother telling him his uncle passed away. Without a reason to stay in California any longer, and; a medical facility handed to him by his uncle waiting in Greenwich, Robert made the decision to relocate. He would establish himself back on the east coast. But the truth was, his Greenwich practice would be entirely disingenuous – an complete lie. Instead of setting up a brand new OB/GYN practice, Robert made it appear that abortions were still being performed inside the facility, same as before, but with a duplicitous twist. Throughout the country, there weren’t that many doctors performing abortions past the second trimester. His uncle’s location remained well-known as a place where women could receive a late-term, partial-birth abortions.

Robert propagated the lie like this. . . while consulting with his patients, the doctor would alert each woman there was the slightest chance he might need to perform a caesarian section, in case of medical emergency, to save her life, should complications arise during the abortion. That was the deception. The reality was, there wasn’t a slight chance or even the slightest chance, but rather an absolute certainty, Doctor Evans would anesthetize each patient performing a caesarian section. This was so he could retrieve the live, viable, fetus living inside each pregnant woman. Yes, he would give each woman what she wanted – an abortion, (or, so she was told). Later, the woman would wake up in the hospital to find she had, indeed, undergone major, C-section surgery. The women were never alerted to the fact that they’d delivered a live birth or that the baby had been taken and placed, secretly, up for adoption. Doctor Evans would perform a C-section – to save the life of the child. Without their knowledge each woman would receive a non-abortion, instead of a real abortion. Learn more about Doctor Robert Evans