MADISON — The death of a doctor who once was Mississippi’s only abortion practitioner has been ruled accidental.
Madison Police Lt. Eddie Lawrence told The Clarion-Ledger that an autopsy performed on Friday showed that Dr. Joseph Booker Jr. suffered a stroke and drowned in a bathtub at his home.
Police found the 69-year-old doctor’s body on Thursday after relatives called to express concern that they hadn’t heard from him in several days.
Booker used to practice with Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Mississippi’s only abortion clinic, but they parted ways after Booker filed a wrongful termination suit against the clinic in 2010.
Earlier, Booker had performed abortions at Gulf Coast Women’s Clinic in Gulfport.
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