Reminder: A consequence of legalization

Milan Vuitch was a hero among abortion advocates. He had deliberately been arrested performing criminal abortions so that he could challenge the Washington, DC abortion law. As an openly practicing criminal abortionist, he'd had no maternal deaths to his discredit. His arrests were purely for his open challenge to the law. Then came legalization, and he got sloppy.

On June 15, 1974, seventeen-year-old Wilma Harris of West Virginia went to Vuitch's Laurel Clinic for an abortion. Although the abortion was done at around 2:00 PM, Vuitch didn't trasfer Wilma to a properly equipped hospital until after midnight. Wilma's family sued, claiming that Vuitch and his staff had allowed Wilma to lapse into a coma and lie unattended for 12 hours before transferring her to the hospital. The suit also claimed that Vuitch and his staff falsified records to cover their tracks. Five days after her abortion, Wilma was dead due to the complications of her abortion. Today, June 20, is the anniversary of that sad occasion.

Vuitch went on to botch more abortions, accumulating a string of lawsuits. He also performed the fatal abortion on Georgianna English in 1980. Like Wilma, Georgianna died from complications of the anesthesia. During the investigation of Georgianna's death, officials learned that he kept patients overnight in his home (an unlicensed facility) which he designated "The Annexe." Inspectors also noted repeated violations of medical standards regarding sanitation and anesthesia. Vuitch also admitted during another case that he had lacked hospital admitting privileges since 1963.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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