Two Deaths Before Roe

"Roseanne" is one of the women Life Dynamics identifies on their "Blackmun Wall" as having been killed by a safe and legal abortion. Roseanne was in the second trimester of pregnancy when she chose safe and legal abortion, permissible under New York's liberalized abortion law, in 1971. She was 37 years old, had had four children. She was infused with saline for the abortion. Two days later, she began vomiting and having siezures. She aspirated some of the vomit and developed pneumonia. The pneumonia took its toll. Roseanne died on February 27 from the pneumonia and anoxic brain damage.

As you can see from the graph below, abortion deaths were falling dramatically before legalization. This steep fall had been in place for decades. To argue that legalization lowered abortion mortality simply isn't supported by the data.



On February 27, 1926, 36-year-old Anna Wilger died in her home from complications of an abortion performed that day.Theresa Struhala was indicted for felony murder in Anna's death. Struhala's profession is not listed, but she was on the 1920 census as a midwife. John Wilger, whose relationship to Anna was not disclosed, was booked as an accomplice, but was later released.