Abortion Deaths: Who Benefitted from Legalization?

Sixteen-year-old Patricia Chacon underwent a safe and legal second-trimester abortion at the hands of either Edward Allred or Leslie Orleans at Allred's Avalon Hospital in Los Angeles on the morning of March 3, 1984. Patricia retained fetal tissues, so she was scheduled for a second procedure that afternoon to complete the abortion. Allred claimed that Patricia died of an embolism during the second surgery.  Patricia's parents claim that the child bled to death while left unattended.An autopsy found numerous catgut sutures in Patricia's vagina and hemorrhage in her uterus. Death was attributed to disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (a clotting disorder) due to abortion-induced amniotic fluid embolism (amniotic fluid in the bloodstream). Patricia's parents sued Allred and Orleans for their daughter's death.Avalon Hospital was part of Edward Allred's Family Planning Associates Medical Group, a National Abortion Federation member facility. Patricia is one of many women to die at one of Edward Allred's facilities. Others known to have died after abortion at Allred's facilities include Denise Holmes, Mary Pena, Josefina Garcia, Laniece Dorsey, Joyce Ortenzio, Tami Suematsu, Susan Levy, Deanna Bell, Christine Mora, Ta Tanisha Wesson, Nakia Jorden, Maria Leho, Kimberly Neil, Maria Rodriguez, and Chanelle Bryant.

While we know much about Family Planning Associates Medical Group, I have been unable to uncover much about Dr. James R. Struble, who was indicted in Chicago for the March 3, 1916 abortion death of 43-year-old Augusta Bloom. Augusta had been taken to Norwegian Deaconess Hospital but in spite of the care she received there she died of septic peritonitis.  Two years earlier, Struble had been implicated in the abortion death of 24-year-old Frances Fergus.

I am unable to see how Patricia, Denise, Mary, Josefina, Laniece, Joyce, Tami, Susan, Deanna, Christine, Ta Tanisha, Nakia, Maria Leho, Kimberly, Maria Rodriguez, and Chanelle fared any better than did Augusta and Frances, though Allred and Orleans certainly fared better than Struble, since there was no threat of prison for them.