Lime 5: Infection

Deaths I've already covered

"Andrea" was 26 years old when she underwent a safe, legal abortion at a New York City abortion facility on January 12, 1971. After her abortion, Andrea contracted an infection. Her system was unable to fight the infection, and she died on January 20, 1971, leaving behind six children.

"Tammy" traveled from Ohio to New York to undergo an abortion under New York's liberal abortion law. Her abortion was performed on September 25, 1971. She was 33 years old. After the abortion, Tammy developed an infection which finally ended her life on October 13, 1971.

Survivors of Julia Rogers, age 20, alleged that she underwent a safe and legal abortion by Theodore Roosevelt Mason Howard (John Roe 427) at Friendship Medical Center (Acme Reproductive Services 13) in Chicago on April 21, 1973. Julia developed pneumonia on top of peritonitis. A hole had been poked in her uterus, causing an infection that made the muscle tissue of her uterus start to rot inside her. Evelyn Dudley and Dorothy Brown also died after abortions at Friendship Medical Center. 

On March 4, 1975, Robert Julius Sherman (John Roe 831, pictured, left) performed a safe and legal abortion on 16-year-old Rita McDowell, who was in the second trimester of her pregnancy, at his Columbia Family Planning Clinic. Sherman performed a vacuum aspiration abortion usually used for first trimester abortions. He used a 7 mm. cannula, which would be too small for the parts of a 12-week fetus to pass through and would therefore leave parts of the fetus, if not the entire fetus, still in her uterus. When Sherman discharged Rita, he told her mother that she would probably expel the fetus that night. As they left the office, Rita told her mother, "Oh, Mama, I feel like I had one hundred needles in me." Rita did not expel the fetus. Instead, she developed a fever. Her mother called Sherman's facility on March 5 to seek care for her daughter. She said that Sherman would not speak to her, and that the receptionist told her to bring Rita in two days later. In the early morning hours of March 7, Rita awoke screaming, then collapsed in her mother's arms. Doctors at the hospital where Rita was taken removed the macerated fetus, but she died from massive infection just after midnight on March 8. An investigation into Rita's death revealed evidence that Sherman deliberately performed incomplete abortions so that he could charge an additional $150 for follow-up care. He was performing anywhere from six to 25 abortions daily.

Diane Smith, age 23, was one of the women mentioned in the Chicago Sun-Times expose, "The Abortion Profiteers." According to the report, and her death certificate, Diane was admitted to Englewood Hospital in Chicago due to hemorrhaging. She told staff that she'd had a legal abortion in a Chicago-area clinic. Diane was treated for a perforated uterus and sepsis, to no avail. She died on September 11, 1976.

On August 23, 1980, 26-year-old Betty Damato went to Denver abortionist James Franklin (John Roe 281). According to Betty's family, Franklin did not remove all of the fetus. He instead gave Betty a trash bag, and instructions to collect whatever she expelled in the bag and bring it to him. Two days later, Betty was dead from infection. Franklin told a grand jury that he did not perform the fatal abortion. He claimed that he had examined Betty, found a dead fetus, and sent her to the hospital. A jury convicted him of manslaughter in Betty's death on October 19, 1981, and he was sentenced to prison for three years.

On June 14, 1984, 14-year-old "Gwen Newhart" had a second-trimester abortion performed by Dr. E. Wyman Garrett (John Roe 268) in Newark, New Jersey. She was 22 weeks pregnant. After her abortion, Gwen began vomiting and suffered from abdominal pain and a high fever. The next morning, June 15, Gwen's mother found her lying dead on the bathroom floor. An autopsy found that Gwen's abdomen was full of pus and adhesions. The cause of death was abdominal infection and perforation of the uterus. When the New Jersey medical board investigated Dr. Garrett, they noted that he had illegally altered Gwen's medical records.

Michelle Madden

Eighteen year old Michelle Madden, a coed, sought an abortion from O.B. Evans at Family Planning Medical Center of Mobile, Alabama in November of 1986. Michelle had been taking medication for epilepsy, and a doctor had told her that her baby would have birth defects. When Michelle's parents arrived at the college to take her home for Thanksgiving, the house mother had sad news for them. Three days after the abortion, Michelle had collapsed. She was taken to the hospital, where doctors found a leg bone, two pieces of skull, and some placenta still in Michelle's uterus. The surgery to save her life was too late. Sepsis had already set in, and Michelle died three days after she was admitted.

Documents regarding the death of Ingrid Thomas, age 28, indicate that her uterus was perforated by Kanu Virani (John Roe 662) during an abortion. Ingrid developed acute peritonitis, and died at Botsford General Hospital August 1, 1991, several days after the abortion. (Michigan Death Certificate No. 0548962; Oakland County Autopsy Report No. 91-1967)

Jammie Garcia was only 14 when she went to a Texas clinic owned by Dr. Moshe Hachamovitch. Jammie's abortion was performed by John Coleman (John Roe 238). The clinic was filthy and inadequately staffed. After the abortion Jammie developed a spiking fever, fluctuating blood pressure, respiratory distress, distended abdomen, a high white cell count, and low blood oxygen. Doctors couldn't get ahead of the infection and Jammie died on March 2. Hachamovitch also owned the clinic where Lou Ann Herron and Lisa Bardsley underwent their fatal abortions. He himself performed the fatal abortions on Tanya Williamson, Luz Rodriguez, and Christina Goesswein.

Cases where I need original sources

"Gloria" went to Hospital 7 for an abortion performed by John Roe 641 in October of 1970. She suffered an infection and bladder problems and needed to undergo a hysterotomy and colostomy. She was incapacitated for nearly three years. (Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. C13671)

"Chris" was 20 when she underwent a second-trimester prostaglandin abortion on December 28, 1976. The doctor suspected a uterine perforation so he put her on IV antibiotics. This didn't clear up the sepsis. In fact, her uterus had gone necrotic. Doctors performed a hysterectomy and diagnosed her with gas gangrene. Due to organ damage from the infection, Chris had to be put on dialysis. (International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1978)

"Terry" went to John Roe 766 on August 31, 1984 for an abortion. She went to the emergency room on September 3 because she was passing clots the size of golf balls. Hospital staff were unable to contact Roe. Terry developed a 106 degree fever and her abdomen was full of pus. She survived her ordeal. (Fulton County George Superior Court Civil File D-21147)

Abu Hayat in court

Marie Moise went to National Abortion Federation member Abu "The Butcher of Avenue A" Hayat (John Roe 3) on March 17, 1991 for a safe, legal abortion. Hayat stopped in the middle of the abortion and told Marie's husband that the pregnancy was further advanced than he'd thought and that he wanted another $500 to finish the procedure. Marie's husband pleaded with Hayat to finish, saying he'd bring the money the following day. Instead, Hayat ejected Marie from the premises, still sedated and bleeding. The following day, Marie's husband took her to a hospital, where she was admitted with a distended abdomen, a foul and bloody vaginal discharge, and pieces of fetal tissue and laminaria protruding from her cervix. Doctors completed the abortion and treated the sepsis Marie had developed. Hayat later tried to claim that he'd never seen Marie. Due to multiple circumstances -- no doubt including the death of 17-year-old Sophie McCoy and the maiming of the then-unborn Ana Rosa Rodriguez -- Hayat was convicted of assault and falsification of records for his treatment of Marie. ("Doctor convicted of botching abortion gets up to 29 years," Hattiesburg American, June 15, 1993; New York Medical Board Case No. BPMC-92-13-A "Determination and Order)

Watch Lime 5: Infection on YouTube.