September 6, 1989: Self-Induced With an Air Compressor

AI illustration by Grok

Legalization was supposed to eliminate dangerous self-induced abortions. Evidently there is something other than illegality driving women to these grisly acts. 

At around 10:30 pm on September 6, 1989, the husband of 33-year-old Laura France came home from work only to find her dead in the garage of their Mansfield, Ohio home.

Laura, a mother of four, had been part-owner of a bicycle repair shop. She had been an active parent volunteer at Stingel Elementary School and a volunteer in religious instruction at St. Peter's Church. 

Respondents to the scene found a portable air compressor set to 90 psi and an 18-inch length of tubing. The autopsy concluded that Laura, who had been about 12 weeks pregnant, had used the air compressor to attempt to dislodge the unwanted fetus. This caused air to get into her blood stream, resulting in her death. 

According to the Ohio Death Index, Laura had died at about 3:00 p.m.  

Other women who died from attempted self-induced abortions in the safe-and-legal era include:

• Kris Humphrey, homemade abortifacient, 1994
• "Sharon," pennyroyal oil, 1978

In 1982, CDC staffers published "Illegal-Abortion Deaths in the United States: Why Are They Still Occurring?" in Family Planning Perspectives. They noted that illegal abortions ranged from "self-help" abortions done by women who reject the medical establishment, to the stereotypical "coat hanger" abortions. They concluded that women seek illegal abortions for "idiosyncratic" reasons, and dropped the issue.

Watch The Air-Compressor Abortion on YouTube.

Watch The Air-Compressor Abortion on Rumble.

Sources: 

• Ohio death record
• "Abortion try blamed in death of Mansfielder," (Mansfield, OH) News Journal, September 8, 1989
• "Woman dies attempting to do at-home abortion," (Cleveland, OH) Plain Dealer, September 9, 1989
• "Be sensitive," (Mansfield, OH) News Journal, September 23, 1989