On November 14, 1972, 21-year-old Twila Jeanne Coulter died in a hospital in Torrance, California.
Looking at her Springfield High School 1968 yearbook, Twila was a very promising young woman. She was in the pep club, the band, the class play, and chorus. She twirled fire baton and was a candidate for Valentine Queen. She showed up regularly in the local paper for making the honor roll and for her community activities. According to her obituary, Twila was active in Rainbow for Girls and 4-H, and graduated from Blair Business College in Colorado Springs. She took work as a legal secretary in Denver and Springfield before taking a job at the Otero County Welfare Office in February of 1971.
Twila had traveled from her home in Colorado to California for a safe, legal abortion. She was injected with saline on November 13, then expelled the dead fetus and the placenta the following day.
Twila had no blood pressure and was bleeding from IV sites, a sign of a potentially fatal clotting disorder. She was given oxygen and three units of blood and transferred to a fully-equipped hospital.
Upon arrival, Twila was comatose and bleeding heavily. Doctors removed some retained pregnancy tissue and sutured numerous uterine injuries, but were unable to address her clotting problems.
Twila died of cerebral hemorrhage. Despite the fact that her doctor had chosen an antiquated, dangerous abortion method, nobody was prosecuted in Twila's death. After all, her abortion was legal. There was no longer any call to hold anyone accountable for her death.
Learn more about the kind of abortion that killed Twila in her story on YouTube.
Sources: LA County Coroner Report 72-12165; Obstetrics & Gynecology 1973
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