Because of the way that the death of “Opal” was recorded and reported, not much is known about her.
Opal underwent a legal abortion in Texas and died in October of 2020. Even with the new system overhaul for abortion data reporting in the state, very little was recorded about her.
It should be noted that even though the law required physicians and hospitals should to report deaths by legal abortion on the form, the total number of abortion deaths under “reported by physicians” was listed as zero. The abortionist who killed Opal did not report her death, and neither did any doctors who may have treated her in an attempt to save her life. Her death would have been entirely unreported if an unknown person at the abortion facility hadn’t submitted a report. This brings attention to the issue of the new reporting system, which seems to still be missing data despite changes.
Less than two years after Opal’s death, the overturn of Roe v Wade allowed the state to strengthen abortion laws, protecting others like her. Unfortunately, this decision came too late for Opal and her baby.
No comments:
Post a Comment