Wednesday, July 22, 2026

July 22, 1974: Grace Period for Hospital, Death for Mother

On July 22, 1974, 22-year-old Carole Yvonne Wingo's sister-in-law drove her to Mercy General Hospital for an abortion.

Despite the name, Mercy was not a general hospital. It was an abortion hospital. It was also a hospital in big trouble even before Carole's death.

The Michigan Public Department of Health had cited Mercy for 43 violations of nursing standards and 12 violations of physical plant standards in October of 1973, and had withheld their license. Among the violations were that the operating room lacked a cardiac monitor, a resuscitator, and a defibrillator. The facility was allowed to stay open until their license expired at the end of June. The owners then bought some time by appealing the health department order. Thus the place was still in operation when Carole decided on abortion.

Staff told Carole's sister-in-law to return in two hours. When she did, staff told her that Carole was still sleeping and that it was against hospital policy to awaken a patient. She called at one-hour intervals, and each time was told that Carole was still asleep. 

When she called at 4:30, staff told her that the doctor was talking to Carole in her room. When she called at 5:30 they told her to come to the hospital and speak to the doctor. When she arrived, they told her that Carole was dead.

Carole's mother, Mabel Wright, filed suit against the facility and doctors David Northcross, Chuk Nwokedi, and Robert Wolf on behalf of the family, including Carole's four-year-old daughter. 

Watch Grace Period Allows Woman's Death on YouTube.

Sources:

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July 22, 1925: Woman Implicated in Abortion Death

Mrs. Margaret Shott Hibbins, age 25, lived in White Plains, New York. On July 29, 1925, she was indicted for first degree manslaughter for the death of 17-year-old Gertrude H. Wynants of Ossining.

Gertrude had died in the Ossining hospital on July 19 from the effects of a criminal abortion.

The prosecutors were planning to ask that Hibbins's bail be set at $5,000, an amount that Hibbens would be able to meet.

According to census records, Gertrude was the daughter of Legrand Wynants, a carpenter, and his wife, Eva.

Sources:

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July 22, 1985: Happy Birthday, Bryan

Grok AI illustration
Lynette H. went to  Planned Parenthood of Mid-Michigan on July 16, 1985 for a safe, legal abortion.

Nobody performed an ultrasound to determine gestational age prior to the abortion. 

Dr. Alan Beer ruptured the amniotic sac. He evidently realized that Lynette was further along in the pregnancy than he'd believed, so he referred Lynette to University of Michigan Medical Center. 

Five days later she gave birth to a 2 lb. 3 1/2 oz. premature infant boy of approximately 25-29 weeks gestation. The infant, named Bryan, suffered developmental delay, intracranial bleeding, hydrocephalus, and disfigurement. 

Source: Washtenaw County Circuit Court Case No. 85-30344 NM

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July 22, 1949: Mom and Aunt Give Fatal Abortifacients

Alma Deery

Alma Fay Deery's parents did not approve of her boyfriend, 21-year-old musician and ex-paratrooper James Souch. They had ordered Souch to stay away from their daughter, a 16-year-old student at Phoenixville (PA) High School. 

In their efforts to break off the romance, they sent Alma to stay with her grandmother, Bertha Deery, in Sheeder, PA, on July 18, 1949. (One source says that Alma was staying with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ogden.)

The plan didn't work. At around 9:20 on the evening of July 22, James, who had tracked Alma to her grandmother's house, managed to meet with her secretly. He later told police that he had begged her to run away with him to Elkton, Maryland, to get married. She had agreed, James said. They planned to elope the following day.

They never got a chance. At 10:40 p.m.,  Alma was found unresponsive on the floor of her bedroom.

An unidentified person called the Phoenixville Hospital and asked for an ambulance to be sent to the home. It was too late. Alma was dead.

Coroner Cooper T. Bishop said that the death "didn't look natural." An autopsy determined that she was about a few months pregnant. It did not, however, reveal a cause of death, but did find "traces of chemical poisoning in the girl's body." He ordered the burial postponed pending an investigation. Alma's vital organs were sent to a laboratory for analysis.

A coroner's jury found that "Alma Fay Deery came to her death July 22, 1949, at 10:45 p.m., at Sheeder, Chester county, P., as the result of drugs administered by her parents, Gladys and Earl K. Deery."

Alma's father Earl K. Deery, a 44-year-old store clerk, was arrested on July 29 along with his wife, Mary Gladys Deery, age 37, and Mary's sister, Myrtle Lahr, age 31. The trio had voluntarily turned themselves in.

Earl and Mary were charge with attempted abortion causing death, aiding and abetting an abortion, and conspiracy to do an unlawful act by giving their daughter the fatal abortifacients. Myrtle was charge with aiding and abetting an abortion, conspiracy to do an unlawful act, and accessory before and after the fact. Each was held on $3,000 bail

Souch was arrested for aiding and abetting an attempt to commit an abortion but the charge was dropped and he signed out on a $500 bond as a material witness.

On December 5, Alma's mother and aunt pleaded guilty to administering drugs for an illegal purpose. They admitted that Mary had given Alma pills procured by Myrtle to cause an abortion. The last dose had been given to her around July 17, right about when Alma had been relocated to her grandmother's home to keep her away from the baby's father. Each woman was sentenced to serve between 1 and 12 months in prison. 

They were not charged for Alma's death because it was impossible to prove that the drugs were the cause of her death.  

About 30 - 40 Phoenixville residents had signed a petition asking for leniency based on the women's good reputations, but the judge said, "Much as the circumstances surrounding the case have aroused sympathy, I do not see that the offense of abortion may be minimized." Evidently, then the light sentence could have been, at his discretion, even lighter.

Sources:


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Tuesday, July 21, 2026

July 21, 2012: Another Young Black Woman Dies at Planned Parenthood

Tonya Reaves, age 24, was engaged to be married and had a toddler son at home when she went to Planned Parenthood at 18 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago on Friday, July 21, 2012.

The facility advertised abortions up to 18 weeks. The procedure was initiated at 11:00 a.m. The method chosen for the abortion, D&E, is typically used for abortions between 14 and 18 weeks. It is possible that a miscalculation of the fetal age led to what happened next -- a hole poked in Tonya's uterus.

Although the injury would have happened close to 11:00 Tonya wasn't taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital until 4:30.

Regardless of the source of the perforation, Tonya was returned to surgery, where “an uncontrollable bleed was discovered.” She was pronounced dead at 11:20 p.m. The CDC's article noted, "Deaths from hemorrhage can be eliminated by preventing uterine trauma during abortion and by rapidly diagnosing and treating hemorrhage if it occurs." Planned Parenthood, for some reason, failed to prevent the uterine trauma and failed to rapidly diagnose and treat Tonya's hemorrhage.

Tonya was rushed to Northwest Memorial Hospital in Chicago and pronounced dead at 11:20 p.m. 

The Centers for Disease Control published back in 1983, "Deaths from hemorrhage associated with legal induced abortion should not occur." In every hemorrhage death they investigated, "Lack of adequate postoperative monitoring or treatment of hemorrhagic shock" was a factor. Tonya's death was no exception. Her abortion was performed at 11:00 a.m., but she remained at the facility for hours until finally an ambulance was called, taking her to the hospital at 4:30 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., doctors performed an ultrasound, followed by another D&E procedure, though it is unclear whether they were removing retained tissue or aborting a second fetus. Tonya had continued pain and bleeding, so a second ultrasound was performed, revealing a uterine perforation. It is unclear whether this was a perforation from the initial D&E at Planned Parenthood or from the follow-up at the hospital.

Tonya is just another abortion death at Planned Parenthood. The others I know of include:
  • A few of Planned Parenthood's dead patients
    Alexis "Lexie" Arguello    , age 18, died February 6, 2025 after delayed care for abortion complications at Planned Parenthood in Fort Collins, Colorado
  • "Luanne," age 31, died in November of 2022 from complications of a surgical abortion at a Planned Parenthood in Indiana
  • Alyona Dixon, age 24, died September 28, 2022 from sepsis after a chemical abortion at Planned Parenthood in Nevada
  • "Lucy," age 29, died April of 2022 from complications of medication abortion at Planned Parenthood of Georgetown, Indiana
  • Cree Erwin-Sheppard, age 24, died July 4, 2016 after an abortion at Planned Parenthood in Kalamazoo, Michigan
  • Tonya Reaves, age 24, died July 21, 2012 from hemorrhage after a Planned Parenthood in Chicago, Illinois, delayed care for an abortion injury
  • "Ella," died c. 2010, from failure to diagnose ectopic pregnancy prior to prescribing abortion pills at an unspecified Planned Parenthood
  • Roselle Owens, age 17, died September 8, 2009 when staff at Planned Parenthood of New York City failed to monitor her properly after her abortion
  • Bonnie Hunt, age 44, died August 5, 2008 from complications of an abortion at Planned Parenthood in Illinois
  • Edrica Goode, age 21, died February 14, 2007, from sepsis after contraindicated abortion prep at a Planned Parenthood in Riverside, California
  • Hoa Thuy "Vivian" Tran, age 22, died December 29, 2003 from sepsis after chemical abortion at Planned Parenthood at Costa Mesa, California
  • Holly Patterson, age 18, died September 17, 2003 from sepsis after abortion pills provided at Planned Parenthood in Riverside, California
  • Irene Stevenson, age 24, died July 12, 2002 from sepsis after an abortion at a Planned Parenthood in Chicago, Illinois
  • Diana Lopez, age 25, died February 28, 2002 from hemorrhage after a rushed abortion at a Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles, California
  • Elise Kalat, age 22, died February 12, 1987 after botched CPR at Planned Parenthood of Central Massachusetts
The abortion giant has a lot of explaining to do.

Thanks to Operation Rescue for Tonya's autopsy report and other documentation.

Watch "Black Lives at Planned Parenthood" on YouTube.
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Monday, July 20, 2026

July 20, 1970: Doctor-Recommended Abortion Kills Young Mom

Grok AI illustration
Barbara Riley was 27 years old when, under guidance of doctors, she agreed to undergo a safe and legal abortion and tubal ligation. She had given birth to three living children, but her last pregnancy had ended in the delivery of a stillborn child.

She was in her first trimester of pregnancy when she underwent the abortion on July 11, 1970 at Harlem Hospital. The abortion had been recommended by hospital staff because Barbara had a history of sickle cell disease. Barbara's abortion would have been completely and unambiguously legal under New York's old, restrictive abortion law because it was intended to save Barbara's life.

After the abortion, though, instead of improving, Barbara's health deteriorated. Her blood started to break down. Nine days after the abortion, July 20, Barbara died of sickle cell crisis triggered by the abortion.

The other women I've identified as dying from sickle cell crisis triggered by an abortion are Margaret Davis and Betty Hines.

In addition to Barbara, these are the women I know of who had the dubious benefit of dying from the newfangled safe-and-legal kind of abortion in pre-Roe New York:

  • Pearl Schwier, July, 1970, cardiac arrest during abortion
  • Carmen Rodriguez, July, 1970, salt solution intended to kill the fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
  • "Amanda" Roe, September, 1970, sent back to her home in Indiana with an untreated hole poked in her uterus
  • Maria Ortega, October, 1970, fetus shoved through her uterus into her pelvic cavity then left there
  • "Kimberly" Roe, December, 1970, cardiac arrest during abortion
  • "Amy" Roe, January, 1971, massive pulmonary embolism
  • "Andrea" Roe, January, 1971, overwhelming infection
  • "Sandra" Roe, April, 1971, committed suicide due to post-abortion remorse
  • "Anita" Roe, May, 1971, bled to death in her home during process of outpatient saline abortion
  • Margaret Smith, June 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
  • "Annie" Roe, June, 1971, cardiac arrest during anesthesia
  • "Annie" Roe, July, 1971, cardiac arrest during abortion
  • "Vicki" Roe, August, 1971, post-abortion infection
  • "April" Roe, August, 1971, death after saline abortion
  • "Barbara" Roe, September, 1971, cardiac arrest after saline injection for abortion
  • Carole Schaner, October, 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
  • "Tammy" Roe, October, 1971, sent home to Ohio to die of sepsis
  • "Beth" Roe, December, 1971, saline injection meant to kill fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
  • "Roseanne" Roe, February, 1971, vomiting with seizures causing pneumonia after saline abortion
  • "Connie" Roe, March, 1972, cardiac arrest during abortion
  • "Julie" Roe, April, 1972, holes torn in her uterus and bowel
  • "Roxanne," May, 1972, convulsions and death at start of abortion
  • "Robin" Roe, May, 1972, lingering abortion complications
  • Pamela Modugno, May, 1972, air in her bloodstream

Watch "Fatal 'Life of the Mother' Abortion" on YouTube.

Sources: 

  • "Abortion Death Victim Autopsy Slated Today," (White Plains, NY) Journal News, July 22, 1970
  • Maternal Mortality Associated With Legal Abortion in New York State: Jul. 1, 1970 - Jun. 30, 1972, Berger, Tietze, Pakter, Katz, Obstetrics and Gynecology, 43:3, Mar. 1974, 320
  • "Abortion Curbs Put Off by City", New York Times, Jul. 22, 1970
  • "Abortion Death Victim Autopsy Slated Today," White Plains (NY) Journal-News, Jul. 22, 1970
  • "Abortions Prove Fatal to Three N.Y. Women," The Troy Times Record, Jul. 22, 1970
  • "Abortion Autopsy Due," Canandaigua (NY) Daily Messenger, Jul. 23, 1970


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July 20, 1913: Names Doctor on Deathbed

On July 20, 1913, Mrs. Emma Chandler, age 20, died suddenly from complications of a criminal abortion perpetrated the previous day. In a deathbed statement, she named Dr. J.A. Richmond as her abortionist.

Her husband, Ora, a Denver grocery clerk, notified the police immediately after Emma's death. An investigation revealed that a friend had accompanied Emma to Richmond's practice after finishing work at the offices of a lumber company. After the abortion she was driven home.

Her husband returned from work and found Emma very weak. Overnight she became more and more ill. Around noon she realized that she was dying and sent for a neighbor, who she begged to pray for her. The neighbor remained by Emma's bedside, knitting and praying.

Some time in the afternoon Emma confessed about the abortion to her husband because she didn't want another child, feeling that her 3-year-old son was enough. Mr. Chandler sent for a doctor who lived across the street, but there was nothing he could do for her.

When Mr. Chandler spoke to police, he told them that several months earlier Emma had also undergone a criminal abortion and taken desperately ill. "At that time he had threatened to leave her if she ever dared undergo another such operation, and she had promised him never to risk her life again.

Richmond was arrested in Denver for her death. During the inquest he said that he hadn't known that Emma was pregnant, but was operating on her, at her request, to relieve gynecological pain that he'd unsuccessfully treated with medications.

Note, please, that with issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with, there was likely little difference between the performance of a legal abortion and illegal practice, and the aftercare for either type of abortion was probably equally unlikely to do the woman much, if any, good. For more information about early 20th Century abortion mortality, see Abortion Deaths 1910-1919.

For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

Sources:





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Sunday, July 19, 2026

July 19, 1970: Young Mom's Death Preventable and Predictable

Carmen Rodriguez* was 31 years old when she underwent a 14-week saline abortion at Lincoln Hospital in New York City. A saline abortion was performed by injecting a strong, sterile salt solution into the amniotic fluid. The fetus would then swallow and inhale the fluid, causing internal bleeding. After the fetus died, the woman would go into labor.

Choice of a Dangerous Procedure. 

Saline abortions are dangerous even for healthy women. became very popular in Japan following WWII. Within the Japanese medical community, however, word quickly spread: this method was unsatisfactory. Too many women were being injured and killed. Over 70 papers were published in the Japanese medical community reporting hazards of saline abortions, including at least 60 maternal deaths. The Japanese Obstetrical and Gynecological Society condemned the technique, and it was quickly abandoned. But the Japanese abortionists kept news of the trouble among themselves -- until Western nations discovered instillation abortions and embraced them with great enthusiasm.

Two Japanese doctors, Takashi Wagatsuma and Yukio Manabe, broke the silence. Wagatsuma wrote, "It is, I think, worthwhile to report its rather disastrous consequences which we experienced in Japan." Manabe wrote, "It is now known that any solution placed within the uterus can be absorbed rather rapidly into the general circulation through the vascular system of the uterus and placenta. Thus any solution used in the uterus for abortion must be absolutely safe even if given by direct intravenous injection. ... A solution deadly to the fetus may be equally toxic and dangerous to the mother. ... In spite of the accumulating undesirable reports, the use of hypertonic saline for abortion is still advocated and used ... in the United States and Great Britain. I would like to call attention to the danger of the method and would predict the further occurrence of deaths until this method is entirely forgotten in these countries."

As western abortionists gained experience with saline abortions, other grim reports arose. A British study published in 1966 found that the saline would enter the mother's bloodstream and cause brain damage. Swedish researchers noticed an unacceptably high rate of complications and deaths. Sweden and the Soviet Union abandoned saline abortion as too dangerous for women in the late 1960s.

For whatever reasons, American abortionists were deaf to these warnings. When New York had completely repealed its abortion law, doctors had tremendous leeway in abortion practice. In New York City in particular, it became popular to inject the woman with the saline in the office, then send her home with instructions to report to a hospital when she went into labor. This was, to say the least, a highly irresponsible way to use an abortion technique that was risky even when performed in a hospital under close medical supervision. Women started dying from these reckless saline abortions.

Even Riskier for Carmen

Carmen had a history of rheumatic heart disease and two previous live births. After the saline was injected, it got into Carmen's blood stream. This caused acute pulmonary edema -- fluid accumulation in the lungs -- and Carmen went into a coma from which she never recovered. She died on July 19, 1970, leaving behind a husband along with her children.

Defending Women vs. Defending Abortion

After Carmen's death, a militant Puerto Rican group, The Young Lords, swung into action. They pointed out that doctors at Lincoln Hospital knew that Carmen had heart problems and failed to take proper precautions -- a very valid claim. After all, saline abortions had long been known to be risky to the woman's heart. They demanded the resignation of Dr. Joseph J. Smith, the hospital chief of obstetrics and went so far as to physically remove him from the hospital and create such a disturbance that 27 doctors staged a walkout until the protests could be brought under control.

Merle Goldman, spokeswoman of an abortion advocacy organization, did not share The Young Lords' outrage. Ms. Goldman said she hoped that Carmen's death wouldn't deter other women from undergoing abortions. She touted abortion's reputed safety and stressed that her group was lobbying against proposed health department regulation of abortion practice. This "access Ã¼ber alles" attitude has never died in abortion-rights circles, in spite of appalling practices of the abortionists:

Detractors Proven Right

New York City Chief Medical Examiner Milton Helpern, on the other hand, expressed concern that ill-equipped and poorly-staffed freestanding legal abortion facilities were posing a danger to women. New York City health officials noted that just within the city's hospitals there were three maternal deaths during the first 20 days of abortion-on-demand.

The 1970 liberalization of abortion had made New York an abortion mecca until the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling that abortionists could legally set up shop in any state of the union. In addition to Carmen, these are the women I know of who had the dubious benefit of dying from the newfangled safe-and-legal kind of abortion in pre-Roe New York:

1970: Pearl Schwier,  cardiac arrest during abortion; Barbara Riley, sickle-cell crisis triggered by abortion recommended by doctor due to her sickle cell disease; "Amanda" Roe, sent back to her home in Indiana with an untreated hole poked in her uterus; Maria Ortega, fetus shoved through her uterus into her pelvic cavity then left there; "Kimberly" Roe, cardiac arrest during abortion

1971: "Amy" Roe, massive pulmonary embolism; "Andrea" Roe, overwhelming infection; "Sandra" Roe, committed suicide due to post-abortion remorse; "Anita" Roe, bled to death in her home during process of outpatient saline abortion; Margaret Smith, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion; "Annie" Roe, cardiac arrest during anesthesia; "Annie" Roe, cardiac arrest during abortion; "Vicki" Roe, post-abortion infection; "April" Roe, injected with saline for outpatient abortion, went into shock and died; "Barbara" Roe, cardiac arrest after saline injection for abortion; "Tammy" Roe, massive post-abortion infection; Carole Schaner, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion; "Beth" Roe, saline injection meant to kill fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream; "Roseanne" Roe, vomiting with seizures causing pneumonia after saline abortion

1972: "Connie" Roe, cardiac arrest during abortion; "Julie" Roe, holes torn in her uterus and bowel; "Robin" Roe, lingering abortion complications; "Roxanne" Roe, given overdose of abortion sedatives; Pamela Modugno, air in her bloodstream

The bulk of these deaths were published in a report by the New York Health Department covering the period from June of 1970 through June of 1972. 

Watch "Risky Procedure + High Risk Patient = Dead Woman" on YouTube.

* Carmen is "Alice" Roe on the Life Dynamics Blackmun Wall

Sources:


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Saturday, July 18, 2026

July 18, 1979: Dead Before Day's End

Grok AI illustration
Geneva Colton, age 21, a mother of two, wanted to stay off welfare, according to what her friend, Joy Fisher, told the Atlanta Constitution. She was a full time meter maid and school crossing guard for the Cochran, GA, police department and worked part-time at a restaurant. "She just felt she could not support another child without going back on welfare." Geneva, Joy said, had nearly completed her studies to get her GED and would have taken the last two tests in September. "She wanted that certificate so she could become a certified policewoman."

Joy supported Geneva's choice, and drove her friend to Northside Family Planning Service in Atlanta on July 18, 1979. They left Cochran at 6:10 a.m. and talked about Geneva's two little boys during the trip. They were about ten minutes late for the 9 a.m. appointment. Joy even helped Geneva to pay for the procedure, performed at 10 weeks of pregnancy.

"She was a unique individual in that she was a young black woman with two children who could have had a relatively carefree life on welfare. But she elected to fight it, and she was pulling herself up by herself with no help really from anybody much except the friends around her who loved her," Joy said.

It was 4:00 p.m. before Geneva was discharged. "She was obviously in pain coming back, and I stopped once to buy a pillow to make her more comfortable," Joy said. "She appeared to be having abdominal cramping, which they had told her she would experience."

Joy dropped Geneva off at a friend's house in Cochran at about 7:30 p.m. About an hour later, Joy said, the friend called and said that Geneva had been taken to the emergency room at Bleckley County Hospital.

A hospital spokesman told the Constitution that Geneva had no vital signs on arrival. She was pronounced dead at 9:30 p.m. after attempts to resuscitate her failed. The hospital contacted the Centers for Disease Control to report Geneva's death. Geneva was the fifth legal abortion death reported in Georgia since the 1973 Supreme Court decision, Roe vs. Wade, which struck down nearly all limits on abortion practice in the United States. Dr. George Rubin of the CDC said that those five deaths could be considered a "rash" of deaths.

The autopsy found that Geneva's uterus had been perforated. She had bled to death. A jury awarded Geneva's two young sons, ages 4 and 7 at the time of her death, $225,000 in a malpractice suit. ($600,000 in 2020 dollars.) Both the clinic and Dr. Lawrence Cohen were named in the suit. The boys ended up under the guardianship of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services.

Northside was eventually sued by their malpractice insurer because they'd allowed one of their abortionists to continue to perform surgery even though his manual dexterity had deteriorated due to multiple sclerosis. The suit by the insurer also alleged failure to meet state health standards, failure to have enough nurses on duty, failure to have proper on-call procedures, and lack of a professional director of medical services.

The clinic where Geneva's fatal abortion was performed seems to be the same clinic where Catherine Pierce underwent her fatal abortion in 1989.

Geneva's death also highlights a sad reality: According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a Black woman is nearly twice as likely to end up on the abortion table than a white woman, and once she's on that table she's significantly more likely to end up dead. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 35% of abortions are performed on white women and about 38% on Black women.  Of the 95 legal abortion deaths for which I've been able to determine the woman's race, 47% were Black woman and only 30% were white women. (Asian women were 3% and Hispanic women 19%.) 



****************************


New Sources on Geneva's death:

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July 18, 1979: Safe and Legal Gas Gangrene

Gail Ann Vroman had been a very active student at Huntington North High School in Huntington, Indiana. She was active in gymnastics and track as well as the school's Historical Society.

After graduation, Gail got a job as a beautician.

At the age of 20, in the summer of 1979, Gail discovered that she was pregnant. On Saturday, July 13, her boyfriend drove her to Fort Wayne Indiana to undergo an abortion. Gail was about ten weeks into her pregnancy.

The abortion at Fort Wayne Women's Health Organization was not performed by a local doctor but rather by Taskin Ratharathorn from New York. 

Opposition to Regulations

The clinic had only been in operation since June 10 of 1978 and was part of a chain with facilities in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and Wisconsin as well. 

In August of 1978 the clinic joined another Indiana abortion clinic, Women's Pavilion, in its bid to block the state from requiring abortion clinics to adhere to the same standards as other ambulatory surgery centers, saying that increasing licensing requirements would effectively shut down every abortion clinic in the state, despite the fact that one of the four Indianapolis abortion clinics, Indianapolis Women's Center, was licensed under the guidelines. Another clinic, Meridian Women's Clinic, had been licensed but dropped its license after Roe on the grounds that the decision forbade any but the most superficial state oversight.

Janet Craig, director of hospital and institutional services for the Indiana Board of Health, told the Indianapolis Star, "We have no power of enforcement right now. There is no clarification of the law." 

Indiana had originally attempted to require that abortions be performed in a licensed facility or hospital, but that requirement was struck down by the Federal Court decision Arnold vs. Sendak in 1976.  

The provisions that the Women's Pavilion and Women's Health Organization found too onerous included a requirement that the facility have a transfer agreement to a local hospital for treatment of injuries.

Dr. James Brillhart, co-owner of Indianapolis Women's Center, told the Indianapolis Sun that meeting the requirements increased capital costs, including $1,000 for a backup generator, and led to an increased cost of $20 - $25 per abortion. (That's roughly $90 - $114 in 2022.) Brillhart noted that "according to the Supreme Court, you can perform an abortion in a taxicab, if it's done by a licensed physician." He felt that the licensing requirements were medically necessary. He asserted that licensing could keep "unscrupulous individuals, who are just one step ahead of criminal abortionists" from practicing in Indiana.

"If people were not unscrupulous, if good doctors would set these up and run them, if they were viewed as medical facilities rather than investments, regulation wouldn't be necessary. I don't like to see legislation restricting good physicians' practices, but the wrong people take advantage of abortion, and so we need licensing.

The clinics fighting licensing requirements won their case.

Gail's Sickness and Death

Within a few hours after the abortion, Gail showed signs of sickness. At the recommendation of clinic staff, her boyfriend drove her to nearby Lutheran Hospital where she was admitted under the care of Dr. Ramesh Bhat. 

In spite of dialysis performed to try to make up for Gail's deteriorating kidney function, she died at 11:22 am on Wednesday, July 18.  The coroner ruled that the death was caused by clostridium perfringens, or "gas gangrene," which had caused her blood cells to deteriorate and her kidneys to shut down.

Gail's death was investigated by the Centers for Disease Control as well as Allen County health officials. Investigators contacted other women who had undergone abortions at the clinic. I've been unable to find the results of any investigation, and the CDC gave very short shrift to abortion surveillance in general and abortion deaths in particular for 1979 and 1980. Thus there is no way of knowing if the facility fell short in its care of Gail or if her death was just a fluke.

Watch "Slipshod Care or Just a Fluke" on YouTube.

Sources:

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July 18, 1918: Self-Induced in Pittsburgh

On July 18, 1918, 18-year-old Margaret B. Smith, an unmarried clerk, died at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. The coroner determined that she had died of septicemia from a self-induced abortion.

Margaret's father was Jeremy Smith and her mother was Lillian Baux Smith.

Watch Self-Induced in Pittsburgh on YouTube.

Source: Death certificate

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Friday, July 17, 2026

July 17, 1940: Kills Second Woman While Out on Bail

On July 17, 1940, Goldie Crow, 28-year-old wife of Oklahoma City milk truck driver Albert Crow, died of peritonitis from a criminal abortion performed July 2 by Otto Castro Lucy. Lucy was a 37-year-old psychologist and teacher, had previously been dean of men at Central State College. He performed the fatal abortion on Goldie while he was out on bail pending trial for the abortion death of Mary Ellen Legge. Though he was not a physician, Lucy had a listing in the telephone book reading "Dr. Otto C. Lucy".

Albert admitted that he had purchased some abortifacients, which had not had their desired effect. He went to Lucy's apartment in June, thinking that Lucy was a doctor. He told him that Goldie was pregnant and that they didn't want the child. He also told Lucy that he had no money, and Lucy said that he couldn't do anything for him.

A round-faced middle-aged White man wearing an overcoat and tie, dark fedora, and small wire-rimmed spectacles
Otto Lucy

But evidently either Albert found the money or he worked out some arrangement with Lucy, because on July 2, Lucy went to the Crow home at dusk and performed an abortion on Goldie. At some point that evening he called a nurse, Mrs. Ruth Bowen, to assist him. Some time afterward he returned to check on Goldie, found her condition improved, and recommended that she drink fruit juices and plenty of water.

Over the next few days, Goldie's condition deteriorated. Albert called Lucy, who said he'd done all he could for her and told Albert to take his wife to a hospital. Albert called the family doctor, who also said to take Goldie to a hospital. Albert called a taxi and did so. But despite the efforts of doctors there, Goldie died, leaving Albert to care for their two young children.

During the investigation into Goldie's abortion, police found surgical instruments wrapped in a towel and bloody newspaper, stuffed into a garbage can in the basement of the apartment building where Lucy lived. He was convicted of first degree manslaughter and sentenced to 25 years in the state penitentiary for Goldie's death.


Sources:

  • “Lucy Murder Trial Set for April 7”, The Oklahoman, Mar. 29, 1941
  • “Prosecutor is Set to Open Otto Lucy Death Trial Monday”, The Oklahoman, Apr. 5, 1941
  • “Surgical Tools Enter Lucy’s Abortion Trial”, The Oklahoman, Apr. 7, 1941
  • “No Witnesses Are Heard in Lucy Defense”, The Oklahoman, Apr. 8, 1941
  • “Teacher Convicted in Abortion Death Case,” Miami (OK) News Record, Apr. 10, 1941
  • “Lucy Drops Appeal Plan, Starts to Prison”, The Oklahoman, Apr. 14, 1941

Photo courtesy of Gateway to Oklahoma History

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July 17, 1901: Prominent Physician Implicated in Abortion Death

Julia's Death

At about 9 a.m. on July 17, 1901, 23-year-old widow Juliette "Julia" O'Brien, an immigrant from France, died at 3187 Carson Street in Pittsburgh, from complications of an illegal abortion which Julia had told her family had been perpetrated by Dr. Michael A. Arnholt. 

Arnholt was a prominent and very well-respected physician and political figure in Pittsburgh. He had served in the United States Senate from 1881 to 1884.

At the coroner's inquest, Julia's mother, Juliette Marie Maurice, through a French interpreter, added that on or around July 12, "My daughter told me that Dr. Arnholt had abused her several times when she was in his office."

Julia's sister-in-law, Helen Maurice, said that she'd gone to Arnholt's office at 1819 Sarah Street with Julia on the afternoon of July 5. Julia, she said, went back into another area with Arnholt and was there for more than a hour. Julia was pale and weak when she emerged, barely able to walk.

Arnholt went to the family home on July 15, cussing up a storm and berating Julia for telling her family about the abortion. Two other physicians -- Dr. W. H. McCombs and Dr. George P. Rossman -- were called in to attend to help attend Julia in her illness. Her mother had told both of them about the abortion, but they failed to report the abortion to the Coroner and were first censured then arrested for this failure.


Dr. Arnholt's Death

A sketched portrait of a bald white man, perhaps in his 60s, with a bushy white mustache, small eyes, and a squarish face
Dr. Arnholt
Julia's brother, Arthur Maurice, and sister, Marie Schmidt, had been planning to file suit and expose Arnholt's abortion practice if he did not pay them $5,000 (over $174,000 in 2022) in damages to cover the cost of caring for the 21-month-old child the abortion had left an orphan. He reportedly begged them on his knees not to subject him to the ignominy of being exposed as an abortionist. Putting him behind bars, he said, would not bring their sister back. 

Julia's sister said that a distraught Arnholt had torn at his hair and told them, "I know I did wrong. I know I did wrong in causing this poor girl to die." He offered to pay all of the expenses related to Julia's death and to pay $3 (c. $70 in 2022) per week for the maintenance of Julia's toddler until the child reached the age of 21.

Julia's siblings told Arnholt that they wanted the $5,000 up front instead, and decided to give him time to think about it. They agreed to meet with him on July 23 to discuss the situation. However, several hours before the scheduled meeting Arnholt committed suicide in his office by shooting himself through the heart.

Sources:

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