July 1, 1971: A Beneficiary of New York's Early Liberalization

Grok AI illustration

"Audrey" is one of the women Life Dynamics identifies on their "Blackmun Wall" as having been killed by a legal abortion.

Audrey was 44 years old when she underwent a first-trimester abortion in New York on July 1, 1971.

During the abortion she went into cardiac arrest. Attempts to revive her failed; she died that day, leaving three children motherless.

The Dubious Benefits of New York Law

"Audry" was one of many women who died in the window of opportunity between limited legalization and Roe's free-for-all. The Supreme Court could have looked at these deaths and decided enough was enough. They chose instead to trust in bogus reports -- such as the review of patient records from C.R.A.S.H. -- and pretend that legalization would magically make everything okay.

In addition to “Audrey,” 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:

• Carmen Rodriguez, July, 1970, salt solution intended to kill the fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
• Barbara Riley, July, 1970, sickle-cell crisis triggered by abortion recommended by doctor due to her sickle cell disease
• Pearl Schwier, July, 1970, anesthesia complications
• "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
• "April" Roe, August, 1971, death from outpatient saline abortion
• "Vicki" Roe, August, 1971, post-abortion infection
• "Barbara" Roe, September, 1971, cardiac arrest after saline injection for abortion
• "Tammy" Roe, October, 1971, massive post-abortion infection
• Carole Schaner, October, 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
• "Beth" Roe, December, 1971, saline injection meant to kill fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
• "Roseann" 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 "It's Not Advantageous of it Kills You" on YouTube.

LDI Sources: "Maternal Mortality Associated With Legal Abortion in New York State: July 1, 1970 - June 30, 1972," Berger, Tietze, Pakter, Katz, Obstetrics and Gynecology, 43:3, March 1974, 321.

July 1, 1981: Life-Preserving Abortion Ends Mother's Life Instead

Sheryl Cottone was 23 years old when she underwent a first trimester abortion in June of 1981.

She was rushed to Veteran's Memorial Hospital in Waukon, Iowa, on July 1. She was pronounced dead on arrival.

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An autopsy found that she had died from an embolism that lodged in her heart.

The following comment was left on a RealChoice blog post regarding Sheryl’s death. Until I have permission to use her name, I will refer to the author as “Lauren.”

listen, Sheryl was my mom. She died because of clot that formed after she had an abortion. The Dr. Said it would of killed her to have the baby. She really wanted another baby. However, she wanted to be there for the 3 kids she already had. She formed a clot due to have C Factor V Liden mutation, meaning blood prone to clots. Back in 83 they didn’t know or have much information on this condition. She just might of saved my life. I now know I have same condition and can take medical precaution with surgeries, etc….

According to the Mayo Clinic website, Factor V Leiden is a genetic mutation of one of the proteins in the blood that makes it clot properly. People with this disorder are at an increased risk of developing clots inside their blood vessels, usually in the veins. Women are at increased risk of developing blood clots while pregnant or when taking estrogen. Blood thinners can be prescribed to reduce the risk of these clots and to possibly lessen the damage caused by any clots that do develop.

If you have factor V Leiden and have developed blood clots, anticoagulant medications can lessen your risk of developing additional blood clots and help you avoid potentially serious complications. Fortunately, as Lauren pointed out, treatment options for pregnant women with Factor V Leiden are far better now than they were when Sheryl faced her difficult decision. The MayoClinic site notes:

Pregnancy complications. Most women with factor V Leiden have normal pregnancies. But the mutation has been linked with an increased risk of miscarriage and possibly other complications during pregnancy, including pregnancy-induced high blood pressure (preeclampsia), slow fetal growth and early separation of the placenta from the uterine wall (placental abruption). If you’re a pregnant woman with factor V Leiden, be sure your doctor monitors you carefully throughout your pregnancy.

…. There’s no evidence that preventive treatment with blood-thinning medications would be effective enough to outweigh the potential risks of using these drugs during pregnancy or delivery.

I am very grateful to Lauren for sharing her story, and have invited her, if she chooses, to share more.

Watch Life-Saving Abortion Proves Fatal on YouTube.

Source: Iowa Death Certificate 81-013385

July 1, 1896: Another of Dr. Lucy Hagenow's Dead

 From the records of the Cook County Coroner's office:

The said Hannah Carlson now lying dead at Passavant Memorial Hospital in said City of Chicago County of Cook State of Illinois came to her death on the 1st day of July AD 1896 From Peritonitis and Intestinal Gangrene following perforation of the uterus the result of an Abortion said Abortion being performed at 104 Wells St by one Louise Hagenow and one Ida Von Schulz and from the evidence presented We the Jury recommend that the said Louise Hagenow and Ida Von Schulz be held to the Grand Jury until discharged by due course of law.

Dr. Louise "Lucy" Hagenow

Hagenow and von Schulz were arrested and released on $5,000 bond each. Emil Olsen was indicted for having arranged the abortion; he was released on $1,500 bond.

Both Hagenow and von Schulz were identified in the Inter Ocean as midwives, which was a common way to refer to female obstetricians at the time. Each said that she had been licensed to practice medicine in Switzerland, though Hagenow would later claim to have graduated from medical school in the United States.

Hannah, age 19 or 20, was 8th of the 18 victims attributed to Dr. Lucy Hagenow:

1. Louise Derchow (1st San Francisco death, 1887)
2. Annie Dorries (1888)
3. Abbia Richards (1888)
4. Emma Depp (1888)
5. Minnie Dearing (1st Chicago death, 1891)
6. Sophia Kuhn (1892)
7. Emily Anderson (1892)
8. Hannah Carlson (1896)
9. Marie Hecht (1899)
10. Mary Putnam (1905)
11. Lola Madison (1906)
12. Annie Horvatich (1907)
13. Lottie Lowy (1925)
14. Nina Pierce (1925)
15. Jean Cohen (1925)
16. Bridget Masterson (1925)
17. Elizabeth Welter (1925)
18. Mary Moorehead (1926)

Watch "8th of 18" on YouTube.

Sources:

• 'Faces a Big Docket," The Inter Ocean, July 21, 1896
• "Told in a Paragraph," The Inter Ocean, August 2, 1896
• "Olsen Admitted to Bail," The Inter Ocean, August 30, 1896