Slipshod CPR Costs Woman her Life

On February 10, 1987, an ambulance arrived at an outpatient surgical facility to care for an unresponsive patient. The woman had begun having asthma symptoms after her surgery. Staff had twice helped her to use her inhaler, but then she'd stopped breathing.

The ambulance crew found the patient, 22-year-old Elise Kalat, lying on the floor. One nurse was performing CPR by pressing on Elise's abdomen rather than her sternum and another nurse was only managing to inflate Elise's cheeks, not her lungs, with the ambu-bag.

The doctor at the facility was under the impression that the CPR was effective because he was checking for a pulse in the wrong place.

Nobody had initiated professional level resuscitation procedures such as intubating the patient, defibrillating her, monitoring her cardiac signs on EKG, or administering cardiac medications.

Medics took over Elsie's care. She was finally successfully resuscitated at the hospital, but due to improperly performed CPR she had suffered devastating brain injury. Her condition continued to deteriorate and she died on February 12.

The outpatient surgical facility was a Planned Parenthood in Massachusetts.

You don't have to oppose abortion to recognize -- and be appalled by -- incompetence that costs a young woman her life.

From Colonial Times to the 1990s.

A Drawn-Out Colonial-Era Abortion

Sarah Grosvenor, age 19, died in Pomfret, Connecticut on September 14, 1742 after an abortion perpetrated by Dr. John Hallowell. Sarah wanted to marry the baby's father, Amasa Sessions, but he pressured her to go through with an abortion.

Beginning in mid-July, Sarah tried abortifacients given to her by a seedy local doctor named John Hallowell. The abortifacients only succeeded in making her ill. Hallowell gave various concoctions to Sarah over several a period of about two weeks before finally using instruments on August 2. Two days later, Sarah expelled a dead baby, a girl about half the size of a full-term newborn. Sarah's sister buried the baby in the woods. Sarah seemed to rally at first, but became progressively more ill, finally dying on September 14.

Chicago Abortions in the 1920s

The Notorious Dr. Lucy Hagenow

On September 14, 1925, 19-year-old Elizabeth Welter died in the Chicago office of Dr. Lucy Hagenow from complications of an abortion performed that day. Elizabeth, who worked as a clerk, had gone to Chicago from her home of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, a few weeks before her death.

Lawrence Vail was identified by the coroner as responsible for the pregnancy, and the coroner recommended his arrest. The coroner also recommended the arrest of Dr. Hagenow. However, because Vail refused to give a statement, police were unable to gather enough evidence to arrest her.

Dr. Lucy Hagenow

Like many physicians, especially female physicians, Hagenow was a popular Chicago abortionist. Elizabeth was one of the last Chicago abortion deaths attributed to Dr. Lucy Hagenow, aka Dr. Louise Hagenow. The others include:

• 1891: Minnie Deering
• 1892: Sophia Kuhn and Emily Anderson
• 1896: Hannah Carlson
• 1899: Marie Hecht
• 1905: May Putnam
• 1906: Lola Madison
• 1907: Annie Horvatich
• 1925: Lottie Lowy, Nina H. Pierce, Jean Cohen, and Bridget Masterson
• 1926: Mary Moorehead

Hagenow had set up shop in the more abortion-genial Chicago after being repeatedly prosecuted for abortion deaths in San Francisco. The first young woman, Louise Derchow, died in 1886. Annie Dories and Abbie Richards died in 1888. There were two other fishy deaths -- Emma Dep, whose abortion death Hagenow sloughed off as having been self-induced, and Franz Krone, an elderly man whose cash and valuables vanished as he died in Hagenow's hospital.

A Lay Abortionist With a Physician Accomplice

On September 14, 1928, 20-year-old Stella Wallenberg, a bindery worker, died from a criminal abortion performed in Chicago. Loretta Rybicki, identified as a "massaguer", was held by the coroner for murder by abortion. Dr. Nicholas Kalinowski was held as an accessory. Rybicki was indicted for felony murder on November 15.

It was not unusual for a lay abortionist to have a physician as an accomplice. Such physicians would do things such as train the lay abortionist, supply instruments and drugs, and provide aftercare if a woman suffered complications.

Safe and Legal in Philadelphia

Rhonda Rollinson, age 32, underwent a safe, legal abortion by Dr. Jay I. Levin at Malcom Polis's Philadelphia Women's Center September 3, 1992. The abortion attempt was unsuccessful. Rhonda was then sent home, with instructions to return on September 12 to try again.

Rhonda experienced such severe pain, dizziness, fever, and discharge that on September 10 she sought emergency care at a hospital. She was suffering "severe non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema consistent with adult respiratory distress syndrome." Doctors did a laparoscopy, dilation and evacuation, abdominal hysterectomy, and splenectomy, to no avail. Rhonda died on September 14. The autopsy revealed a perforation from her vagina into the uterine cavity, sepsis, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis, pulmonary infarctions, and dysplastic kidney.

The suit filed by Rhonda's survivors also charged the facility and Polis with hiring Levin despite his lack of competence, failure to properly supervise his work, violation of applicable laws and regulations, lack of informed consent, failure to give proper post-operative instructions, and failure "to respond to the requests of [Rhonda] and her family for post-operative medical advice."

A Gruesome Find, An Unknown, and Ignornace is Not Bliss

A Doctor Dumps a Body in Massachusetts, 1898

Emma Gill, age 26, died in Bridgeport, Massachusetts on September 12, 1898 after a botched abortion perpetrated by Dr. Nancy Guilford. Guilford and some accomplices dismembered Emma's body, wrapped the pieces up in rubber weighted with paving stones, and dumped the parcels in a river. Some young boys discovered the body that day and authorities were eventually able to identify Emma and trace the paving stones back to Guilford's property.

Jurors were so sickened by the testimony during the trial that a mistrial was declared. Rather than go through another triel, Guilford pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to ten years in prison. Her accomplices, for some reason, were never prosecuted.

An Unknown Abortionist in Chicago, 1917

On September 12, 1917, 20-year-old Genevieve Popjoy of Momence, Illinois, died at Chicago's Northwest Side Hospital from a criminal abortion perpetrated by an unknown suspect on about August 30. Given the abundance of physicians and midwives practicing abortion in Chicago at the time, it's likely that she availed herself of one.

Reassured to Death in Tennessee, 2001

Brenda Vise, a 38-year-old pharmaceutical representative, died on September 12, 2001, of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy after what she believed would be a perfectly safe, legal abortion at Volunteer Women's Clinic (VMC) in Tennessee. Despite having been shut down by the state on September 17, 1999, almost two years to the day before Brenda's death. VMC continued to do business and to advertise in the yellow pages for abortions, including chemical abortions.

Brenda had first gone to the clinic on Friday, September 7. VMC staff did a pregnancy test and did an ultrasound. According to the suit filed by her family, "Ms. Vise was advised that the ultrasound showed no fetus in the uterus. Clinic personnel explained that this was because the fetus was 'too small to be seen.' It was estimated that Ms. Vise was approximately six weeks pregnant. By such point in her pregnancy, a fetus in the uterus would have been easily seen with a proper ultrasound examination."

The lack of a visible fetus in the uterus should have clued the facility in to the fact that Brenda had an ectopic pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancy is a medical emergency and is a contraindication to the administration of Mifeprex. VMC gave Brenda a dose of Mifeprex. "Ms. Vise was advised by the Clinic that side effects of Mifeprex were mild and short-lived."

Brenda was then sent home from the facility with a dose Cytotec that she was to self-administer to complete her abortion. The clinic did not schedule a follow-up appointment the recommended 2-3 days after the administration of Mifeprex. Brenda was sent home without even knowing the name of her doctor, and was told to return to Knoxville if she had complications rather than go to a local doctor or hospital. When she got home, she called to report problems but staff told her that her symptoms were "normal and routine."

Brenda took the Cytotec as instructed roughly 48 hours after her initial dose of Mifeprex. She continued to experience pain and nausea, sub-normal body temperature, and paleness. She called VMC, but again was told that her symptoms were normal.

Brenda called VMC again on Monday, September 10, indicating her deteriorating condition. She was told that her symptoms were "to be expected," and was told to travel to VMC, in Knoxville, for a check-up at 3:30 p.m. "She was specifically directed not to go to a hospital in Chattanooga because, according to the Clinic, no hospital in Chattanooga would have knowledge about the drugs that had been administered."
Brenda's boyfriend tried to take her to Knoxville, "but was unable to do so" and called an ambulance, which rushed Brenda to a Chattanooga hospital.

"Ms. Vise was immediately admitted to the hospital in very critical condition. Exploratory surgery revealed that Ms. Vise had had an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy which had ruptured. Such rupture led to massive infection and a collapse of her vital systems."

"On September 12, 2001, the attending physician certified that Ms. Vise was terminal with no reasonable medical prospect of recovery and was in a coma and totally unresponsive. Ms. Vise died later that day."

Even though, in theory, women who choose abortion should be less likely to die of ectopic pregnancy complications, experiences shows that they're actually //more// likely to die because, as was the case in Brenda's treatment, symptoms that would normall send a woman quicly to a doctor or hospital are blown off as normal post-abortion symptoms until it is too late.

From a Possible Lay Abortionist to Safe and Legal

Possible Lay Abortionist in Chicago, 1918

On September 11, 1918, 35-year-old homemaker Gertrude Mathieson Harrington died in Chicago's Wesley Hospital from an abortion perpetrated by Helen Dugdale, whose profession is given as "abortion provider." Although Dugdale was arrested, the case never went to trial.

A Gynecologist in New York, 1962

Barbara Covington

Gynecologist Mandel M. Friedman, age 53, was charged with homicide in the September 11, 1962 death of Barbara Clarke Covington, age 35, a Florida socialite and Chi Omega Sorority sister. Friedman was out on bail for the abortion death of Vivian Grant.

Barbara, a divorcee, was the daughter of the late DeCarr Dowman Covington Sr., a wealthy Florida citrus grower, and was the sister of the Democratic Florida State Senate nominee D. D. Covington Jr. She had been living with her mother in New York.

A 31-year-old Madison Avenue advertising executive, Franklin Charles Beck, admitted to securing the $1,000 abortion fee and driving Barbara to Friedman's office.He told police, "I loved her. I wanted to marry her. I did not want her to go through with this thing." He waited for about an hour while Friedman operated, only to have the doctor come out and announce, "She's gone."

Beck initially went along with Friedman's plan to attribute Barbara's death to a heart ailment, but when Friedman tried to get an undertaker to arrange for the removal of Barbara's body, the undertaker reported the case to authorities, who immediately recognized Friedman's name and suspected illegal activities. Barbara's body was taken to the morgue at Queens General Hospital for autopsy.

Beck was questioned and offered a 10-page statement. Friedman was questioned by authorities and released on $10,000 bail shortly after midnight, pending completion of the autopsy. He was scheduled to surrender to the Queens District Attorney's Office. Instead he fled, leading to a 13-state manhunt that ended quickly. Friedman surrendered, accompanied by his attorney and refusing to give any statement other than his name, age, address, and occupation. After legal wrangling, Friedman entered a plea bargain, getting a manslaughter charge dropped and being sentenced to only two to four years at Sing-Sing.

A Biology Student in Massachusetts, 1970

William Day, a 21-year-old microbiology student at the University of Massachusetts, was given a five-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to charges relating to the death of his girlfriend, 21-year-old Nancy Kierzek. Day, who intended to become a doctor, perpetrated the abortion in his apartment. Nancy died of blood poisoning on September 10, 1970, a few hours after her admission to Holyoke Hospital in Boston. Abortion had been legalized in New York, so why Nancy would submit to an illegal abortion when within driving distance of a legal abortion remains a mystery.

A Physician in Chicago, 1976

Diane Smith, age 23, was one of the women mentioned in the Chicago Sun-Times expose, "The Abortion Profiteers." According to the report, and her death certificate, Diane was admitted to Englewood Hospital in Chicago due to hemorrhaging. She told staff that she'd had a legal abortion in a Chicago-area clinic. Diane was treated for a perforated uterus and sepsis, to no avail. Diane died on September 11, 1976.