1970: Abortion tourism proves fatal for Texas woman

After California legalized abortion on demand in 1970, a Texas company began selling abortion referrals and air fare. Twenty-year-old Katherine Morse was one customer.

Katherine was admitted to Bel Air Memorial Hospital in LA County on September 1, 1972. (Until Roe v. Wade, California abortions were performed in hospitals, and many hospitals opened specializing in abortion.) John Dupont initiated a saline abortion on Katherine. Katherine dveloped a 102 degree fever, then expelled the dead baby just after midnight on September 3.

Katherine's blood pressure rose, she went into shock, and was pronounced dead by Dupot at 9:40 AM. An autopsy found sepsis, and gangrene of the ovary.

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1971: Safe and lethal

"Vicki" is one of the women Life Dynamics identifies on their "Blackmun Wall" as having been killed by a safe and legal abortion. Vicki was 23 years old when she underwent an abortion in New York state. She was 20 weeks pregnant. Saline was injected into her uterus to begin the abortion. The next day, she began to show signs of infection. She expelled her dead fetus but her condition did not improve. On August 17, she died of sepsis.

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1972: Doctor ignores warnings, uses antiquated method, kills teen

Fifteen-year-old Gwendolyn Drummer was a student at Harry Ellis High in Richmond, California, when she was admitted to Doctor’s Hospital of Pinole for a safe and legal abortion, to be performed January 28, 1972. Her doctor chose the saline abortion method.

These abortions are performed by replacing amniotic fluid with a strong salt solution. In the decades after WWII, saline was being abandoned in countires where abortion was legal, in favor of safer methods. But as laws loosened up in the US, American docors adopted the method. 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 followed Japan in abandoning saline abortion as too dangerous by the late 1960s.

Gwendolyn's doctor injected the saline into her utuerus. It got into Gwendolyn's blood stream, just as British, Japanese, Soviet, and Swedish doctors had repeatedly warned it could do. Gwendolyn suffered organ damage. She developed pneumonia, and died on January 31.

Hear Gwendolyn's story in a minute:

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1986: Obsolete abortion technique leaves teen screaming, convulsing, dying

Christella Marie Forte, age 16, screamed, convulsed, and went into cardiac arrest 27 hours after instillation of saline for a safe, legal abortion at New Centre Hospital on January 14, 1986. She died without ever expelling the 23-week fetus.

The concentrated salt solution that had been injected into Christella's uterus to kill the fetus got into her bloodstream, poisoning her and causing cardiac arrest.

Strangely, her death certificate lists her manner of death as "natural," rather than "accidental."

A medical journal article that appears to be about Cristella's death says that she was an obese Black girl experiencing her first pregnancy. The article gives the gestational age as 21.5 weeks. Nothing seemed to have gone wrong with the injection, until 26 hours afterward when she "complained of severe abdominal cramps with projectile expulsion of amniotic fluid. Generalized convulsions and shaking followed and the patient went into shock. Death occurred within 2 hours."

"At autopsy, microscopic examination of lungs revealed pulmonary edema with marked vascular congestion..... Positive test results ... confirmed a diagnosis of amniotic fluid embolism. There was marked congestion of the blood vessels of the kidneys, liver, brain, and spleen."

What is particularly disgusting about Christella's death is how utterly needless it was: saline abortions had been discredited as far too dangerous for over a decade. The documents surrounding her death do not explain why her abortionist chose an outdated, high-risk procedure for his young patient.

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1977: California saline abortion proves fatal

On December 2, 1977, 29-year-old Jackie Bailey was injected with saline by Dr. Eboreime for an abortion at Pacific Glen Hospital in Los Angeles County. Five hours after Jackie expelled the dead baby, her condition appeared grave. Shortly after midnight, she was transferred to Memorial Hospital of Glendale. Doctors at Memorial suspected a uterine laceration, so they performed exploratory surgery. The bleeding was so profuse that they then performed a hysterectomy in a last-ditch attempt to save her life. Jackie died just before sunrise on December 3.

The autopsy report found that Jackie's uterus had ruptured during the abortion, and that her uterine artery had been lacerated. She had bled to death from her injuries.

Two years earlier, Cheryl Tubbs also bled to death from a ruptured uterus caused by a saline abortion at Pacific Glen.

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1971: Saline abortion proves fatal for Michigan woman

On September 23, 1971, 35-year-old "Barbara" died in a New York hospital, leaving five children motherless. The autopsy could find no anatomical cause of death. All that was known for certain is that she had traveled from Michigan to New York for an abortion. She had been 20 weeks pregnant. Within 24 hours of being injected with saline for the abortion, she went into convulsions, then her heart stopped, and all efforts to save her life failed.

Why did Barbara travel to New York for her abortion?
All abortions were illegal prior to 1973. Barbara had correctly guessed that it would be easier to arrange an illegal abortion in a big city like New York than anyplace closer to home.
Abortions were illegal in Michigan, but legal in New York, so Barbara had traveled to where she could obtain her abortion legally and safely.
Though abortions were legal, Barbara's pregnancy was so far advanced that she had to seek out a specialist in late abortions. The nearest one was in New York.

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1995: Abortion for Down syndrome kills baby, mother

Linda Boom, age 35, went to Sinai Samaritan Medical Center in Milwaukee for a safe, legal abortion on September 21, 1995.

Linda and her husband, Dennis Boom, had married in 1993 and planned to start a family. Linda learned that she was pregnant in June of 1995, but in September elected abortion because the fetus had been diagnosed with Down syndrome. Linda's aunt had Down syndrome, which Linda believed meant "no life."

Fourth-year resident Karen S. Watson administered an amnioinfusion -- injecting chemicals into Linda's uterus. Linda reported pain and said she was "burning up all over." This is consistent with what a woman might experience during a botched saline abortion.

Watson's supervising physician, Daniel Gilman, injected more chemicals into Linda's uterus. Dennis Boom's attorney, Patrick Dunphy, said that the two injections caused the heart damage that killed Linda 36 hours after the first injection.

Watson did not use ultrasound to guide the needle injecting the poison, and apparently she injected the chemicals directly into Linda's bloodstream instead of into the amniotic sac.

The defense, of course, says that there was no negligence. Also, the hospital says that Gilman is responsible for Linda's death, because he performed the second injection and was supervising Watson. Gilman can't be named in the suit because the statute of limitations expired before Linda's husband filed.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Gilman "had performed more than 100 abortions." Watson has started an ob/gyn practice in Milwaukee.

News coverage of the case does not indicate why Watson and Gilman chose the antiquated instillation technique for Linda's abortion. Since the late 1960s, nations such as Sweden, Japan, and the Soviet Union had abandoned instillation abortions as being far too dangerous for the mother. US abortionists finally began abandoning the technique in the mid-1980s -- for logistical reasons, not to protect women's lives. Saline took too long, was typically performed in a hospital, and carried the risk of a live birth.

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1970: Abortion tourism kills Texas woman in California

After California legalized abortion on demand in 1970, a Texas company began capitalizing on this by selling abortion referrals and air fare. Twenty-year-old Katherine Morse was one customer.

Katherine was admitted to Bel Air Memorial Hospital in LA County on September 1, 1972.

Why was Katherine's abortion performed in a hospital? There are two correct answers.
At that time, California required that all abortions be performed in hospitals.
Katherine's doctor had recommended an abortion for health reasons, so Katherine had chosen a package deal that included a hospital abortion rather than a clinic abortion.
Most abortions at that stage of pregnancy were performed by saline method, which required a hospital stay -- at least if the doctor was trying to protect his patient's well-being.
Katherine was well-to-do and could afford the additional fee for a hospital abortion rather than stay in a motel.

John Dupont initiated a saline abortion on Katherine. Katherine developed a 102 degree fever, then expelled the dead baby just after midnight on September 3.

Katherine's blood pressure rose, she went into shock, and was pronounced dead by Dupot at 9:40 AM. An autopsy found sepsis, and gangrene of the ovary.

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1970: New York abortion law claims another victim

"Alice" was 31 years old and 14 weeks pregnant when she chose to undergo a safe and legal abortion in New York City. She had a history of rheumatic heart disease and two previous live births. After saline was injected into her uterus to kill the fetus, Alice developed acute pulmonary edema (excess fluid in the lungs) and died on July 19, 1970.

New York had just legalized abortion on demand, effective July 1, 1970. Alice is the first woman known to have died specifically from a saline abortion under the new law. But she was not the first death: "Judy" has that dubious distinction. She had died on July 12 from complications of an abortion performed six days earlier.

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1992: Antiquated abortion technique leaves young woman dead

"Melissa" was 27 years old and five months pregnant when she checked into Lutheran Medical Center of Brooklin for a safe, legal abortion on May 1, 1992. For some reason, her doctor chose the dangerous and antiquated saline abortion procedure. She died of complications on May 11.

Anniversary: Antiquated abortion method leaves teen dead

Fifteen-year-old Gwendolyn Drummer was a student at Harry Ellis High in Richmond, California, when she was admitted to Doctor’s Hospital of Pinole for a legal abortion, to be performed January 28, 1972. Her doctor chose the saline abortion method.

These abortions are performed by replacing amniotic fluid with a strong salt solution. In the decades after WWII, saline was being abandoned in countires where abortion was legal, in favor of safer methods. But as laws loosened up in the US, American docors adopted the method. 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 followed Japan in abandoning saline abortion as too dangerous by the late 1960s.

Gwendolyn's doctor injected the saline into her utuerus. It got into Gwendolyn's blood stream, just as British, Japanese, Soviet, and Swedish doctors had repeatedly warned it could do. Gwendolyn suffered organ damage. She developed pneumonia, and died on January 31.

Hear Gwendolyn's story in a minute:

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Anniversary: Antiquated abortion technique proves fatal for teen

Christella Marie Forte, age 16, screamed, convulsed, and went into cardiac arrest 27 hours after instillation of saline for an abortion. at New Centre Hospital on January 14, 1986. She died without ever expelling the 23-week fetus.

The concentrated salt solution that had been injected into Christella's uterus to kill the fetus got into her bloodstream, poisoning her and causing cardiac arrest. Strangely, her death certificate lists her manner of death as "natural," rather than "accidental."

A medical journal article that appears to be about Cristella's death says that she was an obese Black girl experiencing her first pregnancy. The article gives the gestational age as 21.5 weeks. Nothing seemed to have gone wrong with the injection, until 26 hours afterward when she "complained of severe abdominal cramps with projectile expulsion of amniotic fluid. Generalized convulsions and shaking followed and the patient went into shock. Death occurred within 2 hours."

"At autopsy, microscopic examination of lungs revealed pulmonary edema with marked vascular congestion..... Positive test results ... confirmed a diagnosis of amniotic fluid embolism. There was marked congestion of the blood vessels of the kidneys, liver, brain, and spleen."

What is particularly disgusting about Christella's death is how utterly needless it was: saline abortions had been discredited as far too dangerous for over a decade. The documents surrounding her death do not explain why her abortionist chose an outdated, high-risk procedure for his young patient.

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Anniversary: Ruptured uterus, fatal hemorrhage

On December 2, 1977, 29-year-old Jackie Bailey was injected with saline by Dr. Eboreime for an abortion at Pacific Glen Hospital in Los Angeles County. Five hours after Jackie expelled the dead baby, her condition appeared grave. Shortly after midnight, she was transferred to Memorial Hospital of Glendale. Doctors at Memorial suspected a uterine laceration, so they performed exploratory surgery. The bleeding was so profuse that they then performed a hysterectomy in a last-ditch attempt to save her life. Jackie died just before sunrise on December 3.

The autopsy report found that Jackie's uterus had ruptured during the abortion, and that her uterine artery had been lacerated. She had bled to death from her injuries.

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Safe and Legal: Elizabeth Tsuji

Elizabeth Tsuji, a 21-year-old Cal State student, underwent an 8-week abortion at a local Planned Parenthood on November 11, 1977. She called the clinic in December to report that she was still not menstruating, but staff assured her that the abortion had been successful.

On February 1, 1978, Elizabeth confirmed that she was indeed still pregnant, five months along. The Planned Parenthood clinic referred her to Inglewood General Hospital for a saline abortion.

That evening, she packed a nightgown and told her family she was going to spend the night at a friend's house. That was the last time they saw her alive.

Elizabeth underwent the abortion on February 2, and died that day. Two autopsies were performed, neither of which could find a definitive cause of the young woman's death.

Abortionist Morton Barke was somehow involved, although documents aren't clear what his role was in her death. Barke also worked at the unsavory San Vicente Hospital. He is known to have been a partner at Inglewood and to have been involved in the deaths of Yvonne Tanner and Lynette Wallace. His involvement might have been that he served in a supervisory role.

The other women who met their deaths at Inglewood include:

Kathy Murphy

Cora Lewis

Belinda Byrd

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Safe-n-Legal: Christella Forte

Christella Marie Forte, age 16, screamed, convulsed, and went into cardiac arrest on January 14, 1986, 27 hours after instillation of saline for an abortion at New Centre Hospital. She died without ever expelling the 23-week fetus.

The concentrated salt solution that had been injected into Christella's uterus to kill the fetus got into her bloodstream, poisoning her and causing cardiac arrest.

Strangely, her death certificate lists her manner of death as "natural," rather than "accidental."

A medical journal article that appears to be about Cristella's death says that she was an obese Black girl experiencing her first pregnancy. The article gives the gestational age as 21.5 weeks. Nothing seemed to have gone wrong with the injection, until 26 hours afterward when she "complained of severe abdominal cramps with projectile expulsion of amniotic fluid. Generalized convulsions and shaking followed and the patient went into shock. Death occurred within 2 hours."

"At autopsy, microscopic examination of lungs revealed pulmonary edema with marked vascular congestion..... Positive test results ... confirmed a diagnosis of amniotic fluid embolism. There was marked congestion of the blood vessels of the kidneys, liver, brain, and spleen."

What is particularly disgusting about Christella's death is how utterly needless it was: saline abortions had been discredited as far too dangerous for over a decade. The documents surrounding her death do not explain why her abortionist chose an outdated, high-risk procedure for his young patient.