Virginia P. underwent a similar ordeal when a school counselor arranged a secret abortion for her 14-year-old daughter, Erin, who ended up hospitalized with life-threatening complications. But again, Virginia's daughter survived.
Ruth Ravenelle has a different story to tell. "They told me I had to get down to St. Luke's right away, that Dawn was at that hospital fighting for her life. I was going, 'How can she be fighting for her life? She left for school this morning, looking healthy, never been sick.' While I was there at the hospital -- they were doing tests -- I had to keep my hand pressed over my mouth to keep from screaming in horror. I kept going, 'This is all a bad dream. I am going to wake up and this will not have happened.'"
Dawn, just 13 years old, had undergone an abortion arranged by a school counselor, paid for by her 15-year-old boyfriend using a relative's credit card.
Dawn's family kept a vigil at her bedside, to no avail. She died of her injuries on Marcy 11, 1985.
For more on secret abortions for teens, and the cost these girls pay, see:
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