A serious quack-fest

As I was blogging today's anniversaries, I noticed that we have a real quack-fest going on. Three of the four women whose deaths I am blogging about today died at the hands of habitual butchers. Two of those habitual butchers were safe and legal providers of vital reproductive health care services, and the other was evidently a role model.

Of today's four anniversaries, only Barbara Auerbach is not known to have been the victim of a serial botcher. Though she may well have been. My source documents did not identify the hospital where the fatal abortion was performed.

Our two victims of safe and legal vital reproductive health care services, Venus Ortiz and Mary Pena, suffered their fatal injuries under the care of National Abortion Federation member facilities.



Venus died after care at Eastern Women's Center in New York City, which had also allowed abortion patients Dawn Mack and Dawn Ravenelle to suffer fatal injuries.

Mary died after an abortion at San Vicente abortion hospital (Why would you name an abortion hospital after a Catholic saint?), which had already killed Sara Lint and Natalie Meyers before being bought out by National Abortion Federation member Familiy Practice Associates Medical Group shortly before Mary's death. And after Mary's death, Joyce Ortenzio died from care received at San Vicente. All of which is par for the course at Family Planning Associates Medical Group.

Other women and girls who died from their safe and legal abortions at FPA facilities include Deanna Bell, Chanelle Bryant, Patricia Chacon, Laniece Dorsey, Josefina Garcia, Denise Holmes, Susan Levy, Christina Mora, Kimberly Neil, and Tami Suematsu. That I know of.

But FPA owner Edward "Fast Eddie" Allred evidently had his role model in the doctor who was responsible for the death of the other woman whose fatal anniversary I mark today. Dr. Lucy Hagenow of Chicago was the "Fast Eddie" of her day, it seems. Courtesy of a revolving-door legal system in Chicago, she was able to do her dirty work on Bridget Masterson, Lottie Lowy, Nina H. Pierce, Mary Moorehead, Jean Cohen, Elizabeth Welter, and Marie Hicht.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

From these needless tragedies, the prolife and prochoice can both learn important lessons:

1. For the prochoice: Legalization didn't eliminate quacks. It just changed their legal battles from staying out of prison to dealing with lawsuits.

2. For the prolife: Criminalization alone isn't enough to stop these butchers. We have to enforce the laws, not just put them on the books.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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