Haskell, the PBA pioneer, is unlicensed, and NAF seems okay with that

Pro-Life Law Firm Works to Shut the Doors on Illegal Abortion Center in Ohio (italics mine)

On Friday, February 29, ... the Thomas More Society, will reveal in a press conference that the Ohio Department of Health has revoked the license of the Women's Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio on February 14, 2008. This abortion facility, the last in Dayton, is owned and operated by Dr. Martin Haskell, nationally known for his pioneering and promotion of the partial birth abortion method. Despite having its license revoked, the facility is still in operation illegally. The Thomas More Society is preparing a Citizens Action Lawsuit to ask the courts to close the center if it continues to operate in violation of state laws. ....

Haskell's abortion facility performs approximately 2,600 abortions annually and has not been able to comply with Ohio's requirement that clinics not within a hospital must have a hospital transfer agreement to properly care for patients who are injured during abortions. This legal requirement applies to all free-standing surgical facilities in Ohio, not just abortion facilities. Dr. Haskell tried unsuccessfully to obtain an agreement; however because he is not an OB-GYN and does not have admitting privileges at any Dayton-area hospitals he was denied.

....

Haskell has been fighting state officials since 1999, when it was first discovered by a routine records search that he was operating without a license. Dr. Haskell brought his case before state and federal trial and appeals courts as well as state agencies and has repeatedly lost his bid to evade licensing and compliance with Ohio law. ....

Note: Despite not being licensed by the state, despite not having admitting privileges at a hospital, this abortion mill still manages to be a member of the National Abortion Federation. Check their "provider" search page.



Elsewhere on NAF's web site, they guide you through how to find a high-quality abortionist. The number one question on their list is, "Is the provider licensed by the state?" In the case of at least this member, the answer is a resounding "NO!" And it has been "NO!" since at least 1999.

Further down the page, NAF assures visitors:

In order to become a member, a clinic must complete a rigorous application process. Member clinics have agreed to comply with our standards for quality and care, updated annually in our Clinical Policy Guidelines, which set the evidence-based standards for abortion care in North America. NAF periodically conducts site visits to confirm that our clinics are in compliance with our guidelines.

Here's where it gets really interesting: I went through the Clinical Policy Guidelines, and didn't find anyplace a requirement, or even a recommendation, that the facility be licensed the the state. Ditto for any requirement or recommendation that the physician have hospital admitting privileges. So I guess operating illegally, and just shipping her off to the emergency room and foisting off her care on whoever is on duty there, fit in with how NAF does things.

I also didn't notice -- though I didn't read through very thoroughly so I might have missed it -- any requirement that transfers be done by ambulance, or that the patient's condition be adequately relayed to the hospital staff.

Does anybody else find this creepy at best?

While we're on the topic of Haskell, here are summaries from my notes on him:

HASKELL, Dr. (William Mudd) Martin

A deposition regarding Marty Lynn R. has Haskell admitting that at his facility, pregnancy tests are performed "Most times, but not necessarily," prior to an abortion. Haskell admitted failure to perform differential diagnosis for a presenting problem of post-abortion tenderness, chills, and fever. In Marty Lynn's case, he said, he performed an exam, then administered antibiotics. (Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Case No. 92-2709; American Medical News 7-5-93)

Medical news story reports he says most of the abortions he does are done for reasons other than medical indications, and that his qualms about third-trimester abortions are "only for technical reasons, not for emotional reasons of fetal development." A news article indicated that a witness who allegedly observed 17 other procedures told police that one infant girl of 21 or 22 weeks gestation had emerged alive before the procedure had been completed, and survived approximately 20 minutes on September 21, 1989. The police did not prosecute because it was the student observer's word against Haskell's. Haskel claimed that her complaint was a personal attack because he does abortions. The student responded, "I don't want this to sound like I'm a freak antiabortionist. I don't want to sound like a radical," but said that she had gotten permission to observe abortions because she thought she would like to be nurse or doctor specializing in abortions. (Associated Press 12-11-89)

Pamela F. alleged that she underwent an abortion February 29, 1988, at The Women's Center, Cincinnati. She faulted Haskell with negligence resulting in missed or septic abortion requiring hospitalization and incursion of large medical bills. (Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Case No. A8901734)

Tena C. alleged that she underwent an abortion by Haskell at Women's Center, Cincinnati, October 7, 1977. She faulted Haskell with failure to take a proper medical history, failure to provide informed consent, failure to make a proper diagnosis, performing a negligent abortion procedure, and failure to advise her of proper post-operative instructions. These shortcomings, she said resulting in pain, emotional distress, and permanent injury. A deposition in this case indicates retained fetal parts, a tear in Tena's uterus and bladder, infection, sepsis, and medical bills in excess of $7000. Tena settled out of court. Haskell admitted in a deposition regarding that Tena's questions were answered by the receptionist, not by a doctor. Haskell described his receptionist as "a lay person that has had some experience in the methods we follow at the Women's Center."(Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Case No. A7802715)

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Anniversary: Planned Parenthood patient bleeds to death after abortion

Diana Lopez, age 25, was 19 weeks pregnant when she went to a Planned Parenthood for an abortion on February 28, 2002. She was 19 weeks pregnant. Before the day was over, Diana had bled to death. She left two sons, 4-year-old Frankie and 2-year-old Fabian, motherless. The taxpayers of California paid for the fatal abortion, courtesy of Medi-Cal.

After the abortion, Diana had been rushed by ambulance to County Women‘s Hospital, where a hysterectomy was performed and Diana was given five units of whole blood in a futile attempt to save her life. The autopsy noted that Diana had hemorrhaged from a perforation of her cervix. Diana‘s husband, David, filed suit, alleging that the abortionist‘s haste caused severe lacerations that killed his wife. The suit says that Diana‘s abortion was rushed through in ony six minutes, although Planned Parenthood‘s own web site says such a procedure should take 10 to 20 minutes. The lawsuit also blames Planned Parenthood for proceeding with an abortion even though her hemoglobin levels were abnormally low prior to the procedure.

The family‘s attorney also noted that in 2000, the same Planned Parenthood rushed another woman though a similar 6-minute abortion, lacerating the patient‘s cervix, rupturing her uterus, perforating her sigmoid colon and causing the loss of 2 liters of blood. Planned Parenthood also delayed three hours before transferring the patient to a hospital. Fortunately, this patient survived her ordeal. A review of Los Angeles County civil cases indicates that this patient was probably Kimberly Thomas, who sued on April 19, 2002, after her abortion by Joseph Marmet. Kimberly‘s suit was one of roughly 50 filed against the Los Angeles Planned Parenthood from 1983 to 2002. The medical board took no action against Marmet.

The medical board took no action against Diana‘s abortionist, Dr. Mark Maltzer, either. However, the California Department of Health Services investigated the facility and cited Planned Parenthood for (links are to cases with similar issues at Planned Parenthood):

• Failing to institute a necessary change in medical protocol relating to the use of laminaria (used to expand the cervix) in the dilation and evacuation procedure.
  
• Lacking the evidence to show a completed assessment of the competency and credentials of the physician who carried out the abortion.
  
• Inadequately advising against a potentially dangerous second-trimester D&E procedure based on low hemoglobin levels.
  
• Failing to follow proper surgical abortion policy and procedure by administering Cytotec to the patient on day one of the two-day abortion procedure, when policy requires it to be administered 90 minutes before the abortion procedure.
  
• Failing to inform Planned Parenthood‘s governing body of any adverse outcome related to patient care within the facility.
  
• Failing to notify the Health Department of a patient's death within 24 hours of the occurrence.
  
• Keeping incomplete records describing the services provided to Diana Lopez.

The fact that the Planned Parenthood has made "corrections" to satisfy the state does not satisfy Diana‘s family. "It was wrong. It was wrong," said Judy Lopez, Diana‘s older sister. "She was healthy. She was fine."

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Anniversary: Planned Parenthood referral proves fatal

Andrea Corey was 31 years old when she died of post-abortion infection on February 28, 1993. Se had been referred by nearby Planned Parenthood to Southern Tier Women's Services in New York for an abortion. Andrea had sent home after her abortion with retained tissue that caused the infection that took her life.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Anniversary: Woman killed by safe, legal aboriton in the US Virgin Islands

According to Priests for Life, Diane Adams died from a botched legal abortion on February 28, 1992. They cite a March 5, 1992 article in the Virgin Islands Daily News. They cite one other death, that of Rosael Rodriguez, from that article.

Human Life International mentions that abortionist Angel Acevado Montalvo was charged with manslaughter in two cases of maternal deaths from abortion, then also notes that after his conviction, Montalvo went right back to business doing abortions. Rosael Rodriguez and Diane Adams are most likely the two women referred to by HLI.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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RIP, WFB

Conservative Writer, Commentator William F. Buckley Jr. Dies at 82

Editor, columnist, novelist, debater, TV talk show star of "Firing Line," harpsichordist, trans-oceanic sailor and even a good-natured loser in a New York mayor's race, Buckley worked at a daunting pace, taking as little as 20 minutes to write a column for his magazine, the National Review.

Yet on the platform he was all handsome, reptilian languor, flexing his imposing vocabulary ever so slowly, accenting each point with an arched brow or rolling tongue and savoring an opponent's discomfort with wide-eyed glee.

....

"Mr. Buckley," one non-fan wrote in 1967, "you are the mouthpiece of that evil rabble that depends on fraud, perjury, dirty tricks, anything at all that suits their purposes. I would trust a snake before I would trust you or anybody you support."

Responded Buckley: "What would you do if I supported the snake?"

I'm confused

I got this from Lifenews.com:

Hotline Founded After Woman's Suicide Now Directs Callers to Abortions

A crisis hotline established after a woman committed suicide following an abortion was meant to help women like her. Now, the suicide prevention phone number is in the hands of a New York City agency that is using it to direct women in crisis pregnancy situations to abortion centers.

Reese Butler established the hotline after his wife Kristin, who suffered from bipolar and borderline personality disorders, committed suicide after she had an abortion.

Her physician presented abortion as the only decision in a complicated pregnancy. After tremendous grief following her death, Butler said he felt god leading him to establish the number for others in crisis.

But when I looked up Kristin Brooks Rossell, I found a bunch of pages saying she committed suicide after postpartum depression.

What's the story here?

Milwaukee teen pregnancies: 71% from statutory rape!

Extreme 'Shock Ads' Disgust Consumers to Make Their Point — and Consumers Are Disgusted

United Way ads showing a little girl's face atop a busty woman's body to fight teen pregnancy and statutory rape created an uproar online that got them yanked before they went to print.

....

The campaign was launched to battle the worrying 71 percent of teen pregnancies in Milwaukee that arise from statutory rape, according to the nonprofit powerhouse.

Yikes! And are these statutory rapes actually reported? Or is the number an estimate based on polls of PP customers?

See the ads here. (They mix the order of the ads in the slideshow; click through to find them.) Personally, I think they're right on-target.

Equally dead. Equally tragic?

On February 27, 1926, 36-year-old Anna Welger died in her home from complications of an abortion performed that day. Theresa Struhala was indicted for felony murder in Anna's death. Struhala's profession is not listed. John Welger, whose relationship to Anna was not disclosed, was booked as an accomplice, but was later released.

"Roseanne" Roe, age 37, died February 27, 1971, in a New York hospital where she had been admitted earlier in the month for a safe, legal saline abortion. Roseanne left four children motherless. She had begun having siezures and vomiting after the abortion was initiated, and had aspirated on the vomit and developed the pneumonia that ended her life.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Respect for bodily autonomy?

ABC News has published a Top Ten List of critters that give painful stings or bites or such. The stonefish packs quite a whallop:

"I got spiked on the finger by a stonefish in Australia … never mind a bee sting. … Imagine having each knuckle, then the wrist, elbow and shoulder being hit in turn with a sledgehammer over the course of about an hour. Then about an hour later imagine taking a real kicking to both kidneys for about 45 minutes so that you couldn't stand or straighten up. I was late 20s, pretty fit physically and this was the tiniest of nicks. Got sensation back in my finger after a few days but had recurrent kidney pains periodically for several years afterwards."

The report continues, "Other stories describe sting victims wanting to have their stung limb amputated from their body."

Now, here's the question: If a doctor is at hand, with the capacity to provide the requested amputation, should he:

A. Perform the requested amputation. The patient has a right to make decisions about his body. The patient is in such horrible pain, and it would be cruel and condescending for the doctor to refuse the request.

B. Inform that the pain is self-limiting, and that the desire for amputation will abate when the pain does.

Now, many of you would scoff, saying that patients would realize that the pain is self-limiting and will go away. But what if he didn't?

That's the situation of many women contemplating abortion. Panic and rejection are normal in early pregnancy, often accompanied by the idea that an abortion would be the best way to proceed. But these feelings are normal and typically self-limiting. They go away with time.

Ought not a responsible physician inform the woman requesting abortion that, like the stonefish-stung patient, she is in the throes of something that is self-limiting, that will pass?

Why aren't women told this? Why is the normal ambivalence and rejection of early pregnancy instead treated as some sort of "proof" that the woman is truly unready or unfit to welcome her baby?

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Consumer Culture: Hey, it's all about choice!

Accuracy of gender test kits in question

"I wouldn't have had an abortion, but there are women out there who experience really big disappointment," said Jolene Sodano, a stay-at-home mother in Nazareth, Pa., whose daughter was mistakenly identified as a boy. "They really want to give their husbands the little boy they want, or a little girl, and they will abort based on these results."

Children as a consumer good, redux.

HT: World Magazine Blog

A hard habit to break, I guess

Abortion Practitioner Laurence Reich Arrested for Practicing Without License

This guy was a real piece of work. He surrendered his license in order to halt an investigatio of his sexual abuse of patients. But evidently abortion is a hard habit to break, because he got caught practicing without a license at Bertha Bugarin's string of seedy abortion mills. Bugarin was arrested herself for performing abortions without a license, evidenly when her supply of quacks ran out.

Anniversary: Criminal abortion death in Massachusetts

On February 26, 1924, a woman not named in the Westlaw summary died of septicemia in a Massachusetts hospital. I'll refer to her as "Patsy" Roe. She had been hospitalized since February 11 from complications of an abortion performed on February 6 by Ida Cantor, whose profession I have been unable to determine. A jury found that Ida used improperly sterilized or non-sterile instruments in the abortion.



For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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Baldness gene identified: Should we screen and abort?

Gene discovery may lead to new baldness drugs

Researchers have identified a gene linked to hair loss that could lead to new drugs to treat baldness.

The gene is responsible for a rare hereditary form of hair loss known as Hypotrichosis simplex, a condition affecting 1 in 200,000 people, in which people begin going bald in childhood, the researchers reported in the journal Nature Genetics.

Why is it that when they can spot a "bald gene", the talk is about developing a cure, but when they can spot Down syndrome, it's all a search-and-destroy mission?

Surely this premature hair loss is a social and psychological burden for those afflicted. "It's treatable," you may scoff. "Why, you can just wear a wig, if nothing else!"

Yeah, and cleft lip is treatable. It's still used as a justification for abortion. As is polydactyly (having extra fingers or toes). Anything that allows somebody to point at an unborn child and say, "Ew! This one is DIFFERENT!" is grounds for getting out the forceps. Why not a bald gene?

If doctors were pushing for prenatal screening so that the "condition" can be "caught early" and a "termination" scheduled, would we recognize the bigotry? If some university professor told his students that all mothers at risk of having a baby with the baldness gene should be tested as soon as possible, and the affected fetus promptly done away with, would we recognize the bigotry?

Is there any flaw too trivial to be worthy of a search-and-destroy mission to eliminate those who have it?

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Okay, what's up with the numbers here?

I was curious about survival records for babies with anenecphaly. I found First-year mortality and survival among infants with selected congenital anomalies in Texas, 1995 to 1997

Anomalies with the lowest survival were anencephaly (5.13%), trisomy 13 (7.41%), and trisomy 18 (10.29%).

Am I reading this right? Because this looks as if 5% of the babies with anencephaly lived at least one year! This, if it's true, it flies in the face of everything else I've seen.

I wish I had access to the full article, so I could find out more. Another bit of research found that 5% of anencephalic babies lived more than 5 days. So it seems a bit odd that another study would find that same percentage surviving a full year! A study in Singapore found the longest survival to be 16 days.

Prolonged survival of two anencephalic infants. -- "Two infants with anencephaly survived for 7 and 10 months without the need for prolonged assisted mechanical ventilation."

I've been also looking for updates on Marcela de Jesus Galante Ferreira, who survived at least five months and is considered a total miracle. I haven't been able to confirm that she's still alive or that she died.

But everything still points at a 0% 1-year survival rate. This site indicates a 5% one week survival rate, far from a 5% one-year survival rate.

A miracle is born

Fernando Parrado was one of the two young rugby players who made the impossible trip out of the heart of the Andes, to find rescue for their teammates left behind at the site where their plane had crashed ten weeks earlier. The story of the crash, the search, and the survivors has been told in book and film. Those of you who have read the book or seen the film will no doubt remember the moment when Nando stood atop the mountain, where he had expected to find a vista of a green valley, and saw nothing but more mountains.

I long wondered: How did he find any hope to go on? How did he not let despair crush him where he stood? What was it that goaded that half-starved, desperate young man off the mountain to save not only himself, but his friends?

In his new new book, excerpted here, Nando shares the answer. It's on the final page of the excerpt (emphasis mine):

In that moment, all my dreams, assumptions, and expectations evaporated into the thin Andean air. I had always thought life was the natural thing, and death was simply the end of living. Now, in this lifeless place, I saw with terrible clarity that death was the constant, and life was only a short, fragile dream. I felt a sharp and sudden longing for my mother and sister, and for my father, whom I was sure I would never see again. But despite the hopelessness of my situation, the memory of him filled me with joy. It staggered me—the mountains could not crush my ability to love. In that moment, I discovered a simple, astounding secret: Death has an opposite, but it is not mere living. It is not courage or faith or will. The opposite of death is love. How had I missed that? How does anyone miss that? My fears lifted, and I knew that I would not let death control me. I would walk through that godforsaken country with love and hope in my heart. I would walk until I'd walked all the life out of me, and when I fell, I would die that much closer to home.

And listen to an interview with Nando here.


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Anniversary: NAF abortion leaves young woman in fatal coma

On February 24, 1993, 23-year-old Venus Ortiz underwent an abortion of her approximately 15-week pregnancy, evidently performed by a Dr. Leiber, at National Abortion Federation member Eastern Women's Center.



A suit filed on Venus's behalf alleged that there was negligence in administering anesthesia to Venus, and failure to establish an airway. Brevital, fentanyl, and midazolam were administered in dosages and manners contrary to standards of practice, causing Venus to suffer a synergistic reaction.

Eastern's staff failed to promptly diagnose and attend to cardio-pulmonary arrest. Eastern's notes of 5:35 PM indicate "2:35 PM end of surgery ... we noticed patient's ashen color and the pulse oximeter tracing and digital readout were gone from the monitor." Emergency medical services were called. The reading of Venus' blood pressure at that time was 90/55; four minutes later it was recorded as being 146/62.

Venus was transported by ambulance to a hospital, accompanied by Dr. Cyrus, Dr. Goodman, and/or Dr. Jeffrey P. Moskowitz. However, the damage had already been done. Venus was left in permanent need of respirator, with profound brain damage. Venus remained in a coma/vegetative state. She was hospitalized a little over five months before being transferred to permanent nursing home care.

To further underscore Eastern's neglect of patients' needs, the suit also noted that although this was her 4th abortion, Venus had not been referred to a social worker.

Venus remained in a permanent vegetative state for the remainder of her life. She died in New York on December 16, 1998 at the age of 29.

Two other patients, Dawn Ravenelle and Dawn Mack, also died of complications of abortions done at Eastern Women's Center.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Yikes! OT - Fire video

This demonstration video illustrates "rollover" or "flashover". The room goes from having a fire in it to being an absolute inferno in a matter of seconds. And no, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you -- the smoke itself catches fire. Moral: Get out of a burning building quickly!


From Living Room To Inferno In Under 2 Minutes - The most amazing home videos are here

Before their time

Organs harvested before their time

Brain death is defined as "irreversible coma with absent brainstem reflexes (such as reactions of the pupils to light and other 'automatic' reflexes)."

Yet, "irreversible" implies that doctors can predict the future of a patient in coma; but medical science hasn't reached this degree of perfection. In newspapers as well as in medical books and journals, I've read about many patients who seemed to be in a permanent coma but who then woke up days, months, or even years after doctors incorrectly make the diagnosis of irreversible coma.

Likewise, "absent brainstem reflexes" simply means that the brainstem isn't working properly and generating electrical impulses. But this can be due to what I would call "sleeping" brain cells. Damage to the cells (for example, from lack of oxygen or nutrients) can make them temporarily too weak to generate nerve impulses or EEG signals. With reversal of the damaging condition, the brain cells often heal and resume normal function.

....

Other diagnostic factors such as "low body temperature (hypothermia), sedative or paralytic medicines, or the presence of severe metabolic disorders . . . might confuse the diagnosis of brain death." according to Doctors Steven Laureys and Joseph J. Fins....

....

In an internet report ... neurologist Lawrence Huntoon, M.D., Ph.D., editor-in-chief of the "Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons" writes, "In plain, straight talk, the survey indicates a high likelihood that some patients are being 'harvested' in some hospitals before they are dead! In hospitals with aggressive transplant programs (hospitals make a huge amount of money on transplant cases), making sure a patient is dead before going to the 'harvesting suite' may be viewed as a minor technicality" (http://www.aapsonline.org/newsoftheday/0010 "Top hospitals typically disregard brain-death guidelines").

....

It's a very good idea to designate an agent for healthcare, to make decisions on your behalf when you're unconscious or aren't able to do so yourself. The International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide (ITF) http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/ has very lucid Advanced Health Care Directive language adapted the meet the requirements of different states.

No law or person should demand the life of an innocent person, under any pretext. Whether a person is unborn, disabled or extremely ill, I believe life is sacred and is our most fundamental right.

Searches: PP petition signer, abortion scars, and Rosie Jimenez

Leslie Geissinger was one of the people who signed the Planned Parenthood petition using a bogus story of a non-existent CPC in a scare campaign and attack on centers that offer women actual help instead of taking their money and scraping them out. Leslie added the comment, "Don't mix health care and political/moral agendas." Well, then you don't want to support Planned Parnthood, because they are a political/(a)moral agenda wrapped up in the illusion of health care.

Abortion scars

Rosie Jimenez is the young Texas woman who believed the abortion lobby and paid with her life.

Two criminal abortion anniversaries, including stupid crook trick

On February 23, 1944, Amelia Cardito, 34-year-old mother of 4, died in a New York hospital from complications of an illegal abortion that had been performed on Valentine's day in the office of Dr. Anthony Renda. Renda, author of three books on obstetrics, may have been a smart doctor, but he was a stupid crook. He implicated himself when he called police to complain that Amelia's widower was shaking him down for funeral expenses. Renda was sentenced to 7 years in Sing-Sing for Amelia's death. Amelia's abortion was typical of pre-legalization abortions in that it was performed by a physician.

On February 23, 1928, 26-year-old Miss Martha Washington died in Chicago from an illegal abortion. The person or persons responsible were never identified or prosecuted.



For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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One you'll not see the MSM covering

Once again, the prolifers are picking up on a story the MSM will ignore: Mexico legalized abortion because -- we can only presume -- the streets were littered with the bodies of coathanger-impaled women.

Well, true to form, some quack, now permitted to ply they abortion trade legally, has killed a teenage girl. He didn't bother verifying the gestational age of the fetus, or properly screening the girl medically. So he injured the girl in the process of performing an abortion a month over the legal limit, and the girl bled to death. IN A HOSPITAL! What kind of total clueless quack do you have to be, to have a patient bleed to death from an abortion in a hospital, with all the medications, blood products, and surgical resources readily available?

Not that we ever see cases like this in the United States!

Like Magdalena Rodriguez, who turned out to be 30 weeks pregnant when Suresh Gandotra started what was supposed to be a nice, legal second-trimester abortion. He left her bleeding out on the floor while he did other abortions.

Illinois law at the time of Sandra Chmiel's death required abortions after 12 weeks be performed in a hospital. Some quack at Biogenetics did an outpatient abortion anyway, even though Sandra was in the second trimester. Sandra bled to death from a punctured uterus.

John Biskind had his staff fudge ultrasounds in order to pretend that Lou Anne Herron, who was actually 26 weeks pregnant, was under the 24-week cut-off. He then left her with unqualified staff, and she bled to death.

Just as the MSM pretends these things don't happen here in America, they're not about to admit that they're happening in Mexico. After all, we can't have anybody challenging their oft-repeated assurance that legal abortion is automatically safe.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Support women and children: Back the Vitter Amendment

Senate Vote Next Week on Stopping Abortion Funding in Indian Health Care Bill

The Senate will take up a bill next week on health care coverage for Native Americans and, when it does, a pro-life senator plans an amendment to make sure none of the funds pay for abortions. The amendment from Sen. David Vitter would codify a longstanding policy against funding of abortions with federal Indian Health Service (IHS) funds.

Here is the letter I sent my senators:

Dear Senator ______:

I encourage you to support the Vitter Amendment to the Indian Health Services bill.

Banning the use of Federal funds for elective abortions should easily be an area of common ground for prolife and prochoice citizens and their elected representatives. Even those who do not object in any way to the use of Federal funds for the destruction of innocent unborn children would, if properly educated, object to the additional risk to mothers' health and well-being Federal abortion funding carries.

Research by the solidly pro-abortion Centers for Disease Control and publicized in their 1978 Abortion Surveillance Summary, showed that cutting Federal funding for abortion reduced the number of Medicaid-eligible women hospitalized for abortion complications. Other research shows that public-pay patients have a higher rate of abortion complications than private-pay patients.

Only an individual with a strong ideological devotion to abortion, stronger than his devotion to women's well-being, would wish to see more poor women suffering abortion complications that land them in the hospital.

Don't let the empty, shrill rhetoric of such extremists sway you from doing what is right for both unborn children and their mothers. Support the Vitter Amendment.

Of course, the hardcore extremists will bring up the isolated case of Rosie Jimenez, who bought into the alarmist publicity of the abortion lobby and as a result didn't realize that the illegal abortion she arranged was only $10 cheaper than an abortion arranged by Planned Parenthood. The abortion lobby wanted a body to hang around Henry Hyde's neck when he cut Federal funding for elective abortions, and they went into overdrive making sure that the idea "Illegal abortion is my only option" would be firmly planted in the minds of Medicaid-eligible women. They got the body they wanted. And responsibility for her death belongs as much on their doorstep as on the doorstep of the midwife who pocketed her cash instead of referring Rosie for either real help or a (presumably safer) abortion elsewhere in town.

They also ignore the 17 women who died of supposedly safe, legal abortions in 1977, along with the hundreds of women who have died before and after the Hyde Amendment went into effect.

Don't let the political banshees who goaded Rosie into a needless death win. Laws don't kill women; abortionists do.

Go here to contact your Senator.

Passive suicide? I wonder

Those of you who've been there, done that, and burned the t-shirt, or who have counselled women who have:

I blogged earlier today about Shirley Hollis, who ignored severe cardiac symptoms after an abortion and ended up dying as a result.

It isn't unusual for a woman to die because she failed to seek treatment when she was suffering alarming symptoms after an abortion. It's particularly problematic in women with undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies.

It's also been documented, by the CDC among other researchers, that women are more likely to die violent deaths -- homicide, suicide, or accident -- in the aftermath of an abortion than demographically matched age-mates who had not undergone abortions.

I once listened to a National Abortion Federation meeting in which nurses lamented how difficult it was to get patients to seek care for post-abortion symptoms. At the time I placed the blame entirely on the abortion lobby's success in getting people to internalized the idea that abortion is ludicrously safe -- that no harm can befall the woman as long as she goes to a legally operating abortion facility.

But maybe in some of these cases we're not seeing women who really think their symptoms aren't serious. Maybe in some of these cases the women are actually hoping that the symptoms are very serious indeed. If at some level some of these women are refusing to seek care because they're hoping that they'll die.

Has anybody seen any research on this, or is anybody able to comment on it from personal experience or from witnessing such behaviors in somebody else?

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Anniversary: Women fails to heed advice to seek care, dies

Shirley Hollis, a 30-year-old mother of two, had an abortion performed by Bruce Lucero on February 22, 1991. Shortly after she went home, she was short of breath, had pain in her arms, and was vomiting. Her boyfriend called the clinic and -- to the credit of whoever fielded the call -- was told to bring her to the emergency room. Shirley wanted to wait, thinking the symptoms were related to the abortion and would go away on their own. Shortly afterward, Shirley had a heart attack, and her boyfriend called 911 and started CPR. The ambulance took shirley to the hospital, where she died.

The autopsy found that Shirley had severe coronary artery disease, which had never been diagnosed. Shirley's mother faulted Lucero with Shirley's death because he failed to detect her heart problem when he examined her at the abortion facility.

Although the abortion did not directly cause Shirley's death, I list her as an abortion death because her belief that the abortion was causing her symptoms led her to delay seeking appropriate medical care.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Anniversary: Abortion recommended for "health" reasons kills teen

Barbara Hoppert was a sixteen-year-old high school sophomore when she checked into Loma Linda University Hospital for an abortion. Barbara was in the second trimester of her pregnancy. She was having the abortion on the recommendation of her physician, because of a congenital heart condition. The abortion was performed on February 22, 1983. During the procedure, Barbara's heart stopped. Physicians were unable to revive her, and she was pronounced dead on the operating table.

The following comment was posted on this blog:

It's been almost 24 years since I was at the Loma Linda Hospital and was roomed with Barbara Hoppert, but not year goes by when Feb 22nd rolls around and I don't think of her. She died that day during her abortion procedure. I just now put her name into google and found your article on her. It was barely 4 sentences and seemed as cold as her death. She was once alive and had such a sad end and dramatic story. It still brings me to tears today thinking about her last night alive... how she was treated by her own family and the staff at the hospital. We watched Square Pegs that night on tv. And she told me about the boy who had impregnated her... She left early the next morning and I wished her good luck... An hour later a woman came to the room, later I found out that was her "real" mother whom Barbara thought was her sister. She missed seeing Barbara that one last time.... Barbara's story is very tragic. I am so very sad that she was so alone her last night alive. I was her only comfort and I was a complete stranger. Don't know how comforting I was other than I cried with her and listened.... Knowing the pain she was in.... She remains in my prayers. Just thought you should know she was more than just part of your cause.

Thanks to the woman who came forward to share this memory of Barbara.

Barbara's was not the only tragic death caused by doctors who recommended (or excused) abortion as a life-saving or health-preserving option for the mother:

• Allegra Roseberry was pushed into an abortion in order to obtain experimental cancer treatment.
  
• Anjelica Duarte sought an abortion on the advice of her physician, and ended up dying under the care of a quack.
  
• Christin Gilbert (pictured) died after an abortion George Tiller holds was justified on grounds of maternal health.
  
• Erika Peterson died in 1961 when her doctors obtained her husband's permission to perform a "therapeutic" abortion.
  
• "Molly" Roe died in 1975 when her doctors made the dubious decision to perform a saline abortion to improve her chances of surviving a lupus crisis.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Condescending?

Abortion debate heats up

A Kansas bill proposes requiring that abortionists offer women the opportunity to view an ultrasound and hear the fetal heartbeat before proceeding with killing the fetus in question.

Julie Burkhart, chief executive officer of the abortion-rights group ProKanDo, said the current law is sufficient.

"This bill shows just one thing," she said. "A lack of trust in women to be able to make the best possible decision for themselves and their families."

Let's try that attitude on in other circumstances. How about a bill requiring that before buying a used car, the customer be offered a chance to review the vehicle's repair history:

Bob Lemon, chief executive officer of the used-car salesman group NoKanGo, said the current law is sufficient.

"This bill shows just one thing," he said. "A lack of trust in drivers to be able to make the best possible decision for themselves and their families."

How about a law requiring that prior to signing a contract for cable TV, a consumer be offered an opportunity to review what his actual bills will be during the contract period, after the expiration of the elaborately-worded Special Offer:

Bill Higherlater, chief executive officer of the cable sales group NoKanSho, said the current law is sufficient.

"This bill shows just one thing," he said. "A lack of trust in viewers to be able to make the best possible decision for themselves and their families."

Or maybe a bill that would require weight-loss clinics to offer customers the chance to review data on actual weight lost by other clients during the previous year:

Lucy Pounds, chief executive officer of the diet-aid sales group LoKanGo, said the current law is sufficient.

"This bill shows just one thing," she said. "A lack of trust in dieters to be able to make the best possible decision for themselves and their families."

If you took such a "Don't worry your pretty little head, just sign here" in any other consumer situation, you'd be recognized right away as having some agenda other than protecting the consumer. And unlike most other consumer choices, an abortion can't be returned if the customer is unhappy. This is buyer's remorse that can last a lifetime -- or even kill.

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Anniversary: Illegal abortion by doctor turns fatal

On February 21, 1929, Virginia Clark died of complications of a botched, illegal abortion. G. W. Wilbanks and W. A. N. Jones were charged with murder in her death. Wilbanks was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and the following information comes from the Westlaw commentary on his appeal.

Virginia was treated prior to her death by a Dr. McArthur, who testified as to her dying declaration. He said that Virginia told him that when she learned that she was pregnant, she told the man responsible that "something would have to done about it." He made arrarrangements for an abortion to be performed by a doctor. The paramor brought the doctor to Virginia, and he used medicine and instruments on her. The procedure was so painful that Virginia asked him to stop, so the doctor administered chloroform. According to Dr. McArthur, Virginia told him that this abortion "was what had butchered her up and was killing her."

Virginia didn't tell her mother, Mrs. Goodwyne, about the abortion. Mrs. Goodwyne testified, "She (Virginia Clark) said that she went to the theatre or something, and it seemed like there was something broke, and she said she thought she wouldn't be able to get back to the hotel, but she did."

Wilbanks tried to get his conviction overturned on the grounds of the difference between what Virginia told her mother, and what she told Dr. McArthur as she lay dying.

Virginia's abortion was typical of illegal abortions in that it was performed by a physician.



For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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News from Laura Smith's mom

Laura Hope Smith, age 22, died September 13, 2007 on a Hyannis, Massachusetts abortion table. Her mother learned of Laura's death when she answered the phone, seeing Laura's number on the caller ID and expecting a happy chat. Instead she got Laura's hysterical friend, weeping and crying out incoherently something about "Laura" and "hospital" and "not breathing" and "abortion". Then a doctor took the phone and told Eileen, "Laura's gone."

For the five months since then, Eileen has been trying to get to the bottom of how a healthy young woman can end up quickly dead from what is supposed to be safe and simple surgery.

Well, the Medical Examiner has verified that Laura did indeed die from cardiac arrest during the anesthesia for an abortion. Not much to show for nine months of work, since he still isn't addressing what caused the cardiac arrest.

However, the good news is this: Dr. Rapin Osathanondh, who was performing the abortion and responsible for Laura's well-being, has gotten his medical license yanked. It's a temporary measure, pending a full hearing, because the board felt Osathanondh posed a threat to public safety.

Let's pray that this measure prompts Osathanondh to reassess what he's been doing with his life. Carol Everett, who used to run a string of abortion mills in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex, sent a woman home to bleed to death of a treatable injury in 1982. She's now running The Heidi Group, providing care and hope to women she had once seen as nothing but dollar signs. If Carol can change, Osathonondh can, too.

Let's storm Heaven with prayers for this guy, that the truth will set him free, permanently ending his career as an abortionist. The greatest good that can come from Laura's senseless death is for Osathonondh to become a true friend to women in need.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Abortion in popular music videos

Flipsyde: Happy Birthday


Nick Cannon: Can I Live


Ben Folds Five: Brick (Sorry - embedding disabled)

Any others? (Can't find a YouTube copy of the original music video to Red Ragtop)

Lots more abortion-related music videos here.

Anniversary: Doc's shortcut kills young woman

When 23-year-old Stacy Ruckman went to Scott Barrett for an abortion on February 20, 1988, she didn't know how he anesthetized his patients.

According to Barrett's staff, Barrett would not have general anesthesia administered to his abortion patients. Instead, he would inject them with excessive amounts of the local anesthetic Lidocaine. The overdose would cause the woman to lose consciousness.

Sometimes, staff reported, a woman would stop breathing, and Barrett would resuscitate her. But when Stacy stopped breathing, Barrett and his staff were unable to revive her.

An autopsy found toxic concentrations of Lidocaine in Stacy's blood. Her parents sued, and a jury awarded them $25.3 million for the wrongful death of their daughter.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Two unusual criminal abortions led to deaths

On February 20, 1919, W. G. Waters and M. T. Summerlin performed an abortion on Viola Parr with instruments of some sort, causing her death. I have been unable to determine what professions Waters and Summerlin pursued when they weren't acting as abortionists. Viola's abortion was unusual in that it was apparently performed by an amateur, rather than by a doctor, as was the case with perhaps 90% of criminal abortions.

A less unusual, but still rare, type of abortion was that performed by a non-physician with medical training. On February 20, 1927, 23-year-old Angerita Hargarten died in her home from an abortion performed there that day. Midwives Anna Trezek and Frances Raz were held by the coroner, Trezek as the principal and Raz as her accomplice.



For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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A breather for women in Asheville, North Carolina

North Carolina Abortion Center Closed for One Month After Non-Arson Fire

A fire that appears to have been accidental will keep the Asheville, North Carolina Planned Parenthood closed for about a month. Of course, PP will refer calling women to other abortion facilities in nearby communities. However, God willing only those women who are gung-ho about killing their ZEFs will make the trip. Those who want to avoid abortions can go to Asheville Pregnancy Support Services, which offers free of charge:

• Abortion Recovery Support Groups
  
• Pregnancy Tests
  
• Ultrasounds
  
• Guidance and Support
  
• Maternity Clothes
  
• Infant Clothes
  
• Diapers, Wipes, Linens and Baby Furniture
  
• Formula and Baby Food
  
• Emergency Supplies
  
• Lending Library
  
• Referrals to Agencies

Searches: Fetuses of various ages, self-abortion, and pre-Roe, among others

20-week fetus: How they're aborted, why they're aborted, and some examples of 20-week abortions. Including the searched-for George Tiller and how he does it.

I don't have the requested pictures of the New Woman All Women abortion mill in Alabama, but I do have this write up about it. It's a pretty seedy place.

Self-induced abortion remains a popular search. I don't recommend it. Unless you want to end up like Laura France, Kris Humphrey, Penny Roe, or Daisy Roe.

Anesthesia abortion: fatal

Abortion-related deaths pre-legalization. About 90% of pre-legalization abortions were done by doctors, either illegally or through loopholes in the law. Of the remaining 10% of pre-legalization abortions, about 8 out of 10 were performed by a nurse, midwife, or other person with some medical training, often with physician back-up. People with no formal medical training were a smaller percentage. And then even more rare were the self induced abortions, which tended to be seen more often in women with mental health issues who were already prone to other forms of self-harm.

Manar Maged was the twin who had her physically dependent "parasitic" twin sister Islaam removed.

I have so many cases of perforated uterus. I suggest going to the main RealChoice site and doing a search. I have cases that were fatal as well as cases in which the woman survived.

18-week fetus

13-week fetus

EMW Louisville, Kentucky: Here is info on a lawsuit filed against them on behalf on an underage girl that they performed an abortion on against her mother's express wishes, against medical advice, and against a restraining order -- resulting in the girl being hospitalized for sepsis. Their security guard got caught raping women on the premises after hours. And of course, EMW is a member of the National Abortion Federation.

Anniversary: Abortionist's goof, woman's death

Magnolia Reed Thomas was a 35-year-old mother of two when she went to Hedd Surgi-Center in Chicago for an abortion. The abortion was performed by Rudolph Moragne on February 19, 1986.

Moragne failed to note that the fetus was growing in Magnolia's fallopian tube, rather than in her uterus. After Magnolia was discharged from the clinic, the undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy ruptured, and Magnolia was rushed to the hospital. There, doctors did everything they could to save her, but she died from blood loss and shock the same day she had the abortion.

This was Magnolia's third abortion. Multiple abortions are a known risk factor for ectopic pregnancy.

Another patient, Diane Watson, died of anesthesia compliations after she'd undergone a safe, legal abortion by Moragne at Hedd.

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, due to sloppy practices by abortion practitioners.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Fight the bigotry!

The blogosphere is abuzz about the professor who told his class that every baby with Down syndrome should be aborted.

First of all, let's recognize this for the bigotry it is. Imagine if the screening wasn't for an extra 21st chromosome, but for a "gay gene", or for dark skin pigment.

So, it's appalling bigotry. Now what?

Fight the bigotry against kids with Down syndrome by supporting Band of Angels. They make beautiful calendars and greeting cards featuring kids with DS. They also have "Cenebrate Packages" that you can sponsor to help parents make the adjustment to a DS diagnosis. You can also buy Common Threads, a breathtaking coffee-table book featuring essays and pictures illustrating life with Down syndrome.

If there is a doll collecter on your gift list, consider one of the beautiful dolls by Downi Creations.

There are also some beautiful products available at Cafe Press:

Down syndrome isn't scary - it's just different.

We are all Different. We are all Beautiful.

Do not be afraid...

Gently Enhanced

My personal favorite: Love does not count chromosomes.

There is a war being waged on kids with Down syndrome. And even if you, personally, think that the world is better off without such "defective" people being permitted to wander about at large, what about the collateral damage -- the three genetically normal children who die for every "defective" Down syndrome baby that's weeded out? Is this an acceptable level of collateral damage? To kill three civilian bystanders for every one of the "enemy"?

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Anniversaries: Three injuries. One would prove fatal.

Annette C., a minor child, had been refered by Delaware League for Planned Parenthood for an abortion, to be performed by Dr. John F. MacGuigan at Wilmington Medical Center. The abortion was performed February 18, 1977. Annette suffered sustained infection resulting in permanent and total blocking of her fallopian tubes. The suit filed on her behalf faulted McGuigan with failure to inform her of the damage. Annette later learned of the injury from her own doctor. (New Castle County Superior Court Case No. 84C-SE-74)

Mattie Stanley said that she underwent an abortion performed by Dr. Rohmat Pirnazar at Woman's Aid Clinic on February 18, 1982. Mattie faulted Rohmat and the clinic with failure to provide proper staff and standardsm and with failure to provide proper post-operative care and examination. Mattie suffered sepsis from retained fetal tissue, sepsis. She required hospital and nursing care. (Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 82L 19115)

February 18 is also the day 15-year-old Jammie Garcia underwent the abortion that would eventually take her life.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Anniversary: Woman bleeds to death from safe and legal abortion

Lisa Bardsley was 26 years old when she went to Dr. John Biskind in Phoenix, Arizona. She was at least 20 weeks pregnant when she underwent her abortion on February 16, 1995.

An hour after the abortion was completed, Lisa was discharged from the clinic. With a friend who had accompanied her, Lisa headed home to northern Arizona. Lisa took ill, so she and her friend stopped at a motel and called for medical help. Lisa was taken to a hospital in Cottonwood, where she died February 17. The autopsy showed that she'd bled to death from a large uterine laceration.

Biskind went on to get into further trouble for delivering a live, nearly term infant during an abortion performed on a teenager, and for the abortion death of Lou Ann Herron. Herron's death got far more press than Bardsley's, whose death for some reason did not capture public attention or generate outrage the way Herron's death did.

Biskind's license was finally revoked in 1998.

The clinic where Lisa died was owned by abortionist Moshe Hachamovitch, who was implicated in the abortion deaths of Christina Goesswein, Tanya Williamson, Luz Rodriguez, and Jammie Garcia.

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Anniversary: Unusual abortion death

On February 17, 1929, 25-year-old Violet Diancalana died in the home of Katherine Bajda, of complications of a criminal abortion performed on her there that day. Mrs. Bajda, identified as a homemaker, was held by the coroner. On March 15, Bajda was indicted for felony murder by a grand jury.

Violet's abortion was unusual in that it was performed by an amateur, rather than by a doctor as the majority of illegal abortions were.



For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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Two anniversaries: Criminal abortion deaths

On February 16, 1925, 28-year-old Agnes Crowe died in Chicago's West Side Hospital from a criminal abortion performed that day. The coroner indicated that a female midwife was responsible for Agnes' death, but did not name the guilty party.

On February 16, 1890, Mrs. Mary Keegan died from complications of an illegal abortion performed that day. Mary died at the location where the abortion was performed. Mrs. Annie Schneider was arrested and held by the Coroner's Jury. Mrs. Schneider is described as employed in an unidentified profession. The Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database shows no other illegal abortion deaths associated with Mrs. Schneider.



For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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Anniversary: Dr. Hagenow claims another victim

On February 15, 1925, Nina H. Pierce, a 22-year-old white woman, died at the Chicago Lying-In Hospital from complications of a criminal abortion believed to have been performed that day by Dr. Lucy Hagenow. Hagenow was arrested the day Nina died, at the crime scene, as was Nina's husband, Logan Pierce.

Both of them were originally exonerated by the coroner on March 5, 1925. But on June 10, Hagenow was held to a Grand Jury on $25,000 bond, and Pierce released, by Judge Schulman.

There were a number of deaths in Chicago attributed to either a Lucy Hagenow or a Louise Hagenow. I believe these to be the same woman. The deaths include:

Lottie Lowy

Bridget Masterson

Mary Moorehead

Jean Cohen

Elizabeth Welter

Marie Hicht

Hagenow was typical of criminal abortionists in that she was a physician.



For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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Anniversary: Back alley abortion proves fatal

On February 15, 1020, Mrs. Margaret Ann Marts died from complications of an illegal abortion. On May 28, Dr. E. Anderson was convicted of manslaughter in her death. He was a practicing physician in Kansas City, Missouri.

Mrs. Marts had given birth on August 19, 1919. She recovered well, bottle-fed the baby, and began menstruating again about four weeks after the birth. On January 19, 1920, the family physician, Dr. Davis, was called to examine Mrs. Marts. She'd stopped menstruating about six weeks earlier, had concluded that she was pregnant, and had attmepted to perform an abortion on herself with a catheter. She said that if Dr. Davis didn't do an abortion, she'd find somebody else who would because she'd rather die than give birth again.

Upon examining Mrs. Marts, Dr. Davis found some irritation caused by the catheter, and an enlarged uterus which he attributed to pregnancy. However, in order to divert Mrs. Marts away from the idea of trying to abort, he told her that she wasn't pregnant. He administered a douche and noted that his patient was in good health. Dr. Davis then told Mr. Marts that his wife was pregnant, and explained his efforts to turn her mind away from the idea of aborting.

That afternoon, Mrs. Marts turned to a Dr. Anderson, who she'd previously never seen. He did not examine her, but made arrangements to go to her home around noon the following day, January 20, to perform "an operation." According to Anderson, Mrs. Marts had given her name as "Mrs. Crooks," and said that she was about two months pregnant and that she had bought an instrument in a drug store, which she'd then used to try to induce an abortion.

On January 20, Mrs. Marts placed a call to the home of her friend, Mrs. Stella Blythe. Mrs. Blythe's sister, Mrs. Mattie Wallace, was visiting and took the call. Mrs. Marts asked Mrs. Wallace to send Mrs. Blythe to her house, because she was going to be chloroformed. Both sisters went to Mrs. Marts' home. Dr. Anderson was there, along with a Black woman named Ida Bush. Mrs. Marts was in bed, and Dr. Anderson was in the kitchen perparing his instruments.

Dr. Anderson sent Ida Bush to get some chloroform. Mrs. Blythe remained in the bedroom, but her sister, due to her "delicate condition," left the room. One of the women helped with administering the chloroform. Mrs. Blythe did not see all the details of what Dr. Anderson did, but noticed that he used two instruments. She took one to be a speculum, and described the other as about a foot long and similar to scissors. Dr. Anderson used water and cotton during the procedure, which took about fifteen minutes. Mrs. Blythe testified that she didn't know what Dr. Anderson was doing with the instruments.

Mrs. Blythe reported that some time between noon and 1:00, Mrs. Wallace asked Dr. Anderson, "Now what time will this pass?" And Dr. Anderson responded, "That will be all right about 4 or 5 o'clock." Neither party said specifically what would pass. Mrs. Marts also asked Mrs. Blythe to call Mr. Marts and tell him that she'd been operated on and was doing well.

Four days later, Dr. Davis, the family physician, was called in to examine Mrs. Marts, who had taken to her bed and was in serious condition. She was expelling a foul-smelling mix of blood and pus. Dr. Davis found damage to her uterus, clearly from an abortion, and treated her for her infection.

Mrs. Marts spoke to her husband of what had happened. The conversation took place shortly before she was taken to the hospital on January 24 or 25. She told him she was sure she was dying, and that she blamed Dr. Anderson. She said that Dr. Anderson had lied to her, telling her that the operation wouldn't be "very severe," and that she'd only be sick three or four days. She said she was sorry she'd gone to Anderson. She also gave her husband instructions regarding the care of their children.

Mrs. Martz was discharged from the hospital for reasons that aren't clear in Westlaw documents. She again conversed with her husband about what had happened, asserting that she knew she was dying, that it was Dr. Anderson's fault, and that she was sorry she'd ever gone to him. She gave her husband the details of the operation, but these details were not revealed in Westlaw documents.

Mrs. Marts died in her home on February 15, 1920, two or three days after her discharge from the hospital. Dr. J.S. Snider performed an autopsy that day, and concluded that she'd died of sepsis. She still had retained placenta in her uterus which could not have still been from her recent term pregnancy. He also indicated that she couldn't have become pregnant again after the birth if she had retained the placenta. Dr. Snider verified that some instrument larger than a catheter had been used to cause an abortion.

Anderson admitted that he had chloroformed and operated upon Mrs. Marts on the 20th of January, but insisted that he'd only been treating her for the infection and damage she'd done to herself with the catheter. He also said that Mr. Marts had assaulted him, choked him, and tried to shake him down for $500.

Ida Bush, who had been present at the home on the 20th, described the instruments, said that she'd boiled water for sterilizing them, but that she was sent out of the room and did not witness what Dr. Anderson did with them. She said she was told that she was too young and would not understand such things.

The jury found Dr. Anderson guilty, and he was fined $500.

Margaret's abortion was typical of pre-legalization abortions in that it was performed by a physician.



For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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Medical professionals kept returning teen to abuser -- at least three time, from the look of it

HT: JJ

Fugitive in rape kept job teaching (Philadelphia Inquirer, February 14, 2008)

How did Honore keep his job after he was first arrested in 2006 and accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting and sodomizing the teenager from the summer of 2003 through April 2006, when she was 14 through 17?

....

According to records filed at the courthouse, the birth of the teenager's daughter was the first of four pregnancies during the three years the girl was allegedly beaten, threatened and abused. Authorities said the girl had been living with Honore because of problems at home.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, Honore is accused of forcing her to terminate at least two pregnancies and, during the second, when she was 15, telling her that if she did not have an abortion he would "kick her ass and do it for her."

At the time she reported the crimes, authorities noted she was four months pregnant with another of Honore's children, but court records did not specify whether that child was carried to term.

On Aug. 2, 2006, while police were investigating, Honore allegedly went to her house and threatened to blow it up and kill her, her guardian and the daughter after finding out that the teenager was with another man, the affidavit said.

It would be interesting if they'd do a timeline showing when the pregnancies took place, when the authorities came into the picture, why the girl wasn't removed from this man's clutches when she gave birth to the first child, etc.

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Verified: Ex-abortionist is now public school administrator

The Chicago Sun Times is doing a retrospective on their groundbreaking "The Abortion Profiteers" series they did back in 1978. One piece notes that Arnold Bickham, one of their featured abortionists, briefly turned away from the abortion business and joined a church. He quit the church and went back into abortion, evidently long enough to kill Sylvia Moore, before losing his medical license in 1988.

He is now an administrator in Chicago Public Schools.

Now, it's great news that he's no longer making a living killing women and children. But has he also returned to the church? Prayers for him, that he's doing what he's doing now because he has truly repented and is now seeking to do right by children. Because stopping evil-doing for purely practical reasons leaves the soul damaged. He can only be truly healed and redeemed if he has sought forgiveness for what he did to all those children all those years, and to their mothers, to the public, and to Sherry Emry and Sylvia Moore. Yeah, the mothers of the Chicago area, and their unborn children, are just as safe from this man regardless of his reasons for abandoning abortion. But there's a world of difference for Bickham himself.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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