1981: Coma, death from botched anesthesia for abortion

Twenty-seven-year-old Robin Wells, mother of three children ages 6, 4, and 2, went for a safe and legal abortion under general anesthesia by Max Gaujean at Akron Center for Reproductive Health on July 15, 1981.

Robin went into cardiac arrest in the recovery room, and was transferred by ambulance to a hospital. She remained in a coma until her death on August 2, 1981.

Both Gaujean and the anesthesiologist were independent contractors and did not maintain private practices. The suit filed by Robin's survivors alleged that she was overdosed on anesthesia and not properly monitored. It also alleged that staff at Akron Center for Reproductive Health failed "to resuscitate her after her condition had been discovered." Laura Hope Smith suffered a similar death in 2008.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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