1999: Woman dies after 20 years in nursing home thanks to safe, legal abortion

On September 16, 1999, 60-year-old Shelby A. Moran died in the nursing home she had lived in since January of 1978, when a botched abortion left her incapacitated and unable to care for herself, much less her five children.

Shelby had been given Prostaglandin F2 Alpha for a safe, legal abortion at Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Immediately after the drug was injected, Shelby experienced grossly abnormal elevation of her blood pressure. The abortionist, Dr. John J. Barton, thought that the elevation would be transient, and left the facility. Half an hour later, Shelby went into cardiopulmonary arrest. She suffered brain damage due to lack of oxygen, causing dementia and speech aphasia.

Her family was awarded $9.5 million on her behalf.

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