Seventeen-year-old Jennifer Suddeth underwent a safe and legal abortion performed by Frank Robinson on June 30, 1982. On the drive home, Jennifer bled heavily, alarming her common-law husband, John Fredzess. Fredzess called the clinic repeatedly over the four hours after their return home, but staff would not put the call through to Robinson. One nurse admonished Fredzess to "be realistic" about how severely Jennifer was bleeding. By that time, Jennifer had bled through two pairs of sweat pants, two blankets, and a towel. At last the hysterical husband was able to contact Robinson, who insisted that the bleeding was normal and instructed Fredzess to stop calling. When Jennifer went into convulsions, Fredzess called an ambulance. Paramedics arrived at the home to find Jennifer already dead. Police interviewed the weeping and hysterical Fredzess, then pressed charges against Robinson for involuntary manslaughter in Jennifer's death. Although Robinson beat the rap, the state of California nevertheless counted Jennifer's death as due to illegal abortion.
Kendra McLeod, mother of two, underwent an abortion at a clinic in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on June 12, 1998. She bled heavily after the abortion. The day after her abortion, she sought help at an emergency room. She had fainted three times by the time she got into the ER.
Doctors at the hospital transfused Kendra with nine units of blood and performed surgery to try to save her life, to no avail. She died on June 30, at the age of 22. Her family lost a lawsuit against the hospital. Documents do not note if the family sued the abortion provider.
Even the rabidly pro-abortion Centers for Disease Control have noted that given the state of medicine today, there is absolutely no valid reason for a woman to bleed to death after an induced abortion. However, instead of placing the blame on careless, reckless, callous abortionists, the CDC blames laws that would hold abortionists accountable for this behavior, saying that it makes them hesitant to appropriately check their patients into the hospital for necessary aftercare.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
1988: Brother returns to find sister dead
Dawn Mendoza underwent a safe, legal abortion at the hands of Edward Rubin at Women's Medical Pavilion in Dobbs Ferry, New York, on June 29, 1988.
Dawn was 22 weeks pregnant. Her brother, who accompanied her, was instructed to wait in a grassy park across the street, and to come back for her at 4 p.m. He returned, as instructed, and was told that Dawn wasn't ready to leave yet, to return in half an hour. When he came back at 5:30, staff told him that his sister was dead.
Rubin had done a D&C abortion on Dawn, a 28-year-old mother of two. Afterward Dawn started screaming and gasping for breath. Her blood pressure fell and she stopped breathing. Staff tried unsuccessfully to revive her, but did not call an ambulance. Dawn died without ever being transferred to a hospital.
The medical examiner determined that she had died from amniotic fluid embolism, as evidenced by particles of placenta and amniotic fluid in her lungs. This foreign matter in her bloodstream also caused disseminated intravacsular coaglopathy, a blood clotting problem. The autopsy found "about 1/2 liter of a yellowish fluid ... present in the abdominal cavity" and "about 10cc of an amber colored fluid" in heart sac.
Dawn was 22 weeks pregnant. Her brother, who accompanied her, was instructed to wait in a grassy park across the street, and to come back for her at 4 p.m. He returned, as instructed, and was told that Dawn wasn't ready to leave yet, to return in half an hour. When he came back at 5:30, staff told him that his sister was dead.
Rubin had done a D&C abortion on Dawn, a 28-year-old mother of two. Afterward Dawn started screaming and gasping for breath. Her blood pressure fell and she stopped breathing. Staff tried unsuccessfully to revive her, but did not call an ambulance. Dawn died without ever being transferred to a hospital.
The medical examiner determined that she had died from amniotic fluid embolism, as evidenced by particles of placenta and amniotic fluid in her lungs. This foreign matter in her bloodstream also caused disseminated intravacsular coaglopathy, a blood clotting problem. The autopsy found "about 1/2 liter of a yellowish fluid ... present in the abdominal cavity" and "about 10cc of an amber colored fluid" in heart sac.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
1900: Chicago midwife's fatal efforts
On June 28, 1900, Mrs. Andre Jorgenson died on the scene from an illegal abortion. Mrs. Anna Pihlgren, whose occupation is listed as nurse or midwife, was arrested and held by the Coroner's Jury. Andre Pihlgren was held as an accessory.
Note, please, that with general public health issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with, there was likely little difference between the performance of a legal abortion and illegal practice, and the aftercare for either type of abortion was probably equally unlikely to do the woman much, if any, good. For more about abortion and abortion deaths in the first years of the 20th century, seeAbortion Deaths 1900-1909.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Note, please, that with general public health issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with, there was likely little difference between the performance of a legal abortion and illegal practice, and the aftercare for either type of abortion was probably equally unlikely to do the woman much, if any, good. For more about abortion and abortion deaths in the first years of the 20th century, seeAbortion Deaths 1900-1909.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Sunday, June 26, 2011
The death it's a crime to acknowledge
Pamela Colson, age 31, was 12 weeks pregnant when friends drive her to Women's Medical Services in Pensacola, Florida, for a safe and legal abortion June 26, 1994. Pamela bled heavily during the drive home. According to her friends, Pamela became unresponsive, so they stopped at a motel. Two passers-by did CPR while Pamela's friends called for an ambulance. Pamela was taken to a hospital where she died after an emergency hysterectomy.
Her autopsy showed massive amounts of damage and bleeding. The surgeon who performed an emergency hysterectomy, trying to save Pamela's life, had removed her uterus at the site of the laceration "so that the laceration was a portion of the incision made to remove the uterus." Her uterus showed extensive hemorrhage and blood clots. Her uterine artery was also injured. Several of Pamela's ribs were fractured, apparently during attempts to resuscitate her; this is common in even properly performed CPR.
The cause of death was given as "irreversible shock from blood loss due to a perforated uterus occurring at the time of an elective abortion." William Keene was tentatively identified as having performed the abortion.
Shortly after Pamela's Death, Vicki Conroy of Legal Action for Women accompanied a post-abortion woman to the National Abortion Federation member site where Pamela had submitted to the fatal abortion. There, the post-abortion woman placed a memorial wreath on the building, using the same kind of sticky-gum material used to hang posters in dormitories, and Vicki photographed the scene. The next day, the wreath was gone.
About a month later, abortionist John Britton was shot dead at the very clinic that had sent Pamela Colson home to die.
During the media blitz following the shooting, the clinic pressed charges against Vicki Conroy, and she was arrested for having participated in the placing of the memorial wreath.
When an abortionist is killed, no expression of outrage is strong enough, no measure to protect other abortionists is too expensive or too burdensome. But when a woman is killed by the callous carelessness of abortionists, there is no expression of outrage, and safety measures are dismissed as too costly and too burdensome. To even acknowledge a woman's death, as Vicki Conroy and her friend did, is treated like a crime.
Who is it that the abortion lobby is really protecting? The evidence is overwhelming: They are there for the abortionists. The women they supposedly care so much about are just so much grist for the abortion mill.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Two anniversaries from illegal abortions
On June 13, 1882, Ruth Phillips delivered stillborn twins. She was near death herself. A few days later she made a shocking deathbed statement to her sisters: she said that their father was the father of the twins, and that he had used instruments on her to cause the abortion that killed the twins and was soon to take her own life. Ruth died on June 25, and was buried on the 25th. An autopsy was performed, which evidently corroborated the girl's deathbed statement, since her father, James T. Phillips, was arrested. There was such outrage in the community that Phillips was in danger of being lynched.
Yup. Incestuous rapists have always used abortion as a means of trying to cover up their crimes. And legalizing abortion made it even easier. Nice work, guys.
On June 25, 1911, 20-year-old Mrs. Anna L. Mueller died from a criminal abortion performed by Dr. George Lotz. Lotz was arrested July 5. He was indicted for felony murder. There is no record that he served time for the crime, but Leslie Reagan indicates that he was expelled from the Chicago Medical Society after admitting guilt in Anna's death. Anna's abortion was typical of pre-legalization abortions in that it was performed by a physician.
Yup. Incestuous rapists have always used abortion as a means of trying to cover up their crimes. And legalizing abortion made it even easier. Nice work, guys.
On June 25, 1911, 20-year-old Mrs. Anna L. Mueller died from a criminal abortion performed by Dr. George Lotz. Lotz was arrested July 5. He was indicted for felony murder. There is no record that he served time for the crime, but Leslie Reagan indicates that he was expelled from the Chicago Medical Society after admitting guilt in Anna's death. Anna's abortion was typical of pre-legalization abortions in that it was performed by a physician.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Three anniversarires
Mrs. Johanna Faulner died June 24, 1906, at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Chicago, from complications of an abortion performed that day. Midwife Emily Redeniske was arrested in the death.
On June 24, 1908, 36-year-old Lillie O'Neill died in Dr. Albert C. Davis's Chicago office from compilations of an abortion performed June 20. Davis was acquitted for reasons not given in the source document. A midwife named Cornelia Meyers was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to Joliet.
"Annie" is one of the women Life Dynamics identifies on their "Blackmun Wall" as having been killed by a safe and legal abortion. Annie traveled from New Jersey to New York for a first-trimester abortion on June 24, 1971. Shortly after she was given anesthesia, Annie went into cardiac arrest, and attempts to revive her failed. She left behind three children.
During the first two thirds of the 20th Century, while abortion was still illegal, there was a massive drop in maternal mortality, including mortality from abortion. Most researches attribute this plunge to improvements in public health and hygiene, the development of blood transfusion techniques, and the introduction of antibiotics. As you can see in the graph below, plummeted long before legalization -- and legalization did nothing to either change this downward trend.
Learn more here.
On June 24, 1908, 36-year-old Lillie O'Neill died in Dr. Albert C. Davis's Chicago office from compilations of an abortion performed June 20. Davis was acquitted for reasons not given in the source document. A midwife named Cornelia Meyers was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to Joliet.
"Annie" is one of the women Life Dynamics identifies on their "Blackmun Wall" as having been killed by a safe and legal abortion. Annie traveled from New Jersey to New York for a first-trimester abortion on June 24, 1971. Shortly after she was given anesthesia, Annie went into cardiac arrest, and attempts to revive her failed. She left behind three children.
During the first two thirds of the 20th Century, while abortion was still illegal, there was a massive drop in maternal mortality, including mortality from abortion. Most researches attribute this plunge to improvements in public health and hygiene, the development of blood transfusion techniques, and the introduction of antibiotics. As you can see in the graph below, plummeted long before legalization -- and legalization did nothing to either change this downward trend.
Learn more here.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Anniversary: Well, all surgery has risks, right?
Cora A. Burke was a 20-year-old who had been widowed about five months. She had a four-year-old son and lived in her own home along with her child and her parents. She'd recently become engaged. She'd been in good health up until the events that began to unfold on June 21, 1899.
In May of 1899, Cora told Mrs. Martha Johnson that she was about six weeks pregnant and wanted to find a good doctor to perform an abortion. Mrs. Johnson introduced Cora to Dr. R. J. Alcorn who had been practicing medicine in Kootenai County, Idaho, for a short time. Dr. Alcorn was living in the boarding house Mrs. Johnson operated with Mr. E.J. Abbey. Finding a doctor to perform an illegal abortion was common prior to legalization.
Cora went to Dr. Alcorn's room about two days after they were introduced. Mr. Abbey listened from an adjoining room, and heard Cora say that the instrument Dr. Alcorn was using was hurting her.
On the night of Tuesday, June 21, Dr. Alcorn asked Mr. T.J. Rundell to help him carry a table into his office, which was at the back of a drug store in the town of Harrison. Rundell's curiosity was piqued, and he asked Alcorn if he was going to "dissect a stiff." Alcorn told him no, he was going to perform an operation on somebody from across the river.
Rundell decided to snoop, so he returned at 10:00 PM and saw Cora go through the drug store into Alcorn's office. Rundell then slipped around to the back of the building, where he could peer into Alcorn's office around an ill-hung window blind. The following is what Rundell says he observed.
Over the ensuing days, Alcorn visited Cora five times, the last time about two hours before she died on Friday afternoon, June 23. Her feet and hands were cold, her fingers blue, her lips purple. Alcorn told Cora's mother that she was doing well and would be up soon. Alcorn immediately took a train to Washington state, returning about 10:00 on the following Sunday morning. The next day he again left the state, this time going to Montana, where he was arrested and returned to Kootenai county.
While Cora was ill, she passed a lot of blood and clots. Mrs. Knight, who visited Cora during her illness, testified, "I helped dress her after she was dead. Her clothing and bedclothing were saturated with blood. A quilt was doubled up under her four thicknesses, and it was clear through the quilt. It was clots of blood. I observed an odor in connection with it. There was too great a quantity to have come from the ordinary menstruation. Much greater in quantity."
At about 6:00 PM on the 21st, William Ketchum called Alcorn to visit Mrs. Ketchum, but Alcorn told him, "Well, I don't know. I am expecting a miscarriage here any minute. I can go over there, and come back, if it does not make any difference to them." So he went to Ketchum's home to attend to Mrs. Ketchum.
Kootenai County sheriff F. H. Bradbury testified, "He told me that he never had anything to do with this girl, Cora Burke; that he began in the daytime an operation on a man for stricture, and did not complete it; and that he took him in the back room of the drug store and completed the operation in the evening. He gave me this statement after I had warned him not to make any statement to me. This was on the train between here and Missoula."
Alcorn testified on is own behalf, saying that Cora had attempted to do an abortion on herself with "a hair dart," which had punctured the wall of her uterus and broken off, leaving about 1 1/2 inches. Rundell said that he'd used a speculum and piston syringe to remove the foreign body from Cora's uterus.
The physicians called as expert witnesses on the case all agreed that Cora died of septicemia or blood poisoning. They also agreed that ergot itself would be enough to cause an abortion.
Alcorn's defense also raised the possibility that Cora hadn't actually been pregnant, but the court concluded that Cora had believed herself to be pregnant, had sought an abortion, and had undergone a procedure intended to cause an abortion, which was enough to demonstrate the intent of the defendant to kill a fetus, especially in the light of Alcorn's statement that he was expecting a patient to miscarry.
Alcorn was charged with murder, convicted of manslaughter, in Cora's death.
I have no information on overall maternal mortality, or abortion mortality, in the 19th century. I imagine it can't be too much different from maternal and abortion mortality at the very beginning of the 20th Century.
Note, please, that with overall public issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with, there was likely little difference between the performance of a legal abortion and illegal practice, and the aftercare for either type of abortion was probably equally unlikely to do the woman much, if any, good.
For more on this era, see Abortion Deaths in the 19th Century.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
In May of 1899, Cora told Mrs. Martha Johnson that she was about six weeks pregnant and wanted to find a good doctor to perform an abortion. Mrs. Johnson introduced Cora to Dr. R. J. Alcorn who had been practicing medicine in Kootenai County, Idaho, for a short time. Dr. Alcorn was living in the boarding house Mrs. Johnson operated with Mr. E.J. Abbey. Finding a doctor to perform an illegal abortion was common prior to legalization.
Cora went to Dr. Alcorn's room about two days after they were introduced. Mr. Abbey listened from an adjoining room, and heard Cora say that the instrument Dr. Alcorn was using was hurting her.
On the night of Tuesday, June 21, Dr. Alcorn asked Mr. T.J. Rundell to help him carry a table into his office, which was at the back of a drug store in the town of Harrison. Rundell's curiosity was piqued, and he asked Alcorn if he was going to "dissect a stiff." Alcorn told him no, he was going to perform an operation on somebody from across the river.
Rundell decided to snoop, so he returned at 10:00 PM and saw Cora go through the drug store into Alcorn's office. Rundell then slipped around to the back of the building, where he could peer into Alcorn's office around an ill-hung window blind. The following is what Rundell says he observed.
- Alcorn stood beside the chair where Cora was sitting, supporting her head with one hand. He had a small vial containing a dark liquid, and was holding a cloth to Cora's face. Cora seemed to fall into a deep sleep, whereupon Alcorn picked her up and lay her on the table.
- Alcorn removed Cora's undergarments and positioned her for the surgery. He examined her internally, inserted a speculum, then inserted a probe about a foot long into her body, causing a flow of blood which he blotted up with a cloth. From time to time, Alcorn applied the cloth to Cora's face again. The entire procedure took about an hour and a half.
- Cora was awakened, and Alcorn helped her to set her clothing to rights and sent her on her way.
Over the ensuing days, Alcorn visited Cora five times, the last time about two hours before she died on Friday afternoon, June 23. Her feet and hands were cold, her fingers blue, her lips purple. Alcorn told Cora's mother that she was doing well and would be up soon. Alcorn immediately took a train to Washington state, returning about 10:00 on the following Sunday morning. The next day he again left the state, this time going to Montana, where he was arrested and returned to Kootenai county.
While Cora was ill, she passed a lot of blood and clots. Mrs. Knight, who visited Cora during her illness, testified, "I helped dress her after she was dead. Her clothing and bedclothing were saturated with blood. A quilt was doubled up under her four thicknesses, and it was clear through the quilt. It was clots of blood. I observed an odor in connection with it. There was too great a quantity to have come from the ordinary menstruation. Much greater in quantity."
At about 6:00 PM on the 21st, William Ketchum called Alcorn to visit Mrs. Ketchum, but Alcorn told him, "Well, I don't know. I am expecting a miscarriage here any minute. I can go over there, and come back, if it does not make any difference to them." So he went to Ketchum's home to attend to Mrs. Ketchum.
Kootenai County sheriff F. H. Bradbury testified, "He told me that he never had anything to do with this girl, Cora Burke; that he began in the daytime an operation on a man for stricture, and did not complete it; and that he took him in the back room of the drug store and completed the operation in the evening. He gave me this statement after I had warned him not to make any statement to me. This was on the train between here and Missoula."
Alcorn testified on is own behalf, saying that Cora had attempted to do an abortion on herself with "a hair dart," which had punctured the wall of her uterus and broken off, leaving about 1 1/2 inches. Rundell said that he'd used a speculum and piston syringe to remove the foreign body from Cora's uterus.
The physicians called as expert witnesses on the case all agreed that Cora died of septicemia or blood poisoning. They also agreed that ergot itself would be enough to cause an abortion.
Alcorn's defense also raised the possibility that Cora hadn't actually been pregnant, but the court concluded that Cora had believed herself to be pregnant, had sought an abortion, and had undergone a procedure intended to cause an abortion, which was enough to demonstrate the intent of the defendant to kill a fetus, especially in the light of Alcorn's statement that he was expecting a patient to miscarry.
Alcorn was charged with murder, convicted of manslaughter, in Cora's death.
I have no information on overall maternal mortality, or abortion mortality, in the 19th century. I imagine it can't be too much different from maternal and abortion mortality at the very beginning of the 20th Century.
Note, please, that with overall public issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with, there was likely little difference between the performance of a legal abortion and illegal practice, and the aftercare for either type of abortion was probably equally unlikely to do the woman much, if any, good.
For more on this era, see Abortion Deaths in the 19th Century.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Two anniversaries: Criminal and legal abortion
On June 22, 1928, 31-year-old Rose Hannover died at the office of Dr. Lester I. Ofner from complications of an abortion performed there that day. Ofner was held by the coroner on July 28. On November 28, he was acquitted. The source documents do not indicate why, so we have no way of knowing if he was wrongly identified by the coroner, if the prosecution screwed up, or if the way the law was written made getting a conviction difficult.
On June 22, 1996, 22-year-old Kelly Morse died in a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania hospital from complications of anesthesia administered during an abortion performed June 19 by Dr. Dr. Delhi Elmore Thweatt, Jr. at Hillcrest Women's Medical Center. Staff had administered a drug to Kelly that she had warned them she was allergic to. She immediately went into respiratory distress, which her inhaler did nothing to alleviate. Thweatt continued with the abortion, completing it in about four minutes, and spent some time providing ineffectual care to Kelly before having an ambulance summoned. Click on Kelly's name to read the whole story.
On June 22, 1996, 22-year-old Kelly Morse died in a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania hospital from complications of anesthesia administered during an abortion performed June 19 by Dr. Dr. Delhi Elmore Thweatt, Jr. at Hillcrest Women's Medical Center. Staff had administered a drug to Kelly that she had warned them she was allergic to. She immediately went into respiratory distress, which her inhaler did nothing to alleviate. Thweatt continued with the abortion, completing it in about four minutes, and spent some time providing ineffectual care to Kelly before having an ambulance summoned. Click on Kelly's name to read the whole story.
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The topic was the Chicago Tribune's "Bring Out Your Dead" report on slipshod abortion statistics in Illinois.
My thoughts:
1. I'm verily astonished that Illinois is collecting abortion stats at all. I had thought the Ragsdale case had stricken down abortion reporting. But when I Google, I get a Ragsdale case I'd never heard of that settled out of court.
2. Reporter Megan Twohey evidently spoke with Stanley Henshaw, erstwhile Centers for Disease Control Abortion Surveillance Branch employee, now with the Alan Guttmacher Institute. Yeah, he was really neutral on abortion during his CDC tenure, right? He and Lisa Koonin (whose specific job was, among other things, to notice abortion deaths) attended the 1992 National Abortion Federation Risk Management Seminar in Dallas. The two of the just ignored the death Robert Crist had a pity party about. Poor Dr. Bob was being sued and picked on in the popular press in two states, the prolifers had gotten hold of it and were blabbing about it. Latachie Veal's death couldn't have been more obvious if she had crawled to Atlanta and expired on the floor of Lisa Koonin's office with her aftercare instructions still clutched in her hand. The CDC counted zero abortion deaths in Latachie's race and age range the year she died. Nice work, Stanley! Way to show you care about accurate data on abortion mortality!
For more about the unholy alliance between the federal government and the Alan Guttmacher Institute, read The "Koop Report" on Abortion.
3. While we're on the topic of Stanley Henshaw, Twohey noted that Henshaw "has explored abortion reporting problems and 'lax enforcement. across the country." Yeah, we've already established that our boy Stanley is part of the reporting problem. At least when it comes to things that give abortionists bad publicity. He's probably really ticked off that they're not getting more data that can be used for marketing.
4. Still on Stanley:
Let's give Stanley the "Paging Captain Obvious" award. Though a lot of the supposedly non-shoddy abortionists are a bit lax in the reporting department. I don't feel like looking up examples now, but I can if anybody's interested.
5. Reporting complications. As if. I've seen a dead patient charted as "pink, responsive, alert". And complication reports are based on clinic records. Thus, this dead patient wouldn't have been reported as a complication at all. And even if an abortion facility intended to be honest, they can't chart complications that they don't hear about because the patient didn't show symptoms until after she left, and she went to the ER or her family doctor or she died.
6. Will more regs fix this? Again, as if. The responsibility for overseeing these places should be on the people who want them to be there in the community -- abortion advocacy groups. They should be civilly liable if they refer a woman to some shoddy joint that injures or kills her. They have no business giving referrals without first checking the place out. And they should also be civilly responsible for failing to report a shoddy place to the state. For crying out loud, people don't even buy a new toilet seat any more without checking online first for reviews. These are women's bodies and lives we're talking about -- the things abortion supporters claim to care about the most. You'd think they'd care as much about these women as average people do about toilet seats.
7. Will prochoicers care? I doubt it. Most of them won't read it, because they don't want to know. And those who do read it?
They'll have forgotten it by the time they turn the page. Though if it does get their attention at all, they're likely to shrug it off with an "All surgery has risks." Yeah, but all surgery doesn't have organizations that purport to be there to protect patients but who instead cover up patient injuries and deaths, and rally to support the doctors who injured or killed them. How about showing a little skepticism about the organizations that told you that these things just don't happen, that abortion facilities are run by trustworthy professionals and that they report complications, etc.
8. I'm still trying to get information on the two new deaths this story alerted me to: Mrs. Stevenson and the teenage Planned Parenthood victim who died in 2008. Time for somebody to do a couple of docket searches and get the details. I can't afford to at the moment. If anybody learns anything, please let me know.
Well, in summary, that's it. Thanks, guys, for a great show. I'm looking forward to the next one.
The topic was the Chicago Tribune's "Bring Out Your Dead" report on slipshod abortion statistics in Illinois.
My thoughts:
1. I'm verily astonished that Illinois is collecting abortion stats at all. I had thought the Ragsdale case had stricken down abortion reporting. But when I Google, I get a Ragsdale case I'd never heard of that settled out of court.
2. Reporter Megan Twohey evidently spoke with Stanley Henshaw, erstwhile Centers for Disease Control Abortion Surveillance Branch employee, now with the Alan Guttmacher Institute. Yeah, he was really neutral on abortion during his CDC tenure, right? He and Lisa Koonin (whose specific job was, among other things, to notice abortion deaths) attended the 1992 National Abortion Federation Risk Management Seminar in Dallas. The two of the just ignored the death Robert Crist had a pity party about. Poor Dr. Bob was being sued and picked on in the popular press in two states, the prolifers had gotten hold of it and were blabbing about it. Latachie Veal's death couldn't have been more obvious if she had crawled to Atlanta and expired on the floor of Lisa Koonin's office with her aftercare instructions still clutched in her hand. The CDC counted zero abortion deaths in Latachie's race and age range the year she died. Nice work, Stanley! Way to show you care about accurate data on abortion mortality!
For more about the unholy alliance between the federal government and the Alan Guttmacher Institute, read The "Koop Report" on Abortion.
3. While we're on the topic of Stanley Henshaw, Twohey noted that Henshaw "has explored abortion reporting problems and 'lax enforcement. across the country." Yeah, we've already established that our boy Stanley is part of the reporting problem. At least when it comes to things that give abortionists bad publicity. He's probably really ticked off that they're not getting more data that can be used for marketing.
4. Still on Stanley:
Today, Henshaw theorizes it is the shoddiest operators who are not reporting the abortions they perform. Either they refuse to comply or are so off the radar they are unaware of the requirement.
"I think it's only a problem with the worst providers," said Henshaw, who has recommended audits of state abortion reports, a process that would involve verifying who all the providers are.
Let's give Stanley the "Paging Captain Obvious" award. Though a lot of the supposedly non-shoddy abortionists are a bit lax in the reporting department. I don't feel like looking up examples now, but I can if anybody's interested.
5. Reporting complications. As if. I've seen a dead patient charted as "pink, responsive, alert". And complication reports are based on clinic records. Thus, this dead patient wouldn't have been reported as a complication at all. And even if an abortion facility intended to be honest, they can't chart complications that they don't hear about because the patient didn't show symptoms until after she left, and she went to the ER or her family doctor or she died.
6. Will more regs fix this? Again, as if. The responsibility for overseeing these places should be on the people who want them to be there in the community -- abortion advocacy groups. They should be civilly liable if they refer a woman to some shoddy joint that injures or kills her. They have no business giving referrals without first checking the place out. And they should also be civilly responsible for failing to report a shoddy place to the state. For crying out loud, people don't even buy a new toilet seat any more without checking online first for reviews. These are women's bodies and lives we're talking about -- the things abortion supporters claim to care about the most. You'd think they'd care as much about these women as average people do about toilet seats.
7. Will prochoicers care? I doubt it. Most of them won't read it, because they don't want to know. And those who do read it?
They'll have forgotten it by the time they turn the page. Though if it does get their attention at all, they're likely to shrug it off with an "All surgery has risks." Yeah, but all surgery doesn't have organizations that purport to be there to protect patients but who instead cover up patient injuries and deaths, and rally to support the doctors who injured or killed them. How about showing a little skepticism about the organizations that told you that these things just don't happen, that abortion facilities are run by trustworthy professionals and that they report complications, etc.8. I'm still trying to get information on the two new deaths this story alerted me to: Mrs. Stevenson and the teenage Planned Parenthood victim who died in 2008. Time for somebody to do a couple of docket searches and get the details. I can't afford to at the moment. If anybody learns anything, please let me know.
Well, in summary, that's it. Thanks, guys, for a great show. I'm looking forward to the next one.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Anniversaires: One criminal, one legal
On June 21, 1929, 25-year-old Fannie Shead died from a criminal abortion performed that day by an unknown perpetrator. Interestingly, the coroner only recommended an arrest for "unintentional manslaughter," not the usual homicide by abortion. I wonder if this might be due to the fact that unlike the other victims of Chicago abortionists whose cases I've documented, Fanny Shead was Black.Oddly, the database lists a date a defendant was arrested -- August 10 -- but does not list a suspect. Perhaps the person arrested what the person who arranged the abortion.
Seventeen-year-old Deborah Ann Lozinski had languished for two months in a coma, hospitalized after a safe and legal abortion at Medical Care Center in Woodbridge, New Jersey. On June 21, 1985, Deborah's parents filed suit against Dr. Scheininger, Dr. Sinha, and other staff for failing to properly screen and examine Deborah prior to her abortion. They also alleged that staff failed to properly monitor their daughter's vital signs during the abortion, failing to quickly detect and properly treat respiratory difficulty. As a result, Deborah suffered the brain damage that had caused her coma. Shortly after midnight on June 22, a hospital staffer checked on Deborah and found her dead; she evidently had died shortly before midnight.
Seventeen-year-old Deborah Ann Lozinski had languished for two months in a coma, hospitalized after a safe and legal abortion at Medical Care Center in Woodbridge, New Jersey. On June 21, 1985, Deborah's parents filed suit against Dr. Scheininger, Dr. Sinha, and other staff for failing to properly screen and examine Deborah prior to her abortion. They also alleged that staff failed to properly monitor their daughter's vital signs during the abortion, failing to quickly detect and properly treat respiratory difficulty. As a result, Deborah suffered the brain damage that had caused her coma. Shortly after midnight on June 22, a hospital staffer checked on Deborah and found her dead; she evidently had died shortly before midnight.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Two Chicago deaths
On June 19, 1922, 26-year-old Veronica Maslanka died in her Chicago home from complications of an abortion performed there that day. The coroner identified midwife Mary Pesova as the person responsible for Veronica's death. Since in-home health care (including some surgery) was normal at that period, the legal status of abortion probably didn't change the location, or the method, chosen by Veronica and Pesova. And since the abortion lobby is now pushing for midwives, nurses, and physician assistants to be legally permitted to perform abortions, the choice of practitioners is within the realm of what is considered adequate. Thus, it's difficult to blame Veronica's death on the illegality of abortion.
On June 18, 1928, 20-year-old Anna Mae Smith underwent an abortion at the Chicago office of Dr. George F. Slater. The next day, Anna died there from complications. Anna's abortion -- performed by a physician in his private practice -- is a common scenario today, and thus didn't really differ in any way from what would be normal for a legal abortion. What is dramatically unusual is that Dr. Slater, upon learning of Anna Mae's death, committed suicide at his home by taking poison. The source doesn't indicate if Slater's suicide was due to remorse or fear of prosecution.
On June 18, 1928, 20-year-old Anna Mae Smith underwent an abortion at the Chicago office of Dr. George F. Slater. The next day, Anna died there from complications. Anna's abortion -- performed by a physician in his private practice -- is a common scenario today, and thus didn't really differ in any way from what would be normal for a legal abortion. What is dramatically unusual is that Dr. Slater, upon learning of Anna Mae's death, committed suicide at his home by taking poison. The source doesn't indicate if Slater's suicide was due to remorse or fear of prosecution.
Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future. For more about abortion in this era, see Abortion in the 1920s.
During the first two thirds of the 20th Century, while abortion was still illegal, there was a massive drop in maternal mortality, including mortality from abortion. Most researches attribute this plunge to improvements in public health and hygiene, the development of blood transfusion techniques, and the introduction of antibiotics. Learn more here.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Anniversaries: Two doctors' fatal efforts
On June 17, 1913, 36-year-old Freda Englehardt died in Chicago, at the scene of an abortion perpetrated that day by Dr. Joseph A. Meeks. Meeks was held for murder, and Mrs. Mollie Flaherty was held as an accessory, but the case never went to trial.
On June 17, 1918, 25-year-old Sophie Suida died at Chicago's St. Mary's Hospital from complications of an abortion perpetrated by Dr. L. D. Tucholska, who died at the county jail on June 28, before the case could come to trial.
Note, please, that with overall public health issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with, there was likely little difference between the performance of a legal abortion and illegal practice, and the aftercare for either type of abortion was probably equally unlikely to do the woman much, if any, good.
In fact, due to improvements in addressing these problems, maternal mortality in general (and abortion mortality with it) fell dramatically in the 20th Century, decades before Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion across America.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
On June 17, 1918, 25-year-old Sophie Suida died at Chicago's St. Mary's Hospital from complications of an abortion perpetrated by Dr. L. D. Tucholska, who died at the county jail on June 28, before the case could come to trial.
Note, please, that with overall public health issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with, there was likely little difference between the performance of a legal abortion and illegal practice, and the aftercare for either type of abortion was probably equally unlikely to do the woman much, if any, good.
In fact, due to improvements in addressing these problems, maternal mortality in general (and abortion mortality with it) fell dramatically in the 20th Century, decades before Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion across America.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Four anniversaries.
On June 16, 1910, Mrs. Paulina Sproc, age 35, died in a Chicago home from an abortion that had been performed on June 5. Dr. W.L. Orainger was held by the coroner's jury. The source document doesn't indicate that the case ever went to trial.
Twenty-five-year-old Margaret Smith traveled from Michigan to New York for a safe and legal abortion because she had been exposed to rubella. Her abortionist, Jesse Ketchum, had run a criminal abortion practice in Michigan, before carpetbagging to Buffalo when New York legalized abortion. Ketchum performed a vaginal hysterotomy on Margaret the morning of June 16, 1971. Margaret was then left virtually unattended until her boyfriend retured at 2:00. He found Margaret unresponsive, and begged Ketchum and his staff to do something. But it was too late. By the time the ambulance arrived, Margaret had bled to death. Ketchum was charged with criminally negligent homicide in Margaret's death. Before his case went to trial, he performed a similar fatal abortion on Carole Schaner of Ohio.
Margaret Paula Clodfelter was 19 years old when she had a safe, legal abortion at Richmond Medical Center For Women on June 2, 1989, performed by William Fitzhugh. After she was sent home, Margaret had pain and bleeding. She called the facility to consult with them, but they did not tell her that she needed further care. On June 4, she sought treatment at a hospital, where she was diagnosed with retained fetal tissue and a perforated uterus. Efforts by doctors there to save her were in vain. Margaret died on June 16, 1989, leaving behind a husband and a one-year-old son.
A 20-year-old Newark college student, identified in prolife sources as "Jane Doe of Newark," underwent a safe and legal abortion by Dr. Steven Berkman at Metropolitan Medical Associates on June 16, 1993. Jane reportedly felt dizzy in recovery. Berkman examined her, noted that she had a perforated uterus, and after a two hour delay, had her taken to a hospital by ambulance. She bled to death in surgery, leaving her four-year-old son motherless.
I'm not really seeing that things improved for women over time. But I do notice that abortionists had less and less reason to be fearful that they'd suffer repercussions if they killed their patients.
Twenty-five-year-old Margaret Smith traveled from Michigan to New York for a safe and legal abortion because she had been exposed to rubella. Her abortionist, Jesse Ketchum, had run a criminal abortion practice in Michigan, before carpetbagging to Buffalo when New York legalized abortion. Ketchum performed a vaginal hysterotomy on Margaret the morning of June 16, 1971. Margaret was then left virtually unattended until her boyfriend retured at 2:00. He found Margaret unresponsive, and begged Ketchum and his staff to do something. But it was too late. By the time the ambulance arrived, Margaret had bled to death. Ketchum was charged with criminally negligent homicide in Margaret's death. Before his case went to trial, he performed a similar fatal abortion on Carole Schaner of Ohio.
Margaret Paula Clodfelter was 19 years old when she had a safe, legal abortion at Richmond Medical Center For Women on June 2, 1989, performed by William Fitzhugh. After she was sent home, Margaret had pain and bleeding. She called the facility to consult with them, but they did not tell her that she needed further care. On June 4, she sought treatment at a hospital, where she was diagnosed with retained fetal tissue and a perforated uterus. Efforts by doctors there to save her were in vain. Margaret died on June 16, 1989, leaving behind a husband and a one-year-old son.
A 20-year-old Newark college student, identified in prolife sources as "Jane Doe of Newark," underwent a safe and legal abortion by Dr. Steven Berkman at Metropolitan Medical Associates on June 16, 1993. Jane reportedly felt dizzy in recovery. Berkman examined her, noted that she had a perforated uterus, and after a two hour delay, had her taken to a hospital by ambulance. She bled to death in surgery, leaving her four-year-old son motherless.
I'm not really seeing that things improved for women over time. But I do notice that abortionists had less and less reason to be fearful that they'd suffer repercussions if they killed their patients.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
1984: Teen found dead by mother
On June 14, 1984, 14-year-old Germaine Newman had a second-trimester abortion performed by Dr. E. Wyman Garrett in Newark, New Jersey. She was 22 weeks pregnant.
After her abortion, Germaine began vomiting and suffered from abdominal pain and a high fever.
The next morning, June 15, Germaine's mother found her lying dead on the bathroom floor.
An autopsy found that Germaine's abdomen was full of pus and adhesions. The cause of death was abdominal infection and perforation of the uterus.
When the New Jersey medical board investigated Dr. Garrett, they noted that he had illegally altered Germaine's medical records.
After her abortion, Germaine began vomiting and suffered from abdominal pain and a high fever.
The next morning, June 15, Germaine's mother found her lying dead on the bathroom floor.
An autopsy found that Germaine's abdomen was full of pus and adhesions. The cause of death was abdominal infection and perforation of the uterus.
When the New Jersey medical board investigated Dr. Garrett, they noted that he had illegally altered Germaine's medical records.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Five anniversaries
Today's anniversaries start with a criminal abortion death, and move forward in time to a safe, legal abortion death in 2005. I leave it to the reader to decide if Barbaralee, Risaruio, Angela, and Oriene were somehow better off than Grace Iorio.
On June 7, 1930, 27-year-old Grace Iorio underwent an illegal abortion in the Chicago home of midwife Stepina Pazkiewicz. On June 14, Grace died at her home. On June 15, Pazkiewicz was arrested for her role in Grace's death.
Eighteen-year-old newlywed Barbaralee Davis called a local women's group for a safe and legal abortion referral. They sent her to a member of the newly foundedNational Abortion Federation, Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Illinois. After the abortion, performed June 14, 1977 by Hope Medical Director Hector Zavalos, she was sent home, pale and bleeding and needing her sister's help to get to the car. Barbaralee slept in the back seat the whole way homem then her sister helped her to bed. When Barbaralee's sister checked on her several hours later, she was unresponsive. She was rushed to the Pickneyville hospital, where an emergency hysterectomy was attempted to save her life. Barbaralee died during the surgery, leaving one child motherless.
The autopsy found the face and spinal column of Barbaralee's baby embedded in a hole in her uterus. There were two quarts of blood in her abdomen. Barbaralee had bled to death. Hope Clinic for Women was not only permitted to remain in operation, it was allowed to remain a member in good standing of the National Abortion Federation.
A lawsuit filed by Eduardo Bermeo alleged that his wife, Rosario Bermeo, age 30, died following a safe and legal abortionperformed by Dr. Joseph B. Shapse at Prospect Hospital in New York June 14, 1983. Shapse contended he had no responsibility for actions of the certified nurse anesthetist, and no responsibility to monitor and evaluate Rosario's condition during and immediately after the abortion. Therefore, he said, he was not to blame for her death from respiratory and cardiac arrest.
Angela Hall, a 27-year-old mother of five, arrived on June 11, 1991, for a safe, legal abortion at Thomas Tucker's office in Alabama. One of Tucker's employees, Joy Davis, screened Angela and felt that she had risk factors that made abortion in an office setting unsafe. Joy got on the phone with Tucker and indicated that she felt that Angela should be referred to a hospital. Tucker told Davis that "we need the money" and ordered her to prep Angela. After the abortion, Angela suffered obvious complications, including an alarming about of bleeding, but when a nurse called an ambulance, Tucker canceled the ambulance. As Angela's condition deteriorated, the nurse pleaded with Tucker, who finally cussed her out, told her to go ahead and call an ambulance, and left the building, abandoning his patient. Angela was taken to the hospital, where she suffered respiratory failure, clotting, and sepsis. She died just before midnight June 14.
Oriane Shevin, age 34, died June 14, 2005 of infection following off-label use of RU-486 for a safe and abortion in California in 2005. Oriane got the drugs at the Eve Surgical Center, a member of the National Abortion Federation. She took the mifeprestone on June 9 and vaginally inserted the misoprostol on June 10. The coroner‘s office was not able to determine if a physician saw or examined her at the abortion facility. The doctor at the center, Christopher Dotson, has a spotted history. At the time of Oriane‘s abortion, he had not yet completed eight years medical board probation for gross negligence and incompetence in causing the death of a patient in 1992. Dotson had also been investigated in 1993 after Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital of Los Angeles had reported him for being negligent in the treatment of six women.
On June 7, 1930, 27-year-old Grace Iorio underwent an illegal abortion in the Chicago home of midwife Stepina Pazkiewicz. On June 14, Grace died at her home. On June 15, Pazkiewicz was arrested for her role in Grace's death.
Eighteen-year-old newlywed Barbaralee Davis called a local women's group for a safe and legal abortion referral. They sent her to a member of the newly foundedNational Abortion Federation, Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Illinois. After the abortion, performed June 14, 1977 by Hope Medical Director Hector Zavalos, she was sent home, pale and bleeding and needing her sister's help to get to the car. Barbaralee slept in the back seat the whole way homem then her sister helped her to bed. When Barbaralee's sister checked on her several hours later, she was unresponsive. She was rushed to the Pickneyville hospital, where an emergency hysterectomy was attempted to save her life. Barbaralee died during the surgery, leaving one child motherless.
The autopsy found the face and spinal column of Barbaralee's baby embedded in a hole in her uterus. There were two quarts of blood in her abdomen. Barbaralee had bled to death. Hope Clinic for Women was not only permitted to remain in operation, it was allowed to remain a member in good standing of the National Abortion Federation.
A lawsuit filed by Eduardo Bermeo alleged that his wife, Rosario Bermeo, age 30, died following a safe and legal abortionperformed by Dr. Joseph B. Shapse at Prospect Hospital in New York June 14, 1983. Shapse contended he had no responsibility for actions of the certified nurse anesthetist, and no responsibility to monitor and evaluate Rosario's condition during and immediately after the abortion. Therefore, he said, he was not to blame for her death from respiratory and cardiac arrest.
Angela Hall, a 27-year-old mother of five, arrived on June 11, 1991, for a safe, legal abortion at Thomas Tucker's office in Alabama. One of Tucker's employees, Joy Davis, screened Angela and felt that she had risk factors that made abortion in an office setting unsafe. Joy got on the phone with Tucker and indicated that she felt that Angela should be referred to a hospital. Tucker told Davis that "we need the money" and ordered her to prep Angela. After the abortion, Angela suffered obvious complications, including an alarming about of bleeding, but when a nurse called an ambulance, Tucker canceled the ambulance. As Angela's condition deteriorated, the nurse pleaded with Tucker, who finally cussed her out, told her to go ahead and call an ambulance, and left the building, abandoning his patient. Angela was taken to the hospital, where she suffered respiratory failure, clotting, and sepsis. She died just before midnight June 14.
Oriane Shevin, age 34, died June 14, 2005 of infection following off-label use of RU-486 for a safe and abortion in California in 2005. Oriane got the drugs at the Eve Surgical Center, a member of the National Abortion Federation. She took the mifeprestone on June 9 and vaginally inserted the misoprostol on June 10. The coroner‘s office was not able to determine if a physician saw or examined her at the abortion facility. The doctor at the center, Christopher Dotson, has a spotted history. At the time of Oriane‘s abortion, he had not yet completed eight years medical board probation for gross negligence and incompetence in causing the death of a patient in 1992. Dotson had also been investigated in 1993 after Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital of Los Angeles had reported him for being negligent in the treatment of six women.
Monday, June 13, 2011
1925: Two doctors, one dead woman
On June 13, 1925, 24-year-old Betty Fisher died in the Chicago office of doctors August Goetz and Henry Gautsen from an abortion performed that day. The doctors were acquitted on October 16. The documents don't indicate why.
Betty's abortion was typical of criminal abortions in that it was attributed to a physician.
Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future. For more about abortion in this era, see Abortion in the 1920s.
During the first two thirds of the 20th Century, while abortion was still illegal, there was a massive drop in maternal mortality, including mortality from abortion. Most researches attribute this plunge to improvements in public health and hygiene, the development of blood transfusion techniques, and the introduction of antibiotics. Learn more here.
Betty's abortion was typical of criminal abortions in that it was attributed to a physician.
Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future. For more about abortion in this era, see Abortion in the 1920s.
During the first two thirds of the 20th Century, while abortion was still illegal, there was a massive drop in maternal mortality, including mortality from abortion. Most researches attribute this plunge to improvements in public health and hygiene, the development of blood transfusion techniques, and the introduction of antibiotics. Learn more here.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Anniversaries: Two fatal abortions by medical professionals
In June of 1902, Irene Wengel traveled to Tampa, Florida, where she was met by her cousin, J. Carl Christian. Christian had arranged for her to stay at the home of Dr. Frederick N. Weightnovel for an abortion. Dr. B. G. Abernathy was called in to attend to Irene after the abortion. Abernathy testified that Irene told him she'd come to Weightnovel about two weeks earlier, that she did well the first day or two after the abortion, but that she became very sick and rapidly declined.Abernathy diagnosed her Irene suffering from blood poisoning caused by retained placenta.She died on June 12. Follow Irene's name to learn more.
On June 12, 1922, Mrs. Louise Huse, age 30, died at Chicago's Mid West Hospital from a criminal abortion performed there that day. On June 16, midwife Agnes Tholl was arrested on the recommendation of the coroner.
During the first two thirds of the 20th Centurey, while abortion was still illegal, there was a massive drop in maternal mortality, including mortality from abortion. Most researches attribute this plunge to improvements in public health and hygiene, the development of blood transfusion techniques, and the introduction of antibiotics. Learn more here.
On June 12, 1922, Mrs. Louise Huse, age 30, died at Chicago's Mid West Hospital from a criminal abortion performed there that day. On June 16, midwife Agnes Tholl was arrested on the recommendation of the coroner.
During the first two thirds of the 20th Centurey, while abortion was still illegal, there was a massive drop in maternal mortality, including mortality from abortion. Most researches attribute this plunge to improvements in public health and hygiene, the development of blood transfusion techniques, and the introduction of antibiotics. Learn more here.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Four anniversaries
Today we have the anniversaries of four abortion deaths. Click on each woman's name for more information.
Emma Post, "about twenty years of age, daughter of one of our most respectable citizens," was taken from her Brooklyn home to Dover by her lover, to undergo an abortion at the hands of Dr. Lewis Dix. She was spirited off to Newburyport on Wednesday. On Thursday, June 11, 1857, she "paid the forfeit of such acts, dying in excruciating agony." Her lover and Dr. Dix were both arrested. It was typical in the days before widespread legalization for women or the their babies' fathers to find doctors to perpetrate the abortions.
On June 11, 1917, 23-year-old Mrs. Esther Stark died at Chicago's German Hospital from a criminal abortion perpetrated by Mrs. Groh, who was never prosecuted because she died several days later from causes not indicated in the source. Esther's case was unusual in that it appears that a layman performed the fatal abortion. Most criminal abortions were performed by physicians.
Angela Scott, age 19, stopped breathing in the recovery room after her abortion, being performed June 2, 1979 at National Abortion Federation member Atlanta Women's Pavillion. A nurse-anesthetist ran to assist in efforts to revive Angela, leaving 14-year-old Deloris Scott unattended with her anesthesia drip still running. Angela lingered for a week in a coma before dying on June 11. Deloris died several months later in a nursing home.
On June 9, 1999, Maria Leho when she entrusted herself to the staff at Albany Medical Surgical Center of Chicago -- a member of the Family Planning Associates Medical Group (FPA) chain of abortion facilities. She was to undergo an abortion at the hands of John Weitzner, MD. Staff administered an anesthetic that was contraindicated in patients who, like Maria, had seizure disorders. She was left inadequately monitored in the recovery room until somebody noticed that she wasn't breathing. Rather than call an ambulance promptly, staff tried to revive her on-site. Finally she was transferred to a hospital, where in spite of all efforts to save her, she died on June 11. FPA, like Atlanta Women's Pavillion, is a National Abortion Federation member.
Emma Post, "about twenty years of age, daughter of one of our most respectable citizens," was taken from her Brooklyn home to Dover by her lover, to undergo an abortion at the hands of Dr. Lewis Dix. She was spirited off to Newburyport on Wednesday. On Thursday, June 11, 1857, she "paid the forfeit of such acts, dying in excruciating agony." Her lover and Dr. Dix were both arrested. It was typical in the days before widespread legalization for women or the their babies' fathers to find doctors to perpetrate the abortions.
On June 11, 1917, 23-year-old Mrs. Esther Stark died at Chicago's German Hospital from a criminal abortion perpetrated by Mrs. Groh, who was never prosecuted because she died several days later from causes not indicated in the source. Esther's case was unusual in that it appears that a layman performed the fatal abortion. Most criminal abortions were performed by physicians.
Angela Scott, age 19, stopped breathing in the recovery room after her abortion, being performed June 2, 1979 at National Abortion Federation member Atlanta Women's Pavillion. A nurse-anesthetist ran to assist in efforts to revive Angela, leaving 14-year-old Deloris Scott unattended with her anesthesia drip still running. Angela lingered for a week in a coma before dying on June 11. Deloris died several months later in a nursing home.
On June 9, 1999, Maria Leho when she entrusted herself to the staff at Albany Medical Surgical Center of Chicago -- a member of the Family Planning Associates Medical Group (FPA) chain of abortion facilities. She was to undergo an abortion at the hands of John Weitzner, MD. Staff administered an anesthetic that was contraindicated in patients who, like Maria, had seizure disorders. She was left inadequately monitored in the recovery room until somebody noticed that she wasn't breathing. Rather than call an ambulance promptly, staff tried to revive her on-site. Finally she was transferred to a hospital, where in spite of all efforts to save her, she died on June 11. FPA, like Atlanta Women's Pavillion, is a National Abortion Federation member.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
1917: Another doctor's fatal work
On June 9, 1917, 26-year-old Mrs. Emma Melvin died at Chicago's St. Mary's Hospital from a criminal abortion perpetrated by Dr. M. Meinhardt, who was never tried in Emma's death. It's well worth noting that, like about 90% of pre-legalization abortions, Emma's fatal abortion was performed by a doctor, not a wino in a trench coat. The more you know, the less likely you are to see abortion as a huge boon to anybody but the doctors who sell them.
Note, please, that with overall public health issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with, there was likely little difference between the performance of a legal abortion and illegal practice, and the aftercare for either type of abortion was probably equally unlikely to do the woman much, if any, good.
In fact, due to improvements in addressing these problems, maternal mortality in general (and abortion mortality with it) fell dramatically in the 20th Century, decades before Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion across America.
For more information about early 20th Century abortion mortality, see Abortion Deaths 1910-1919.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Note, please, that with overall public health issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with, there was likely little difference between the performance of a legal abortion and illegal practice, and the aftercare for either type of abortion was probably equally unlikely to do the woman much, if any, good.
In fact, due to improvements in addressing these problems, maternal mortality in general (and abortion mortality with it) fell dramatically in the 20th Century, decades before Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion across America.
For more information about early 20th Century abortion mortality, see Abortion Deaths 1910-1919.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
1964: The death of a poster child
An icon in death, who was Geraldine Santoro in life?
Born August 16, 1935, Gerri was described as fun-loving, given to playing hooky and getting sent to the principal's office for mischief. Gerri wanted to beat an engaged friend to the altar, so she got married at age 18 to Salvatore "Sam" Santoro, three or four weeks after she had met him at a bus stop.
But Santoro was abusive. Santoro reportedly blamed the abuse on sinus problems that gave him headaches, so he moved his little family to California. But the abuse continued. So in 1963, Gerri left Sam Santoro and took their two daughters to live on her family's farm in Coventry, Connecticut.
Gerri got a job at Mansfield State Training School. There she met Clyde Dixon, a 43-year-old married man who worked with her. The two had an affair, and Gerri got pregnant.
This was in 1964. Sam Santoro announced he was coming from California to visit his daughters. Gerri, 28 years old and six and a half months pregnant, reportedly feared for either for her life, or that she would lose custody of her children.
Gerri asked a friend for some ergot, ostensibly for a another friend. But evidently nothing came of this. Her sister Leona said she managed to pull together about $700 or $750 for Gerri, thinking Gerri could go someplace far way, to an organization like Catholic Charities, to get help.
Instead, on June 8, Gerri and Clyde Dixon checked into a motel in Norwich, Connecticut under aliases. The plan was for Dixon, using surgical instruments and a medical textbook he'd gotten from a co-worker at Mansfield State Training School, to perform an abortion. The co-worker had access to the instruments and book because his wife was a physician.
Dixon started the abortion by inserting a catheter into Gerri's uterus. However, Gerri began to hemorrhage. Dixon abandoned her, leaving her to bleed to death. Her body was discovered by a maid the following morning.
Dixon fled the state. Three days later, out of gas and out of money, he turned himself into police in Morgantown, West Virginia. He pleaded nolo contender to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit abortion, and was sentenced to a year and a day to three years. The man who had provided the instruments was also arrested.
It wasn't until after Ms. published the photo that Gerri's daughter, Joannie Griffith, then 17, was shown the picture by her aunt and told the truth of her mother's death. She was outraged at how Ms. was using the photo, saying, "How dare they flaunt this? How dare they take my beautiful mom, my beautiful, beautiful mom, and put this in front of the public eye. And who gave them permission. I was pissed."
The headline in Ms. was "Never Again." Never again, they said, would women die from dangerous abortions as Gerri had died, because the Supreme Court had handed down Roe vs. Wade.
And with that, mainstream feminist interest in women's needless abortion deaths was layed to rest. Only twice since Roe have I noted mainstream feminists upset over a woman's death from abortion. The first time was in 1977, when Rosie Jimenez died from an illegal abortion after being told that the taxpayers would not pay for any more elective abortions for her. The second was in 1988, when Becky Bell died of pneumonia shortly after miscarrying.
Meanwhile, women continue to die horrible deaths. Eurice Agbagaa was left hemorrhaging in the care of a receptionist. Claudia Caventou was heard screaming in the abortion clinic before she died. Carolina Gutierrez died of sepsis after doctors had amputated her gangrenous hands and feet to try to save her. Wilma Harris was left unattended for 12 hours before she died. Suzanne Logan was left paralyzed and mute after abortion, and died later in a nursing home. Rita McDowell awoke screaming, collapsed in her mother's arms, and died from her abortion. Sandra Milton bled to death in front of her three children.
Contrary to what the abortion lobby seems to believe, these women are women too. Their lives were just as valuable as Gerri Santoro's. But they're not politically expedient for abortion advocates, so they're swept under the rug, given no more notice than the fetuses disposed of in abortion clinics every day. And they continue to wave Gerri Santoro like a bloody flag, as if a legal abortion would have protected her from the abuse she'd endured for so many years.
1988: One of many Family Planning Associates Deaths
The survivors of 32-year-old Joyce Ortenzio filed suit against Edward Allred, his Family Planning Associates Medical Group (FPA), the San Vicente Hospital FPA facility, and abortionist Ruben Marmet.
Joyce went to San Vicente for laminaria insertion by Marmet on June 7, 1988. Later, Marmet performed a safe and legal abortion, but did not remove all of the fetal parts from Joyce's uterus.
The next day, June 8, Joyce was found dead in her home. The cause of death was an overdose of the drug amitriptyline, infection from fetal parts that were not removed during the abortion and septic shock.
Joyce left three children motherless.
Joyce is one of many women to die at this NAF facility after the National Abortion Federation was founded. NAF makes the following claims on its web site:
Joyce went to San Vicente for laminaria insertion by Marmet on June 7, 1988. Later, Marmet performed a safe and legal abortion, but did not remove all of the fetal parts from Joyce's uterus.
The next day, June 8, Joyce was found dead in her home. The cause of death was an overdose of the drug amitriptyline, infection from fetal parts that were not removed during the abortion and septic shock.
Joyce left three children motherless.
Joyce is one of many women to die at this NAF facility after the National Abortion Federation was founded. NAF makes the following claims on its web site:
What is a NAF Clinic? NAF is the professional association of abortion providers in North America. .... 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.... NAF periodically conducts site visits to confirm that our clinics are in compliance with our guidelines.Other women known to have died after abortion at Allred's facilities include:
- Denise Holmes, age 24, 1970
- Patricia Chacon, age 16, 1984
- Mary Pena, age 43, 1984
- Josefina Garcia, age 37, 1985
- Lanice Dorsey, age 17, 1986
- Tami Suematsu, age 19, 1988
- Susan Levy, age 30, 1992
- Deanna Bell, age 13, 1992
- Christina Mora, age 18, 1994
- Maria Leho, 1999
- Kimberly Neil, 2000
- Maria Rodriguez, 2000
- Chanelle Bryant, age 22, 2004
1914: Doc's fatal work in Chicago
On June 8, 1914, 17-year-old Ester Reid died in Chicago from an abortion perpetrated that day be Dr. J.L. Neuman. Neuman was arrested January 11, 1917, and though the case went to trial, the source does not indicate the outcome.
It's hard to try to pin the blame for Ester's death on the legal status of abortion. It was performed by a doctor, but during a period with massive public health issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with. The criminal status of abortion practice is a negligible factor, if it's even a factor at all.
In fact, due to improvements in addressing these problems, maternal mortality in general (and abortion mortality with it) fell dramatically in the 20th Century, decades before Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion across America.
For more information about early 20th Century abortion mortality, see Abortion Deaths 1910-1919.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
It's hard to try to pin the blame for Ester's death on the legal status of abortion. It was performed by a doctor, but during a period with massive public health issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with. The criminal status of abortion practice is a negligible factor, if it's even a factor at all.
In fact, due to improvements in addressing these problems, maternal mortality in general (and abortion mortality with it) fell dramatically in the 20th Century, decades before Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion across America.
For more information about early 20th Century abortion mortality, see Abortion Deaths 1910-1919.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Two illegal deaths
On June 7, 1924, 27-year-old Anna Strazynski died at her Chicago home from an illegal abortion performed that day. The perpetrator was never identified. Often women injured or killed in safe, legal abortions are left wounded by somebody whose name they don't even know, ostensibly on the grounds that if his name leaks he might get on an antiabortion "hit list." But it's interesting that this also makes it difficult for the injured woman, or the dead woman's family, to know who to sue or report to the medical board.
On June 7, 1929, 20-year-old Viola Koepping died at the office of Dr. Albert West of Chicago, from an abortion evidently performed there that day. West was held by the coroner on June 21.
West was indicted by a grand jury for felony murder on April 21, 1930. It's interesting that in the supposedly bad old "woman hating" days, an abortionist who killed a woman was actually prosecuted. Now the self-appointed "defenders of women's lives" would rally around him and complain that he's being picked on for something so trivial and un-newsworthy as killing an abortion patient.
Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future. For more about abortion in this era, see Abortion in the 1920s.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
On June 7, 1929, 20-year-old Viola Koepping died at the office of Dr. Albert West of Chicago, from an abortion evidently performed there that day. West was held by the coroner on June 21.
West was indicted by a grand jury for felony murder on April 21, 1930. It's interesting that in the supposedly bad old "woman hating" days, an abortionist who killed a woman was actually prosecuted. Now the self-appointed "defenders of women's lives" would rally around him and complain that he's being picked on for something so trivial and un-newsworthy as killing an abortion patient.
Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future. For more about abortion in this era, see Abortion in the 1920s.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Monday, June 06, 2011
Three anniversaries
On June 6, 1907, Mrs. Julia Williamson, age 29, died at her Chicago home from complications of an abortion performed there that day. A midwife named Emily Redemski was held by the coroner's jury, but acquitted by a judge for reasons not given in the source document. Since the abortion lobby has been pushing to have midwives permitted to perform abortions, Julia's abortion was in keeping with what post-legalization activists are okay with.
A chronic ashtma patient, 27-year-old Sheila Hebert went to Delta Women's Clinic in Baton Rouge for a safe and legal abortionon June 6, 1984. Shortly after the abortion, Sheila complained of chest pains and difficulty breathing. She lost consciousness. Emergency personnel arrived within 3 minutes of getting the call, but found the young woman blue, cool, and essentially lifeless. Efforts to revive her, both at Delta and at the ICU proved unsuccessful. The coroner attributed the death to "cardiorespiratory arrest due to acute ashtmatic bronchitis" after "surgical termination of pregnancy. A lawsuit charged Glidden and Delta staff with failure to monitor the patient in recovery, failing to react properly when her condition was discovered, failing to call 911 promptly, and failing to have adequate emergency equipment available. Clearly, legalization did little if anything to protect Sheila.
Nicey Washington was 26 years old when she underwent a safe and legal abortion at Ambulatory Surgery Center in Brooklyn, New York, on June 6, 2000. Her heart stopped after the abortion. She was rushed to Lutheran Hospital at about 11 a.m. Attempts to revive her failed, and she was declared dead at around noon. As of the time of the last article I could find on Nicey's death, the Medical Examiner's office hadn't determined the exact cause of death, but suspected a botched abortion.
A chronic ashtma patient, 27-year-old Sheila Hebert went to Delta Women's Clinic in Baton Rouge for a safe and legal abortionon June 6, 1984. Shortly after the abortion, Sheila complained of chest pains and difficulty breathing. She lost consciousness. Emergency personnel arrived within 3 minutes of getting the call, but found the young woman blue, cool, and essentially lifeless. Efforts to revive her, both at Delta and at the ICU proved unsuccessful. The coroner attributed the death to "cardiorespiratory arrest due to acute ashtmatic bronchitis" after "surgical termination of pregnancy. A lawsuit charged Glidden and Delta staff with failure to monitor the patient in recovery, failing to react properly when her condition was discovered, failing to call 911 promptly, and failing to have adequate emergency equipment available. Clearly, legalization did little if anything to protect Sheila.
Nicey Washington was 26 years old when she underwent a safe and legal abortion at Ambulatory Surgery Center in Brooklyn, New York, on June 6, 2000. Her heart stopped after the abortion. She was rushed to Lutheran Hospital at about 11 a.m. Attempts to revive her failed, and she was declared dead at around noon. As of the time of the last article I could find on Nicey's death, the Medical Examiner's office hadn't determined the exact cause of death, but suspected a botched abortion.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Two anniversaries I missed yesterday
My internet was acting up and I had to focus what bandwidth I could get on other stuff, so I'll belatedly post the June 1 anniversaries today.
Mary Ellen Legge, a 24-year-old department store clerk, died June 1, 1938, from a criminal abortion. Otto Lucy, an Oklahoma City psychologist and teacher, was sentenced to 25 years after pleading guilty in her death. A practical nurse, Ella Hartin, admitted to helping Lucy perform the abortion. She said that Lucy had frequently brought his abortion patients to her home. While he was out on bail pending disposition of this case, Otto Lucy performed the fatal abortion on Goldie Crow.
On June 1, 1926, Willie Pearl Walker, an 18-year-old Black girl, died at her Chicago home from complications of a criminal abortion performed that day. A white doctor, Thomas J. New, was held by the coroner in Willie Pearl's death. Winnie's abortion was typical of criminal abortions in that it was performed by a doctor.
Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Mary Ellen Legge, a 24-year-old department store clerk, died June 1, 1938, from a criminal abortion. Otto Lucy, an Oklahoma City psychologist and teacher, was sentenced to 25 years after pleading guilty in her death. A practical nurse, Ella Hartin, admitted to helping Lucy perform the abortion. She said that Lucy had frequently brought his abortion patients to her home. While he was out on bail pending disposition of this case, Otto Lucy performed the fatal abortion on Goldie Crow.
On June 1, 1926, Willie Pearl Walker, an 18-year-old Black girl, died at her Chicago home from complications of a criminal abortion performed that day. A white doctor, Thomas J. New, was held by the coroner in Willie Pearl's death. Winnie's abortion was typical of criminal abortions in that it was performed by a doctor.
Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion