Three Far Less Fortunate "October Babies"

These real life "October Babies" weren't as fortunate as the fictitious Hanna, or real-life Gianna Jessen and Ana Rosa Rodriguez. Nobody rescued them; there was no adoption and no going home.

Unspecified multi-day procedure, baby died of complications of prematurity: Nicolette C., sixteen years old, was subjected to the first two days of an illegal third-trimester abortion, without parental consent, by Dr. Douglas Karpan at Women's Pavillion in Houston. Nicolette repeatedly stated that she did not wish to go through with the abortion, and requested a referral to a doctor to help her to complete the pregnancy. Both Karpan and his associate, Richard Cunningham, refused to remove the laminaria that were endangering Nicolette's baby. When she refused to undergo the final phase of the abortion, she was told "to look in the yellow pages for an anti-abortion group," made to sign a release form, and ejected from the facility. Nicolette sought emergency care, but hospital doctors were unable to stop labor. She gave birth to an infant girl, Ashley, who survived only six months due to extreme prematurity.

Unspecified abortion method, baby left to die of neglect: Dr. C. J. LaBenz was charged with unlawful abortion and criminal neglegence in 1979. Allegations are that he estimated a gestational age of 19 to 20 weeks prior to initiating an abortion on September 6, 1979. The woman expelled an infant boy who weighed approximately 2.5 pounds, indicating a gestational age closer to 27 weeks. A nurse involved with the abortion testified that the infant was placed on a sink drain board in what she described as a "dirty utility room." The baby moved his arms and legs, and cried intermittently. The nurse said that the baby's breathing appeared to be normal. LaBenz reportedly took no action to kill the baby, but he also took no action to allow the child's life to be saved. The neglected infant died after 2 1/5 hours. According to coverage by the Omaha World Herald, February 8, 1980, and Associated Press coverage, February 7 and 15, 1980, Planned Parenthood Federation of America provided "financial and moral support" for LaBenz during his trial for allowing the baby to die.

Prostaglandin abortion, infant died from neglect: An article in the August 2, 1981 Philadelphia Inquirer states that in July of 1974, Dr. Leonard E. Laufe initiated an abortion at West Penn Hospital. The woman had been turned down at another hospital after gestation had been estimated at 26-31 weeks. Laufe estimated gestation at 20-22 weeks and injected the woman with prostaglandin. Laufe was filming the procedure for educational purposes. The film showed a 3-pound live-born infant, which moved and gasped. The infant subsequently died, but no charges were filed. Laufe contended the infant had sustained fatal injuries during the procedure.