Deadly Abortions Continue After Legalization

On May 12, 1919, 38-year-old homemaker Susie Airey died at her Chicago home from an abortion perpetrated by Martha Richter, whose profession is not listed. She went to trial on November 10, but the case was stricken off.

"Anita" was a 23-year-old mother of two when she traveled from Massachusetts to New York to take advantage of the law legalizing abortion. She was 22 weeks pregnant. On May 11, 1971 the doctor initiated a saline abortion, then sent Anita home to expel the fetus. The next day, Anita was found unresponsive at her home. She was rushed to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. She had bled to death.

On May 12, 1989, Gladyss Estanislao, 28-year-old mother of one, was found unresponsive on the floor of the rest room near her college classroom. A doctor who was in the vicinity performed CPR while awaiting an ambulance. Gladyss was taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival from cardiac arrest due to blood loss from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy that her abortionist, Alan J. Ross, had failed to diagnose before, during, or after the suction abortion he had performed at Women's Health Care Center on April 25. The fact that the abortion specimen did not contain fetal parts should have indicated that Gladyss had an ectopic pregnancy. Because of the sloppiness of abortionists like Ross, women who choose abortion are more likely to die from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy than are women intending to carry to term.

The family of 34-year-old Colleen Chambers had become concerned about her after her safe, legal abortion in 1991. They called an employee of the place Colleen lived, and asked him to check on her. He found her dead in her room. The autopsy showed that she had died from blood clots in her lungs and legs, and gave her date of death as May 12, 1991.