Lime 5: Failed Abortion -- Baby Survives

There are so many people alive today who survived prenatal attempts on their lives that they have formed the Abortion Survivors Network for mutual support, advocacy, and awareness.

Now let's look at the cases in Lime 5.

Dr. Xavier Hall Ramirez (John Roe 602) initiated a saline abortion only to have the woman deliver a 4 1/2 pound infant. Nurses began providing care to the baby and called Ramirez, who ordered them to discontinue oxygen. Another doctor countermanded the order, and the baby survived to be adopted. Ramirez was indicted for solicitation to commit murder. Other doctors testified in his defense, including Dr. Irvin M. Cushner of the University of California at Los Angeles. This doctor, who went on to become a top health policy official under President Jimmy Carter, asserted that it was perfectly reasonable for Ramirez to expect a dead or moribund baby. ("The Dreaded Complication," Philadelphia Inquirer, August 2, 1981)

"Linda" went to John Roe 724 for an abortion on April 27, 1973. However, he only managed to remove part of the placenta. Neither at the time of the abortion, nor at a follow up visit, did Roe realize that he'd failed to kill Linda's unborn baby. She later gave birth to "Chad," who was born with cerebral palsy and had wounds on his head, body, arms, and legs. (Lake County Illinois Circuit Court Case No. 78L 445)

The next case is of Joshua Vandervelden, whose case is easy to Google. His mother, Linda Noie, was between six and eight weeks pregnant when she went to Fox Valley Reproductive Health Care on January 12, 1979. Dr. Benjamin Victoria (John Roe 740) performed the abortion. Linda was discharged under the impression that the abortion had been successful. It had not. On September 18, Linda was in labor but there were signs of fetal distress so the baby that had survived the abortion attempt was delivered via C-section. He was named Joshua. He was placed on a respirator and hospitalized for two weeks prior to discharge. His mother went public with her story and became a prolife activist. (Milwaukee Journal, November 1, 1993)

John Roe 481 performed an abortion on "Kimala" in March of 1979. On November 7 she gave birth to an infant daughter born disfigured and with cerebral palsy. (Cook County Illinois Circuit Court Case No. 81L 26210)

"Denise" was 22 years old when radiologist Erma Roe 353 diagnosed her as 9 weeks pregnant. Roe performed two suction procedures on Denise on July 10, 1982. Roe noted only "scant tissue," but still sent Denise home. On July 22, Denise returned to report bleeding, pain, and passing clots. Roe reviewed the pathology report, which showed no products of conception. She performed a pelvic exam and told Denise that she wasn't pregnant. Instead she diagnosed a urinary tract infection and sent her patient home with antibiotics. On September 28, Denise went to the hospital. She was in active labor in a breech position, with a fetal foot protruding through her cervix. She gave birth to a 13 1/2 ounce baby boy who died an hour later. Denise underwent an emergency D&C, lost a liter of blood, and was hospitalized for three days. She suffered depression, recurring nightmares, and two subsequent miscarriages. (Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements, and Experts, August 1993, November 1993; Illinois Appellate Court, 1st District, 6th Division, Case No. 1-91-783; Cook County Illinois Circuit Court Case No. 84L 13308; Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, June 15 and 16, 1990; Peoria Star-Journal, August 9, 1990)

"Lynette" underwent an abortion performed by John Roe 49 at a Michigan Planned Parenthood on July 16, 1985. Nobody performed an ultrasound to determine gestational age prior to the abortion. After Roe ruptured the amniotic sac, he realized that Lynette was much more advanced in her pregnancy than he thought. He sent Lynette to a hospital. Five days later she gave birth to a little boy weighing only 2 pounds, 3 1/2 ounces. The child suffered developmental delay, intracranial bleeding, hydrocephalus, and disfigurement. (Washtenaw County Michigan Circuit Court Case No. 85-30344 NM)

"April" had an abortion performed by John Roe 462 on February 2, 1987. There were no fetal parts found in the tissue, but staff didn't inform April. On May 7, April learned she was 22 1/2 weeks pregnant. She'd been so emotionally traumatized by the abortion procedure, and she considered a late abortion far too risky, so she decided to have her baby. Her little girl was delivered by C-section on June 29, 1987, but due to the loss of amniotic fluid caused by the abortion, the baby had chorioamnionitis, hypoplastic lungs, and hyline membrane disease. The baby died the next day. (Hamilton County Ohio Court of Common Pleas Case No. A-8905595)

"Lena" had an abortion performed February 28, 1989 by John Roe 57, at what she had been told was two weeks into her pregnancy, which is odd since at that time pregnancy tests could not detect a pregnancy that early -- when the embryo had only just implanted. When Lena returned for her follow-up visit, staff told her that the abortion had been successful. On April 12, Lena went to the hospital due to severe abdominal pain. Doctors told her that she was five months pregnant. She gave birth to a baby boy on July 10. Sadly, the child died two days later due to respiratory problems caused by the abortion attempt. (Ector County Texas District Court Case No. C-88-212)

"Cheryl" had an abortion performed by John Roe 263 at an abortion clinic in Maryland. Staff concluded that the abortion had been complete so they didn't send the tissue to a pathology lab. On March 15, Cheryl realized she was still pregnant. She gave birth to a baby girl on August 23. (Maryland Health Claims Arbitration Board Claim No. HCA-90-242)

John Roe 263 performed an abortion on "Christine" on December 20, 1991. He eyeballed the tissue himself and concluded that he'd gotten a single entire fetus and sent Christine home. When she came for a follow-up visit on January 2, 1992, Roe did not notice that Christine was still pregnant, possibly with a twin that Roe had missed. It wasn't until Christine went to a different doctor for a kidney check-up on April 6 that she learned that she was still pregnant. She decided to keep her baby. Doctors detected fetal distress on May 1, so infant Brandon was delivered by C-section on May 1 at approximately 29 weeks of gestation. Brandon suffered brain damage and was expected to require around-the-clock hospital care for the rest of his life. (Maryland Health Claims Arbitration Board Claim No. HCA-93-154)

Ana Rosa and her mother

The last baby in this section is Ana Rosa Rodriguez. Her mother, Rosa Rodriguez, had gone to National Abortion Federation member Abu "The Butcher of Avenue A" Hayat (John Roe 3) on October 25, 1992. She believed herself to be less than 17 weeks pregnant. Hayat told Rosa that she was actually still in the first trimester of pregnancy -- which had to have been a lie, since he charged her $1,500 for the abortion, far more than even a high-end cost of a first-trimester abortion. He also chose an abortion technique only appropriate after 12 weeks. Rosa paid $1,000 up-front and left her passport, green card, and jewelry for collateral on the remaining $500. After the abortion, Hayat sent Rosa home with instructions to call his facility and nobody else if she experienced any problems. That night she experienced severe pain and called Hayat's facility. An employee told her that this was normal. However, she could eventually no longer bear that pain. She went by ambulance to a hospital where she delivered her 32-week baby girl, minus the right arm that has been ripped off at the shoulder during the abortion attempt. Hayat is the doctor who performed the fatal abortion on 17-year-old Sophie McCoy.

Watch Lime 5: Failed Abortions on YouTube.