On May 12, 1989, Gladyss P. Delanoche 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 Greater Laurel Beltsville Hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival from cardiac arrest due to blood loss from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.
Gladyss had gone to Dr. Alan J. Ross at Wisconsin Avenue Women's Health Center in Bethesda, Maryland on April 25 for an abortion. Ross diagnosed Gladyss as being 6 - 8 weeks pregnant and performed a suction abortion under local anesthesia.
The medical board noted, "According to [Ross's] office records, the aspirate tissue obtained was abnormal, consisting of blood clots." He did not send the specimen for a pathological examination. He also did not do an ultrasound to figure out why there was no evident fetal tissue. He also failed to do serial HCG studies to measure pregnancy hormones over time to see if Gladyss was still pregnant.
He merely discharged Gladyss with a prescription for antibiotics.
The fact that the abortion specimen did not contain fetal parts should have indicated that Gladyss had an ectopic pregnancy. This condition is routinely treated by competent doctors, saving the lives of the mothers. But Ross missed his diagnosis and allowed Gladyss to leave his clinic with her life in danger. 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.
Human Life International reported Gladyss's death to the medical board and they carried out an investigation. "In this inspection, the reviewers found that [Ross's] office records were grossly inadequate." They were hand-written so illegibly that Ross was often unable to read his own handwriting. They lacked detail. None of them showed an adequate medical history or physical examination.
Inspectors also noted that Ross disposed of everything -- used needles, used gloves, and fetal remains -- in the regular trash.
Ross did all of his own lab testing for things such as RH factor, chlamydia, etc., even though he was not qualified to do so. He defended this on the grounds that he didn't charge patients for these services.
The board characterized Ross's medical services as "careless and inattentive." They suspended his license for one year and fined him $25,000. His license was also placed on probation under specific requirements that he clean up his act.
Gladyss had been born in the Philippines and had come to the United States as a child. She was a 1978 graduate of Oxon Hill High School. Her family sued on behalf of her motherless, who was two years old when the fatal abortion was performed.
New documents: Alan Ross License Suspension Order
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