August 6, 1988: Found Dead in Motel Room

In late July of 1988, 30-year-old Laura Marie Ryan Sorrels underwent an abortion at a facility in Lancaster, California.

Two weeks later, on August 6th, she was found dead in a motel room. Her one-year-old daughter was found in the room with her.

Whoever had performed Laura’s abortion had failed to notice that the embryo was not in her uterus, but was in her fallopian tube. The tube ruptured, and Laura died of blood loss and shock, her baby daughter by her side.

Even though, in theory, women who choose abortion should be less likely to die of ectopic pregnancy complications, experiences shows that they’re actually more likely to die, due to sloppy practices by abortion practitioners. Induced abortion also increases the risk of ectopic pregnancy in a subsequent pregnancy.

Watch "Fatal Failure to Diagnose" on YouTube.

Sources: State of California Death Certificate, 88-146505; Los Angeles County Autopsy Report, 88-07800