May 12, 1971: Journey to Safe, Legal Death

Anita was a 23-year-old mother of two when she chose safe and legal abortion in 1971.

She traveled from Massachusetts to New York for her abortion. She was 22 weeks pregnant. She had not told her husband that she was planning on the abortion. She used a fictitious name at the facility.

On May 11, 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. 

A post-mortem examination found the lower half of a 650-gram fetus protruding from Anita's uterus. A quarter off the placenta was still firmly attached to the uterus. The puncture wound from the saline injection was noted.

Anita had bled to death.

Sources: 

• "Maternal Mortality Associated With Legal Abortion in New York State: July 1, 1970 - June 30, 1972, Berger, Tietze, Pakter, Katz, Obstetrics and Gynecology, 43:3, March 1974, 325
• "Two Deaths From Mid-Trimester Abortion," New England Journal of Medicine, January 4, 1973; 288:47-48