March 17, 1976: Woman Bleeds to Death After Florida Abortion

SUMMARY: Cycloria Vangates, a 32-year-old Black woman, died March 17, 1976 after an abortion performed by Paul Glassman in Miami, FL.

Cycloria Vangates, age 32, underwent an abortion on March 13, 1976, performed by Dr. Paul Glassman. She suffered a cervical laceration and began bleeding internally. The Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine found that Glassman failed to adequately treat Cycloria's injury and should have intervened to ensure that blood would be available for her when she arrived at the hospital. As a result of the delay, she suffered organ damage. She died on March 17.

Dr. Paul Glassman

Glassman's license was finally revoked for three years beginning in 1981. He later recovered his license on the condition that he undergo close supervision and not perform any more abortions. Glassman moved to Missouri, but his attorney revealed to the Florida Board of Osteopathic medical Examiners that Glassman performed 17 abortions while visiting in Fort Lauderdale, in an effort to prove that the ban against Glassman performing abortions was unnecessary. 

Glassman complained about the damage to his income when he was unable to continue as a Florida abortionist, recalling the days when a streamlined business could gross the abortionist $750,000 a year (nearly $3 million in 2025). 

Glassman also faced a 1978 Florida conviction for felony grand larceny involving filing insurance claims for a faked automobile accident. Glassman paid out $386,875 to Cycloria's survivors, according to a malpractice liability search.

As you can see from the graph below, abortion deaths were falling dramatically before legalization. This steep fall had been in place for decades. To argue that legalization lowered abortion mortality simply isn't supported by the data.

Watch Another Woman Needlessly Bleeds to Death on YouTube.
Watch Another Woman Needlessly Bleeds to Death on YouTube.

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Sources:

• "Doctor's Ex-Lover Wins Malpractice Award," Miami Herald, June 13, 1980
• "Miami Troubles Send Doctor To Rural Missouri" St. Louis Post-Gazette, June 22, 1980
• "Lawyer Says Former Miami Osteopath Ignored Ban On Performing Abortions," The Miami Herald, June 16, 1985
• State of Florida, Division of Administrative Hearings, Case # 78-1665