January 21, 1982: Scant Information on Georgia Death

I put out a call for information on the following abortion death:

Mary Tennyson, age 20, Black, Richmond County, Georgia; January 21, 1982

My research arm, Keely, found some additional information -- she was born on October 15, 1961. Her death certificate number is 005646. She is buried next to a baby's gravestone with no name on it. This enabled me to look up genealogy records and find that she lived in Roberta, Georgia.

This gave me a lead to her obituary, which indicated that she died in a hospital in Augusta, Georgia and was a graduate of Crawford County High School and had attended Macon Vocational Technical School. 

How Mary came to her death remains unknown to me.

January 21, 1919: Two Physicians Implicated

On January 21, 1919, 26-year-old homemaker Wanda Skrzypzak died at Chicago's St. Elizabeth's Hospital from an abortion believed to have been perpetrated by Dr. Michael Rozumski and Dr. John P. Wojtaleiwicz. 

According to death and genealogy records, Wanda was a native of Poland.

The doctors were held by the Coroner for intentional manslaughter by abortion on January 22, and were indicted on February 15, but the case never went to trial. There were allegations of police corruption associated with the case.

Watch Doctors Never Prosecuted for Chicago Abortion Death on YouTube.
Watch Doctors Never Prosecuted for Chicago Abortion Death on Rumble.

Source: Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database

January 21, 1926: An Indictment but No Follow-Through

On January 21 of 1926, 38-year-old homemaker Victoria Smith died in Chicago from a botched abortion. The Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database indicates that the abortion was performed at Jefferson Park Hospital, but the database often erroneously lists the hospital where the woman died as the location of the abortion. 

On January 26, the coroner pushed for the arrest of Peter Krakowski as the principal and Mary Sprochi as an accessory. Krakowski's profession is not given. On February 15, Krakowski was indicted for felony murder. 

According to death records, Victoria was born to Joseph and Salome Paczkowski in Kamoinka, Poland around 1888. She left behind a husband named Joseph. 

January 21, 1899: Keeping Deadly Abortions in the Family

Chicago law enforcement officials originally didn't know who was responsible for the January 21, 1899 death of 28-year-old homemaker Caroline Schroeder, wife of Otto F Schroeder. According to genealogy rerecords, Caroline, a native of Chicago, also left behind a son about seven years old. 

Authorities got their answer in August of 1901 when Caroline's sister-in-law, Annie Robinson, lay dying from a botched abortion. She named midwife Teresa Muenster of North Clark Street not only as the abortionist responsible for her own impending death, but as responsible for Caroline's death as well.  

Given the plethora of doctors and midwives openly advertising abortions in Chicago, it's bizarre that Annie would entrust herself to the woman who had killed her sister-in-law.

Muenster was born around 1841 in Holsten Schleswig, which would have made her nearly 60 years old at the time of the women's deaths. She had been practicing in Chicago for about thirty years.

Watch First in the Family on YouTube.

Sources:

• "Held for Woman's Death," Chicago Tribune, August 19, 1901
• "Midwife is Held on Serious Charge," The Inter-Ocean, August 19, 1901
• "Midwife Held Without Bail," The Inter-Ocean, August 20, 1901

January 21, 1961: An Unsuccessful Cover-Up

On January 21, 1961, 52-year-old Dr. Mandel M. Friedman contacted a Queens undertaker, asking him to arrange burial for 23-year-old Vivian Grant of the Bronx, New York. He provided a death certificate indicating that she had died from pulmonary thrombosis. The undertaker notified the medical examiner, who determined that although Vivian had not been pregnant, Friedman had attempted to perform an abortion on her, causing her death. Friedman was charged with homicide and falsifying a death certificate.

Vivian, whose real surname was Greczka, had gotten a job as an editor for Dell Publishing Company just three weeks prior to her death. She went to her boyfriend on January 13 with the news that she was pregnant. He offered to marry her, but she declined.

The young man picked Vivian up at her home at 10:00 and drove her to the doctor's office on the morning of January 21. They arrived shortly after 11:00. The boyfriend paid $800 for the abortion. He left Vivian with the doctor. When he returned at 2 p.m., Friedman told him that Vivian had died, and returned the abortion fee.

An autopsy showed that air bubbles had entered Vivian's blood stream during the abortion attempt, which triggered clotting problems, causing her to bleed to death. In other words, her death was simply a case of all surgery having risks.

Friedman was originally questioned and released before his arrest at 6:00 a.m. on January 23.

Friedman said that he had treated Vivian four times in the past for shortness of breath and heart problems, but had disposed of all of his records for 1960 and thus could not produce evidence that he'd provided the care.

The scandal of Vivian's death came as a shock to patients that Friedman had cared for during his 22-year career.

Friedman resurfaced late the following year, while still awaiting trial in Vivian's death. He was charged with homicide in the September 11, 1962 death of Barbara C. Covington, age 35, a Florida socialite.

Watch Back-Alley Days: Failed Cover-Up on YouTube.

Sources:

• "Doctor Held in Abortion Death," New York Daily News, January 24, 1961
• "Upstanding Doc Held In Fatal Abortion Try," New York Daily News, January 24, 1961
• "Abortion Attempt Fatal; Doctor Held," New York Daily News, February 12, 1961

January 20, 1974: Lack of Follow-Up Care Proves Fatal

Twenty-one-year-old Linda Fondren had a safe and legal abortion performed by Mohammad Pourtabib at Pre-Birth in Chicago on New Years Day, 1974. 

She suffered bleeding, but Pourtabib did not provide follow-up care. 

Linda was taken by ambulance to Michael Reese Hospital, in shock and needing emergency care. They would not admit her, but instead sent her to Cook County Hospital, where doctors performed an emergency hysterectomy.

Linda remained hospitalized at Cook County. On January 16, doctors tried to drain fluids from Linda's chest and inadvertently punctured her spleen. 

Linda died on January 20 from "hemoperitoneum with splenic rupture following hysterectomy and earlier dilatation and curettage." The Bell Telephone operator left behind a small child.

Her survivors sued.

According to immigration records, Pourtabib was born in Tehran, Iran in 1942 and became a US citizen in 1980. I haven't been able to determine how long he was in the US before performing Linda's fatal abortion. His immigration form was signed by people who had only known him since July of 1975.

• "12 dead after abortions in state's walk-in clinics," Chicago Sun-Times 11-19-78
• Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 74L 12514 
• Death Certificate No. 601804

January 20, 1971: Fatal Infection Leaves Six Children Motherless

The 1970 liberalization of abortion had made New York an abortion mecca until the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling that abortionists could legally set up shop in any state of the union. 

"Andrea" was 26 years old when she underwent a newly legalized abortion at a New York City abortion facility on January 12, 1971. 

After her abortion, Andrea contracted an infection. Her system was unable to fight the infection, and she died on January 20, 1971, leaving behind six children. 

In addition to “Andrea,” these are the women I know of who had the dubious benefit of dying from the newfangled safe-and-legal kind of abortion in pre-Roe New York:

• Carmen Rodriguez, July, 1970, salt solution intended to kill the fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
• Barbara Riley, July, 1970, sickle-cell crisis triggered by abortion recommended by doctor due to her sickle cell disease
• Pearl Schwier, July, 1970, anesthesia complications
• "Amanda" Roe, September, 1970, sent back to her home in Indiana with an untreated hole poked in her uterus
• Maria Ortega, October, 1970, fetus shoved through her uterus into her pelvic cavity then left there
• "Kimberly" Roe, December, 1970, cardiac arrest during abortion
• "Amy" Roe, January, 1971, massive pulmonary embolism
• "Sandra" Roe, April, 1971, committed suicide due to post-abortion remorse
• "Anita" Roe, May, 1971, bled to death in her home during process of outpatient saline abortion
• Margaret Smith, June 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
• Edith Clark, June, 1971, cardiac arrest during anesthesia
• "Audrey" Roe, July, 1971, cardiac arrest during abortion
• "Vicki" Roe, August, 1971, post-abortion infection
• "April" Roe, August, 1971, fever and shock after Saline abortion
• "Barbara" Roe, September, 1971, cardiac arrest after saline injection for abortion
• "Tammy" Roe, October, 1971, massive post-abortion infection
• Carole Schaner, October, 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
• "Beth" Roe, December, 1971, saline injection meant to kill fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
• "Roseann" Roe, February, 1971, vomiting with seizures causing pneumonia after saline abortion
• "Connie" Roe, March, 1972, cardiac arrest during abortion
• "Julie" Roe, April, 1972, holes torn in her uterus and bowel
• "Roxanne," May, 1972, convulsions and death at start of abortion
• "Robin" Roe, May, 1972, lingering abortion complications
• Pamela Modugno, May, 1972, air in her bloodstream

Watched Newly Legalized Abortion Leaves Six Kids Motherless on YouTube.
Watched Newly Legalized Abortion Leaves Six Kids Motherless on Rumble.

Source:

• "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

January 20, 1910: Nurse or Midwife Implicated

On January 20, 1910, homemaker and Austrian immigrant Elizabeth Lembacher, age 27, died at her Robby Street home in Chicago from septic peritonitis caused by an abortion. A nurse or midwife named Mrs. Hopp was indicted by a grand jury. The source document does not indicate that the case ever went to trial.

Source:

• Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database

January 20, 1846: Forced Abortion in a House of Ill Repute

 Mary Ackerly of White Plains, New York, was the uneducated daughter of Sutton Ackerly, a shoemaker, and his disreputable wife Martha.. From the time she was around 9 years old, Mary's family had begun sending her to live with other families, for reasons that are presumed to be understood by newspaper readers of the time. Mary didn't take well to her peripatetic life, it seems, since she rarely stayed with one family longer than a few months.

In 1845, at the age of 19, Mary went to work in the home of Mrs. C. Nelson, near Sing-Sing. Mrs. Nelson had a married son, Henry (called "Harry"), a highly prosperous farmer who lived nearby in Somers. In early December, Harry convinced Mary to go to Manhattan with him, promising that if she made the trip he would pay her the $27 that he owed her. That's about $1,080 in 2023 dollars. 

Harry had other plans for the young woman who was about four and a half months pregnant with his child.

A Trip to New York

The two arrived aboard the steamer Croton late on Friday evening, December 12. Harry was dressed as the respectable, comfortable man he was. Mary was clad in the shabby clothing of her own social class. Nelson was unlikely to have entered into a truly romantic affair with the uneducated young woman. It's more likely that he was paying her for sexual assignations and owed her the money for these exchanges.

After disembarking, Nelson and Mary were joined by a small, unassuming man in his early 30s, clad in a large overcoat with the collar pulled up to hide his face. This man had also been aboard the Croton but had avoided the couple during the trip. The man was Dr. Seth Shove of Bedford, New York. Shove and Nelson spoke briefly then parted ways.

Nelson brought Mary to a "house of ill fame" at 174 Broom Street. The mistress of the house was Mrs. Brewster. A cook, Mary Ann Murray, and a chambermaid, Sarah Canine, lived there as well, along with three boarders who made a living as prostitutes: Mary Kearney, Josephine Lee, and Emma Lee. They plied their trade with lively champagne dinner parties at the house.

Nelson and Mrs. Brewster seemed to know each other and spoke briefly before Nelson handed off his young charge to the mistress. Mrs. Brewster saw Mary to a small back room on the first floor and left her there.

Ambushed by Nelson and Shove

On the night of December 14, 1845, one of the women who lived at the brothel told Mary that somebody was up in the attic room to see her. When Mary got upstairs she found Nelson, along with Dr. Shove. The room, furnished with a bed, was lit only by the single candle that Nelson held.

Nelson told Mary that Shove was there to perform an abortion on her. Mary said that she tried to get out of the room, but Nelson and Shove had locked the door, pushed her onto the bed, and blown out the candle. Mary didn't see what instrument the appropriately-named Shove used on her, but what he did was incredibly painful. Mary told her mother that she had screamed for help but nobody came. Shove finished what he was doing then he and Nelson left.

The Baby Born Alive

After her ordeal was over, Mary returned to the downstairs back room. Mary Kearney said that in the evening of Tuesday, December 15, Mary went into labor. Dr. Conning came to the house to attend to Mary, delivering the baby about 2:00 in the morning of the 16th. Conning, evidently believing the infant to be dead, placed it on a marble-topped table. Seeing the baby move its hand and foot, Miss Kearney placed the child in a warm place by the stove hearth, where it died about half an hour later.

Other than doctors attending her from time to time, Miss Kearney said, Mary Ackerly had no visitors after the birth and death of her baby. After the night of the abortion, Mary never saw Harry Nelson again. Mary sickened and suffered wretchedly during the ensuing weeks, her condition deteriorating. 

Mary's Wretched End

During the first week of January, 1846, the chambermaid, Sarah Canine, accompanied Mary on a boat trip back to her family home in Sing Sing.  Over the ensuring days, Mary had a dark red, foul-smelling vaginal discharge, and frequent bouts of vomiting. 

At Mary's request, she was visited by a minister every other day who prayed with her and urged her to clear her conscience. As it became clearer to Mary that she wasn't going to recover, she wept and told her mother all about her pregnancy and the abortion. Mary pleaded with her mother to send for Dr. Shove, believing that his knowledge of what he'd done to her would aid him in providing life-saving care. Shove wouldn't come to attend to his patient but instead sent the family a bill for the abortion.

Dr. William Belcher, the family's usual doctor, tended to Mary three times before her death.  Dr. Belcher made it plain to Mary that she was dying, and she told him the same story she had told her mother about Harry Nelson, Dr. Shove, the unfamiliar house she'd been taken to, and the forced abortion. She was dead by around 6:00 on the morning of January 20.

Belcher and another doctor performed an autopsy, finding multiple adhesions around Mary's uterus. There were no signs of injury inside the uterus or vagina, but there were injuries causing fecal impaction and large abscesses around the bowel and bladder. Her uterus was enlarged and showed signs of recent pregnancy.

Dr. Shove's Trial

When Shove went to trial for Mary's death, an assortment of doctors testified that they'd known him well and respected him professionally. Some had seen Shove perform surgery and considered him to be skilled. The doctors also testified that for an abortion, the patient would have to be cooperative in order to carry it out. Both hands would be needed, so a doctor would not have spare hands to hold down a struggling patient. Mary's injuries, as described by Dr. Belcher, were not consistent with those that would happen if a qualified doctor was doing an abortion procedure. At no point did there seem to be the issue raised, nor answered, as to whether Mary's injuries were consistent with a skilled surgeon attempting to perform an abortion on a struggling woman.

As the jury went to deliberate whether Shove should be convicted of murder, manslaughter, or neither, they had to take into account:

• whether Mary had been "quick with child," meaning that she had been able to feel the baby move and know that the baby was alive
• whether she had gone to New York for the purpose of an abortion
• whether she had consented to the abortion
• whether Shove had indeed been the person who had perpetrated it

Much of this hinged on how much credibility the jury would give to the testimony of Mary's mother and of Dr. Belcher regarding what she had told them as she lay dying. Shove's attorney had brought forth many witnesses against the character of both Mary and her mother. Mary was described as a thief, a prostitute, and an arsonist. Both women were described of being of bad moral reputation and as utterly untrustworthy.

The judge told the jury that Martha Ackerly's credibility had been completely impeached, and hence, by implication, that they could discount anything she'd said. The judge also indicated that though Mary ordinarily would be considered of such bad character that they could dismiss her testimony as well, they could choose to give credibility to what she said on her deathbed under the presumption, common at the time, that people about to meet their Maker would want to do so having confessed all of their sins before doing so.

Some testimony also seemed to hinge on whether somebody had paid Mary's parents to make themselves scarce after Mary's death. The implication seems to be that the Ackerly family had been trying to blackmail Shove. Martha Ackerly said that Shove had given Mary some money, wages that had been due to her.

The defense arguments -- that Shove can't have been the one who had perpetrated the abortion because it had been done so sloppily, and that after all he was respectable and Mary and her family were disreputable and thus couldn't be believed -- worked. Shove was acquitted. The verdict was greeted with "a perfect thunder of applause" from the men in the courtroom who blamed Mary for her own death.

The Court of Public Opinion

Mary's tragic story was told in lurid detail in The Police Gazette. During Shove's trial, the defense played up Mary's sordid past and painted her as deserving of the agonizing death she suffered. News coverage -- particularly the in-depth coverage in The Police Gazette, painted Mary as a victim of her circumstances. The true villains of the story were Harry Nelson, who had led Mary down a path into prostitution, and Seth Shove, who had taken instruments in hand and finished the destruction that Nelson had started.

Watch Forced Abortion in a House of Ill Repute on YouTube.

Sources:

• "Henry G. Nelson, Another Seducer," Brooklyn Evening Star, February 7, 1846
• "The Abortion Case in Which Dr. Shove Stands Indicted for Murder," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 17, 1846
• "Case of Dr. Shove, Indicted for Murder," Brooklyn Evening Star, October 19, 1846
• "Acquitted," The Public Ledger, October 21, 1846
• "Trial for Murder in Procuring Abortion," The Daily Delta, October 28, 1846
• "The Brothel on the Page: Print, Prostitution, and Blame in Antebellum America," dissertation by Michael Gawlick, March 21, 2017

False Claim: Miscarriage Care is an Abortion

A lot of abortion advocates are vehemently insisting that treatment for a miscarriage is also an abortion -- morally, linguistically, and legally. One adherent of the "miscarriage care is also an abortion" went to US Legal (Motto: "Convenient, Affordable Legal Help - Because We Care!") quoted this:

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by various methods, including medical surgery, before the fetus is able to sustain independent life.

and called it a day.

I decided to go state-by-state and made an interesting discovery. The states that most vehemently embrace abortion tend to insult women whose babies died natural deaths by lumping their treatment in with "abortions." States that do not enshrine abortion make a clear distinction between deliberately killing the baby and providing miscarriage management. 

Thirty-two states make a clear legal distinction between abortion and miscarriage management. Four states don't explicitly exclude miscarriage management but do list is as a separate service distinct from abortion. So 37 states, or 72% of major US jurisdictions, make it clear on their books that women seeking miscarriage management are not seeking abortions. 

No state explicitly includes miscarriage management under abortion. The states that either don't define abortion or don't exclude miscarriage care from "abortion" need to correct this appalling situation. Residents of Colorado, Hawaii, and Washington need to stand up and insist that their laws stop lumping women whose babies have died natural deaths in with those women who seek out death for their unborn babies.

For the benefit of those who get all their information from CNN and other dubious sources:

Alabama: ABORTION. The use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device with the intent to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with knowledge that the termination by those means will with reasonable likelihood cause the death of the unborn child. Such use or prescription is not an abortion if done with the intent to save the life or preserve the health of an unborn child, remove a dead unborn child, or to deliver the unborn child prematurely in order to preserve the health of both the mother (pregnant woman) and her unborn child. The term “abortion” as used herein does not include a procedure or act to terminate the pregnancy of a woman with an ectopic pregnancy, nor does it include the procedure or act to terminate the pregnancy of a woman where the unborn child has a lethal anomaly.

Alaska: (1) “abortion” means the use or prescription of an instrument, medicine, drug, or other substance or device to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant, except that “abortion” does not include the termination of a pregnancy if done with the intent to (A) save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child; (B) deliver the unborn child prematurely to preserve the health of both the pregnant woman and the woman's child; or (C) remove a dead unborn child;

Arizona: "Abortion" means the use of any means to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman with knowledge that the termination by those means will cause, with reasonable likelihood, the death of the unborn child.  Abortion does not include birth control devices, oral contraceptives used to inhibit or prevent ovulation, conception or the implantation of a fertilized ovum in the uterus or the use of any means to save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child, to preserve the life or health of the child after a live birth, to terminate an ectopic pregnancy or to remove a dead fetus.

Arkansas: "Abortion" means the act of using, prescribing, administering, procuring, or selling of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the purpose to terminate the pregnancy of a woman, with knowledge that the termination by any of those means will with reasonable likelihood cause the death of the unborn child.

California: “Abortion” means any medical treatment intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy except for the purpose of producing a live birth. NB: Though the definition of "abortion" doesn't excuse miscarriage care, wording earlier in the bill clearly indicates that they consider miscarriage management to be a separate type of care: The Legislature finds and declares that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to personal reproductive decisions, which entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care.

Colorado: They follow California's lead by defining abortion as "any medical procedure, instrument, agent, or drug used to terminate the pregnancy of an individual known or reasonably believed to be pregnant with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth." Unlike California, they don't list miscarriage management as a separate services, so yes, Colorado does insult women whose babies have died natural deaths by calling miscarriage management "an abortion."

Connecticut: They don't actually define an abortion anyplace where I could find it. 

Delaware: “Abortion” means the use of any instrument, medicine, drug or any other substance or device to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant, with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead fetus.

Florida: “Abortion” means the termination of human pregnancy with an intention other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus.

Georgia:  'Abortion' means the act of using, prescribing, or administering any instrument,  substance, device, or other means with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy with knowledge that termination will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of an unborn child; provided, however, that any such act shall not be considered an abortion if the act is performed with the purpose of: (A)  Removing a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion; or (B)  Removing an ectopic pregnancy.

Hawaii: Abortion shall mean an operation to intentionally terminate the pregnancy of a nonviable fetus. The termination of a pregnancy of a viable fetus is not included in this section. So, like Colorado, Hawaii insults women whose babies died of natural causes by calling miscarriage treatment "an abortion."

Idaho: "Abortion" means the use of any means to intentionally terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child except that, for the purposes of this chapter, abortion shall not mean: (a)  The use of an intrauterine device or birth control pill to inhibit or prevent ovulations, fertilization, or the implantation of a fertilized ovum within the uterus; (b)  The removal of a dead unborn child; (c)  The removal of an ectopic or molar pregnancy; or (d)  The treatment of a woman who is no longer pregnant.

Illinois: "Abortion" means the use of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device to terminate the pregnancy of an individual known to be pregnant with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead fetus.

Indiana: They don't actually define it. And it also contains this extremely concerning wording that Indiana people need to address right now because it leaves women extremely vulnerable: "if in the judgment of the physician the abortion is necessary to preserve the life of the woman, her consent is not required"

Iowa: For the purposes of this chapter, “abortion” means the termination of a human pregnancy with the intent other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus.

Kansas: “Abortion” means the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug or any other substance or device to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead unborn child who died as the result of natural causes in utero, accidental trauma or a criminal assault on the pregnant woman or her unborn child, and which causes the premature termination of the pregnancy.

Kentucky: They don't use the word "abortion." The law just forbids killing fetuses thusly: No person may knowingly: 1. Administer to, prescribe for, procure for, or sell to any pregnant woman any medicine, drug, or other substance with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of an unborn human being; or 2. Use or employ any instrument or procedure upon a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of an unborn human being.

Louisiana: Their law regarding abortion says, No person may knowingly administer to, prescribe for, or procure for, or sell to any pregnant woman any medicine, drug, or other substance with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of an unborn human being. No person may knowingly use or employ any instrument or procedure upon a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of an unborn human being.

Maine: "Abortion" means the intentional interruption of a pregnancy by the application of external agents, whether chemical or physical or by the ingestion of chemical agents with an intention other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus.

Maryland: I can't find a definition of abortion at all in Maryland law.

Massachusetts: “Abortion”, any medical treatment intended to induce the termination of, or to terminate, a clinically diagnosable pregnancy except for the purpose of producing a live birth; provided, however, that “abortion” shall not include providing care related to a miscarriage.

Michigan: "Abortion" means the intentional use of an instrument, drug, or other substance or device to terminate a woman's pregnancy for a purpose other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a fetus that has died as a result of natural causes, accidental trauma, or a criminal assault on the pregnant woman.

Minnesota: For purposes of this section, "abortion" means any medical treatment intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy with a purpose other than producing a live birth. However, the law elsewhere states For purposes of this section, "reproductive health care" means health care offered, arranged, or furnished for the purpose of preventing pregnancy, terminating a pregnancy, managing pregnancy loss, or improving maternal health and birth outcomes. Thus, as in California, natural pregnancy loss is considered separate from deliberate abortion.

Mississippi: As used in this section, the term “abortion” means the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug or any other substance or device to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth or to remove a dead fetus.

Missouri: "Abortion": (a)  The act of using or prescribing any instrument, device, medicine, drug, or any other means or substance with the intent to destroy the life of an embryo or fetus in his or her mother's womb; or  (b)  The intentional termination of the pregnancy of a mother by using or prescribing any instrument, device, medicine, drug, or other means or substance with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth or to remove a dead unborn child;

Montana: "Abortion" means the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or other substance or device to intentionally terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant, with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead fetus.

Nebraska: Abortion means the prescription or use of any instrument, device, medicine, drug, or substance to or upon a woman known to be pregnant with the specific intent of terminating the life of her preborn child. (b) Abortion shall under no circumstances be interpreted to include: (i) Removal of an ectopic pregnancy; (ii) Removal of the remains of a preborn child who has already died; (iii) An act done with the intention to save the life or preserve the health of the preborn child; (iv) The accidental or unintentional termination of the life of a preborn child

Nevada: As used in NRS 442.240 to 442.270, inclusive, unless the context requires otherwise, "abortion" means the termination of a human pregnancy with an intention other than to produce the birth of an infant capable of sustained survival by natural or artificial supportive systems or to remove a dead fetus.

New Hampshire: “Abortion” means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman with knowledge that the termination by those means will with reasonable likelihood cause the death of the fetus.  Such use, prescription, or means is not an abortion if done with the intent to: (a)  Save the life or preserve the health of the fetus; (b)  Remove a dead fetus caused by spontaneous abortion; or (c)  Remove an ectopic pregnancy.

New Jersey: They don't seem to define abortion but do gush on at length about what a boon to humanity "reproductive autonomy" is.

New Mexico: They don't define abortion, but do list as separate from "managing a pregnancy loss."

New York: They don't define abortion but rather gush on about how fundamental a right it is.

North Carolina: Surgical abortion. – The use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or other substance instrument or device intentionally to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with an intention other than to do any of the following: a. Increase the probability of a live birth. b. Preserve the life or health of the child. c. Remove a dead, unborn child who died as the result of (i) natural causes in utero, (ii) accidental trauma, or (iii) a criminal assault on the pregnant woman or her unborn child which causes the premature termination of the pregnancy. d. Remove an ectopic pregnancy.

North Dakota:  "Abortion" means the act of using, selling, or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman, including the elimination of one or more unborn children in a multifetal pregnancy, with knowledge the termination by those means will with reasonable likelihood cause the death of the unborn child. The use, sale, prescription, or means is not an abortion if done with the intent to:  a.  Remove a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion;  b. Treat a woman for an ectopic pregnancy; or  c. Treat a woman for a molar pregnancy.

Ohio: Except as provided in division (B) of this section, no person shall knowingly and purposefully perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of the unborn human individual the pregnant woman is carrying and whose fetal heartbeat has been detected in accordance with division (A) of section 2919.192 of the Revised Code.

Oklahoma: "Abortion" means the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device intentionally to  terminate the pregnancy of a female known to be pregnant with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, to remove an ectopic pregnancy, or to remove a dead unborn child who died as the result of a spontaneous miscarriage, accidental trauma, or a criminal assault on the pregnant female or her unborn child;

Oregon: I can't find a definition, but they do list "pregnancy termination services" as separate from "miscarriage management."

Pennsylvania: "Abortion."  The use of any means to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child except that, for the purposes of this chapter, abortion shall not mean the use of an intrauterine device or birth control pill to inhibit or prevent ovulation, fertilization or the implantation of a fertilized ovum within the uterus.

Rhode Island: “Abortion” for the purpose of this chapter means administering to a woman, known to be pregnant, any medicine, drug, substance, or thing whatever, or the employment upon her of any instrument or means whatever, with intent to terminate a pregnancy. The term shall not include the administering of any medicine, drug, substance, or thing or the employment of any instrument or means for the purpose of completing an incomplete, spontaneous miscarriage.

South Carolina: "Abortion" means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child. Such use, prescription, or means is not an abortion if done with the intent to save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child, or to remove a dead unborn child.

South Dakota: "Abortion," the intentional termination of the life of a human being in the uterus;

Tennessee: “Abortion” means the use of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device with intent to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with intent other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, to terminate an ectopic or molar pregnancy, or to remove a dead fetus;

Texas: "Abortion" means the act of using or prescribing an instrument, a drug, a medicine, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to cause the death of an unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant.  The term does not include birth control devices or oral contraceptives.  An act is not an abortion if the act is done with the intent to: (A)  save the life or preserve the health of an unborn child; (B)  remove a dead, unborn child whose death was caused by spontaneous abortion; or (C)  remove an ectopic pregnancy.

Utah: "Abortion" means the act, by a physician, of using an instrument, or prescribing a drug, with the intent to cause the death of an unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant

Vermont: They don't define abortion as far as I can see; they just make it clear that nobody can do, say, or presumably think anything that might stand between a woman and an abortion or an abortionist and a woman he wants to do an abortion on.

Virginia: Except as provided in other sections of this article, if any person administer to, or cause to be taken by a woman, any drug or other thing, or use means, with intent to destroy her unborn child, or to produce abortion or miscarriage, and thereby destroy such child, or produce such abortion or miscarriage, he shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.

Washington: "Abortion" means any medical treatment intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy except for the purpose of producing a live birth. So again, they insult women whose babies die of natural causes by classing miscarriage treatment as an abortion.

Washington, DC: They don't define abortion.

West Virginia: “Abortion” means the use of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device with intent to terminate the pregnancy of a patient known to be pregnant and with intent to cause the death and expulsion or removal of an embryo or a fetus. This term does not include the terms “intrauterine fetal demise” or “stillbirth” or “miscarriage” as defined in this section.

Wisconsin: The law against abortion defines it thus - Any person, other than the mother, who intentionally destroys the life of an unborn child is guilty of a Class H felony

Wyoming: abortion is the intentional termination of the life of an unborn baby

Watch Stop telling grieving mother's they've had abortions on YouTube.
Watch Stop telling grieving mother's they've had abortions on Rumble.

January 19, 1993: Owner of Fake Clinic Kills Woman, Tries to Ditch the Body

Like the deaths of Jacqueline Smith and Barbara Lofrumento, the story of 27-year-old Angela Nieto Sanchez involves an illegal abortion and an attempt to hide the body. The difference is that Angela believed that she was entrusting herself to a safe, legal abortion clinic.

Angela and the Children at the Fake Clinic

On January 19, 1993, Angela went to Clinica Feminina de la Comunidad with two of her four children: 12-year-old Maria and her little brother, identified in one source as 2-year-old Victor and in another as 3-year-old Martin. The facility in question, while openly operating and presented as a licensed clinic, was not in fact licensed. It was a fake clinic -- the kind of fake clinic the abortion lobby approves of because they don't do really bad and dangerous things like hand out diapers and baby formula. 

Angela's family is adamant that Angela, who was one month pregnant, wasn't seeking an abortion. They said that she was excited about the pregnancy and was hoping it would be a girl so Maria would have a sister. Angela's sister Celia said that someone from the facility had called Angela, telling her to come in for a consultation about the pregnancy.

As an illegal alien who worked as a maid, Angela wasn't entitled to medical assistance to pay for a $2,000 hospital abortion, but would have been able to afford a $300 clinic abortion. According to prosecutors, she paid $280 in cash up front.

Bewildered Children

Maria and her little brother waited for their mother in the lobby. A clinic staffer approached Maria and suggested that she take the car and drive her brother home. Maria protested that she was too young to drive. The children continued to wait for their mother.

At around noon, another staffer, later identified as Irsema Mendoza, took the children to lunch at a nearby fast-food joint. When they returned to the clinic, Angela's car was gone, and Maria was told that her mother had gone to another clinic. The children continued to wait, but when their mother failed to appear Maria finally called her uncle, Hemiberto Sanchez, who took them home with him.

A Ghastly Scene

By 10:00, Angela's family was frantic. They began calling hospitals and searching the neighborhood for their missing loved one. Maria's aunt Celia and two friends took the girl to the clinic to look for the missing woman. When they arrived, they saw Angela's car. Maria jumped out of her aunt's pickup truck and ran to the car. 

"I saw them dragging something from the clinic," Maria tearfully testified at trial two years later. "I asked where my mother was. [One of the two women] said she didn't know. Then I saw it was my mother. I saw her drop my mother's legs."

Maria asked two women what had happened to her mother, and they told her, "She's dead." 

Sobbing, Maria clung to and kissed her mother's body while the two women from the clinic told Celia that a man had shoved Angela from a car and they were just now picking her up. One of the women was Alicia Ruiz Hanna, age 32, who operated the facility. Hanna told Maria and Cecelia that Angela had just come knocking on the clinic window, then collapsed.

Celia put her sister's stiffened body in the back of her truck and flagged down a policeman, who led her and Maria to a hospital. There, Celia was told that her sister had been dead for several hours.

The Clinic Owner's Story

Hanna was arrested and brought to Orange County Jail. In a taped interview, she told police, "I did not do anything bad. I was there for her. I'm innocent." She said that she did not attempt to perform an abortion but had only discussed the option with Angela. 

She said that Angela left the clinic. Several hours later, Hanna said, a man drove up to the clinic driveway with Angela's unconscious body in the car then fled the scene. She said that she'd been dragging Angela's body out of the car to provide aid when the woman's relatives arrived.

"She was really cold, and I was trying to pull her out." She added, "I didn't know if she had fainted or she was dead. I never touched a dead body before."

When police noted that Hanna didn't seem distressed over Angela's death, she insisted that she had cried along with Maria. "You were crying for yourself," the investigator told her. "We've been here for hours and you've shown no remorse."

"What do you want me to do," Hanna retorted, "cry so that you think it's my fault? Come on. Give me a break."

Hanna was released after an original decision not to prosecute. After a six month investigation, prosecutors decided to charge her with murder. It took a month for police to track her down and take her into custody. 

The Truth Comes Out

Hanna gave conflicting stories, even in court. She testified that getting the results of a positive pregnancy test, Angela had insisted that she wanted an abortion. Hanna said that she'd told Angela that she was not licensed to perform abortions and suggested that she go to another clinic or return on a day when a doctor would be available. Hanna claimed that Angela had been insistent that she was having trouble with her boyfriend and couldn't take off work another day for an abortion.

Hanna, who had been passing herself off as a doctor and performing abortions at the facility, had given Angela Valium to calm her and an injection to induce abortion. Angela vomited, foamed at the mouth, and went into a seizure, then stopped breathing. Hanna said that she'd run down the hall and got Narcan, which she injected in the hopes that it would reverse the effects of the Valium.  Hanna and her staff attempted to revive her. However, the clinic's emergency equipment wasn't operative and the oxygen tank was empty. Even if she had been trained and had known what she was supposed to do, Hanna would have been unable to revive her patient because her facility lacked the medications and equipment. 

One of Hanna's employees even tried to call 911 to summon first responders, who were less than a mile away at a fire station. Hanna told her employee, "No, I'll save her -- we'll get in trouble" and hung up the phone. Hanna feared that she would go to jail and lose her children if it was discovered that she was running the clinic illegally. She did, however, make a call to her husband and ask him to bring another oxygen tank. "I was not thinking straight," Hanna later testified. "In my mind I still had hope of bringing her back to life."

Once it became clear that Angela was dead, Hanna decided to await an opportunity to put Angela's stiffening body into the trunk of her own car and have a former employee help her to abandon the vehicle in Tijuana.

How Hanna Turned her Hand to Abortion

Hanna's clinic had been tied up with abortionist Dr. Nicholas George Braemer. Hanna had opened a business, under the name of C.J. Professional Management Co., on February 4, 1992, as a limited partnership with Braemer. Braemer said that he'd run a "family planning practice" there for four or five months, up until May or June, having sublet the space from Hanna, who was also running Family Health and Weight Control Center at the location. "When I disassociated with the clinic, I expected my name would go off the door because the name is registered to me." He made a formal complaint to the medical board about the lack of a name change after his departure from the facility. However, the clinic itself was evidently never licensed.

Hanna had originally used doctors to perform the abortions but eventually started doing them herself as a cost-cutting measure.

"A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing"

Alicia Ruiz Hanna in court

Prosecutor Rick King characterized Hanna as "a wolf in sheep's clothing. She's very attractive, has a very soothing voice. The clientele she reached out to -- who were mostly illegal aliens looking for guidance -- she would counsel them, which many times resulted in them having abortions done by her."

"When it came down to Alicia Hanna's hide or the victim's hide, the victim was going to lose," King said. "There was a conscious decision made by Alicia Hanna, and the conscious decision was: 'I'm not going to get caught.'"

In December 1994, Hanna was convicted of second-degree murder for Angela's death. Jury foreman Charles Buezis said that the jury had no trouble finding Hanna guilty. "There really wasn't a lot of sympathy for her." The jurors especially didn't appreciate Hanna's efforts to blame the victim by claiming that Angela was high on drugs when she arrived at the clinic. Another juror said of Hanna, "She was her own worst enemy."

When she heard the verdict, Hanna covered her face and wept.

Hanna was also found guilty of performing abortions illegally on Angela and on two other women who survived. Hanna admitted to having performed an additional six or eight illegal abortions by injecting them with Methergine, a drug used to induce contractions and cause an abortion.

During the sentencing hearing, a representative of the family read letters from Angela's mother and daughter. "I'm destroyed emotionally. I will never forget these horrible crimes," said Maria, then aged 14. The prosecutor asked for the maximum sentence, asserting that Hanna had showed "conscious disregard for human life" in her failure to summon the nearby help. 

Hanna's public defender asked that the charge be reduced because she hadn't tried to kill the victim. "She was wrong in practicing medicine without a license, but that's involuntary manslaughter, not murder." He stressed Hanna's attempts to revive Angela. "She did what she could. A person who is a murderer doesn't want to save the life of their victim."

She was sentenced to 15 years to life for Angela's death and another 16 months for the related charges. She appealed her sentence but it was upheld by the US Supreme Court in January of 2000.

 As for Angela Sanchez's four motherless children, they were taken in by family members in Mexico.

Watch Horror at a Fake Clinic on YouTube.
Watch Horror at a Fake Clinic on Rumble.

Sources:

• "No charges in death," San Bernardino County Sun, January 23, 1993
• "Death at abortion clinic prompts arrest," North County Blade Citizen, August 1, 1993
• "Video Shown in Abortion Clinic Trial," Los Angeles Times, November 18, 1994
• "Jury Hears Daughter of Victim," Los Angeles Times, November 22, 1994
• "O.C. Woman Admits Lying About Death at Clinic," Los Angeles Times, November 29, 1994
• "D. A. Says Clinic Owner Wanted to Save Self, Not Patient," Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1994
• "Abortion Clinic Owner Called 'Wolf in Sheep's Clothing'," Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1994
• "Hanna Guilty of Murder," Los Angeles Times, December 13, 1994
• "Abortionist Convicted of Killing Client," Los Angeles Times, December 13, 1994
• "Pregnant woman dies at abortion clinic as 4 (sic) children wait," Hattiesburg American, December 17, 1994
• "Illegal abortion kills women while children wait," The Press-Democrat, December 17, 1994
• "Illegal abortionist convicted of killing woman," The Sacramento Bee, December 17, 1994
• "Unlicensed abortionist convicted of murder," The Missoulian, December 17, 1994
• "Clinic Operator Sentenced for Murder," Los Angeles Times, January 28, 1995
• "Santa Ana Clinic Owner's Murder Conviction Stands," Los Angeles Times, January 11, 2000

January 19, 2008: Woman's Organs Mangled in Fatal Abortion

Reginald Sharpe

Dr. Reginald Sharpe has a history of malpractice, including the death of a 26-year-old patient at 3:30 p.m. on January 19, 2008. After poking around online I learned that she was a young Black woman named Chloe. 

According to the Michigan Medical Board Administrative Complaint, Chloe (identified as "Patient 1") went to Sharpe's clinic, Sharpe Family Planning, in Detroit for an abortion on January 11, 2008.

Sharpe performed an ultrasound and determined that Chloe was about 15 weeks pregnant. He administered 5 mg of Midazolam and 10 mg of Nubain intravenously at around 11:25 a.m., along with lidocaine.

Shortly after Sharpe started the abortion, Chloe began to have seizures and developed respiratory distress. Unlike many safe-and-legal abortionists, who just charge ahead to finish the abortion even if the patient stops breathing, Sharpe stopped the abortion and called 911. However, he failed, like so many abortionists, to provide appropriate resuscitation.

Chloe suffered cardiac arrest on the way to St. John's Hospital in Detroit, but medics were able to restore a heartbeat. However, Chloe languished in the hospital and finally died on the 19th.

Sharpe admitted to the medical board that he had perforated Chloe's uterus and she had begun to bleed internally. He either failed to determine, or failed to report, what Chloe's death certificate indicates: that  Sharpe had not merely perforated her uterus. Once the instruments were inside her pelvic cavity he had managed to cut a uterine blood vessel and lacerate her intestines and her liver. 

Since Chloe did not die the day of the abortion it's likely that she developed an infection that turned fatal.

Sharpe continued to botch abortions after the one that killed Chloe. The same documents that cover Chloe's death also describe four additional injured patients:

1. "Patient 2" underwent a 19-week abortion at Sharpe's hands on August 5, 2011. Sharpe transferred her to a hospital because of the amount of pain she was experiencing. An ultrasound found that the fetal head was protruding from the woman's uterus. The damage to her uterus was so extensive that she required a hysterectomy. 
2. "Patient 3" underwent a two-day procedure starting February 27, 2014. She was about 23 weeks pregnant. Sharpe perforated her uterus and sent her to the hospital. Sharpe had poked holes in the woman's uterus and pushed fetal parts into her abdominal cavity. As with his other injured patients, Sharpe had kept grossly inadequate patient records. He had also failed to properly monitor this patient and had no qualified person present to assist with the anesthesia. Fortunately the injuries to this woman's uterus could be repaired, though it's impossible to know if this damage will have an impact on future childbearing.
3. "Patient 4"went to Sharpe for a two-day procedure starting June 16, 2014. She was about 22 or 23 weeks pregnant. The documents don't indicate that the patient was injured, but do note that Sharpe put the patient under anesthesia without a trained professional to assist, had scanty and sloppy documentation, and failed to monitor the woman while she was sedated.
4. "Patient 5" went to Sharpe for an abortion on December 31, 2014. This patient, named Bianca, later sued Sharpe. She was about 16 weeks pregnant. Again, Sharpe's documentation was sloppy and incomplete. Sharpe spent about an hour trying to complete an abortion before the patient's cervix was adequately dilated. Bianca cried and screamed in pain and two nurses held her legs in the air so that Sharpe could work. Bianca begged Sharpe to let her rest and provide pain medicine Sharpe resumed the abortion about an hour and a half later and was still unable to complete the abortion. He had to admit Bianca to the hospital where other doctors completed the abortion and repaired uterine perforations and extensive damage that cost the woman about two-thirds of her bladder. She had to have stents put in her kidneys. She required multiple follow-up procedures to address the damage to her urinary tract.  

Sharpe had also been disciplined by the medical board for his ill-treatment of patient R. C. (I'll call her "Rachel.") who had a nightmarish experience on March 2, 2005. Sharpe started to perform what was supposed to be a 23-week abortion but was having difficulty. He gave up, sent Rachel to the recovery room, then left the facility. Nobody with medical training was there to attend to the patient. Rachel screamed in pain so loudly that her mother demanded to be allowed to see her and ended up attending her daughter as she delivered the dead baby. Rachel's mother called for an ambulance. Sharpe spoke the the medics over the phone, said he'd be there shortly, and demanded that they not transport his patient to a hospital. Because of fear of a confrontation with Sharpe, medics loaded Rachel up and drove her to a nearby parking lot to begin assessing her before proceeding to a hospital. The baby had actually been of 27 weeks gestation.

As far as I know, Sharpe is still practicing.

Sharpe's clinic also got in trouble in the summer of 2008 for dumping medical waste in with the normal garbage. Investigators found bloody gauze, gloves, and a curette tube in the trash. ("Livonia abortion clinic cited," Detroit Free Press, June 27, 2008) 

Watch At Least He Called an Ambulance on YouTube.

January 19, 1930: Second Self-Induced Abortion Proves Fatal

Anna Fitzgerald, a 19-year-old married woman, died on January 19, 1930 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She had been admitted by Dr. H. F. Myers after her family had summoned him to attend to the ailing young woman. 

Her death certificate gave her cause of death as "Septic pelvic peritonitis from suppurative endometritis which was caused by induced abortion performed by party unknown."

After an investigation, the authorities decided that the abortion had been self-induced.

Anna had been hospitalized for several weeks a little more than a year previously for a self-induced abortion.

Watch Second Self-Induced Abortion on YouTube.

Sources:

• Death certificate
• "Girl Responsible For Her Death," Lancaster (PA) Intelligencer Journal, January 23, 1930