December 29, 1971: “Safe and Legal” Coma, Convulsions and Death

“Abigail Roe” was a Massachusetts resident, but she traveled to New York City at 22 weeks pregnant for an abortion that was advertised to her as safe and legal. She had no idea that she would never make it home.

When a toxic concentration of hypertonic saline was injected into Abigail’s uterus, blood was aspirated. She became comatose almost immediately. The abortionist had made a fatal mistake and injected the saline fluid directly into her vascular system.

Eight and a half hours after Abigail became comatose, she went into convulsions. Fourteen hours after the abortion, she was declared dead. Because of a preventable mistake with a highly dangerous (yet “safe and legal”) procedure, this healthy young woman suffered hypernatremia, cerebral edema, coma and convulsions in her final day of life. She died on December 29, 1971.

Abigail was 23 and perfectly healthy. She had no history of any significant medical problems and by all accounts she and her baby should have enjoyed a long life. Sadly, New York’s pre-Roe legalization led to both of their deaths.

"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 (See above image for her section of the chart)

December 29, 1977: Safe and Legal in Cleveland

Grok AI illustration

Mary Ann Page was 36 years old when she went into cardiac arrest during an abortion/tubal ligation performed under general anesthesia on December 28, 1977. 

Both procedures were completed, then Mary Ann was taken to the Intensive Care Unit at St. Luke's Hospital in Cleveland. 

Mary Ann suffered several more cardiac arrests while she was in the ICU. She was pronounced dead on December 29, 1977.

Ohio death records indicate that Mary Ann was Black, divorced, and a resident of Cleveland.

Source: Cuyahoga Co. (OH) Coroner’s Office, Case, 168791

December 29, 1987: Fatal Embolism in Houston

Grok AI illustration

On December 29, 1987, 31-year-old Sheila Watley had a safe, legal abortion at Concerned Women's Center in Houston, Texas. She was 17 weeks pregnant, and had one child. As a black woman, she was both at higher risk of being sold an abortion than a white woman but also a much higher risk of dying once she climbed on the abortion table.

The abortion was performed by Dr. Richard Cunningham. About four minutes into the procedure, Sheila went into cardio-respiratory arrest. She was pronounced dead later that day. 

The cause of death was listed as an amniotic fluid embolism, which is when fluid from the uterus gets into the woman's blood stream. From a search on information about Cunningham's license, a lawsuit was filed against him that might have pertained to Sheila's death; the case in question was dismissed, according to information Cunningham gave the Texas medical board. 

Source: Harris County (TX) District Court Case # 89-16100; online search of Texas medical board records

December 29, 2003: Fatal Abortion Drugs Courtesy of Planned Parenthood

Hoa Thuy "Vivian" Tran, like Holly Patterson, got abortion drugs at a Planned Parenthood. Vivian was 22 years old, and died December 29, 2003, six days into the abortion process. She‘d been given the drugs on December 23 at the Costa Mesa Planned Parenthood facility. The autopsy showed that she died of sepsis. 

Vivian‘s husband is suing the drug company, Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernadino Counties, and The Population Council Inc., in Orange County Superior Court. 

Costa Mesa Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood spokesperson Kimberlee Ward said that the organization has "absolute confidence in this method of abortion," which is hardly surprising. After all, Vivian‘s fetus died, leaving PP with nothing to complain about. 

Other women who died in the US from complications of abortion pills include "Fawn" Roe, Holly Patterson, Chanelle Bryant, Oriane Shevin, Brenda Vise, Amber Thurmond, Alyona Dixon, “Wanda Roe,” “Sabrina Roe”, “Carmen Roe”, “Belle Roe”, “Kylie Roe”, “Ella Roe”, “Sadie Roe”, “Petra Roe”, “Dana Roe”, “Taylor Roe”, “Brandy Roe”, “Dove Roe”, “Clara Roe”, “Corrie Roe”,  “Chelsea Roe”, “Lucy Roe”, “Luna Roe”, “Talia Roe”, “Alina Roe”, “Jayden Roe”,  “Mandy Roe”, “Tina”, and “Toni Roe”. "Taylor Roe," “Sabrina Roe,” and more were also killed by abortion pills.

Watch Deadly Abortion Drugs from Planned Parenthood on YouTube.

Source: "Suit links death to 'abortion pill'," Orange County Register, October 7, 2005

December 29, 1971: Antiquated Abortion Method Legal but Unsafe

"Beth" was 23 years old when she traveled from Massachusetts to take advantage of New York's liberalized abortion law in 1971. Beth's doctor chose saline abortion, which is performed by injecting a strong salt solution into the amniotic fluid. The fetus inhales and swallows the fluid, which causes massive internal bleeding and death. The woman then goes into labor. 

The abortion was initiated by injecting saline into Beth's uterus. But instead of the amniotic sac, the saline went into Beth's bloodstream. Beth immediately began to have seizures and went into a coma. She was pronounced dead on December 29, 1971.

What is a Saline Abortion?

Saline abortion was hardly a pleasant experience. The abortionist would remove as much amniotic fluid as he could using a needle and syringe. He would then replace the amniotic fluid with a concentrated saline (salt) solution that would poison and kill the fetus. The woman would then go into labor and expel the fetus.

Saline abortions became very popular in Japan following WWII. Within the Japanese medical community, however, word quickly spread: this method was unsatisfactory. Too many women were being injured and killed. Over 70 papers were published in the Japanese medical community reporting hazards of saline abortions, including at least 60 maternal deaths. The Japanese Obstetrical and Gynecological Society condemned the technique, and it was quickly abandoned. But the Japanese abortionists kept news of the trouble among themselves -- until Western nations discovered instillation abortions and embraced them with great enthusiasm.

Two Japanese doctors, Takashi Wagatsuma and Yukio Manabe, broke the silence. Wagatsuma wrote, "It is, I think, worthwhile to report its rather disastrous consequences which we experienced in Japan." Manabe wrote, "It is now known that any solution placed within the uterus can be absorbed rather rapidly into the general circulation through the vascular system of the uterus and placenta. Thus any solution used in the uterus for abortion must be absolutely safe even if given by direct intravenous injection. ... A solution deadly to the fetus may be equally toxic and dangerous to the mother. ... In spite of the accumulating undesirable reports, the use of hypertonic saline for abortion is still advocated and used ... in the United States and Great Britain. I would like to call attention to the danger of the method and would predict the further occurrence of deaths until this method is entirely forgotten in these countries."

As western abortionists gained experience with saline abortions, other grim reports arose. A British study published in 1966 found that the saline would enter the mother's bloodstream and cause brain damage. Swedish researchers noticed an unacceptably high rate of complications and deaths. Sweden and the Soviet Union abandoned saline abortion as too dangerous for women in the late 1960s.

For whatever reasons, American abortionists were deaf to these warnings. When New York had completely repealed its abortion law, doctors had tremendous leeway in abortion practice. In New York City in particular, it became popular to inject the woman with the saline in the office, then send her home with instructions to report to a hospital when she went into labor. This was, to say the least, a highly irresponsible way to use an abortion technique that was risky even when performed in a hospital under close medical supervision. Women started dying from these reckless saline abortions.

Other women who died in the pre-Roe days of "safe and legal" New York abortions include:

• 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
• "Andrea" Roe, January, 1971, overwhelming infection
• "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
• "Annie" Roe, 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, death 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
• "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

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, 321
• Wagatsuma, "Intraamniotic Injection of Saline for Therapeutic Abortion," Am. Journ. Ob Gyn 11/1/65
• Manabe, "Danger of Hypertonic Saline Induced Abortion," JAMA 12/15/69
• Cameron, "Association of Brain Damage with Therapeutic Abortion Induced by Amniotic Fluid Replacement: Report of Two Cases," British Medical Journal, 4/23/66

December 28, 1921: Another Mystery in Chicago

On December 28, 1921, 30-year-old housekeeper Belle Keehn died at the Chicago Lying-In Hospital from lung abscesses and septicemia caused by an abortion perpetrated by an unknown doctor on or about November 27.

Documents are unclear as to how it was determined that the perpetrator was a doctor. The hospital was a reputable facility, not a seedy abortion mill, so Belle would have received superior care as doctors tried to save her life.

Watch Who Killed Belle? on YouTube.

Sources:

• Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database
• "Another Victim Points Finger at Dr. Hagenow," Chicago Daily Tribune, January 14, 1922

 

December 28, 1931: A Self-Induced Abortion in Vermont

According to Vermont death records, 24-year-old Alice E. Kendall of Baltimore, Vermont, attempted to perform an abortion on herself using a catheter in the winter of 1931.

According to the 1930 census, Alice was married to a farmer and they had a toddler daughter and a boarder who lived with them.

Alice developed peritonitis, went into septic shock, and died on December 28.

Watch Vermont, 1931: Fatal Self-Induced Abortion on YouTube.

CDC 1987

Today I'll look at CDC deaths in 1987. They count 7 legal and 2 illegal.

Their 7:

Case number       Age   Race    Possible Match

496:                    15–19    Black   Michelle Thames*

497:                    35–39    Black    Belinda Byrd

498:                    25–29    Black    Myria McFadden, Kathy Davis

499:                    20–24    White    Elise Kalat

500:                    20–24     Black    Patricia King

501:                    20–24     Black    Patricia King

502:                    35–39     Black     Brenda Benton, “”

* possible match but unlikely due to data reporting issues

Of course Patricia King is not on there twice, so at least one of those cases is someone else.

(Thank you Kevin Sherlock from The Scarlet Survey for providing this data)

I have 12: 12 legal and 1 possibly illegal, which means that I counted at least four that the CDC missed, but I likely missed an illegal death.

Brenda Benton died from hepatic necrosis due to toxicity reaction to abortion anesthesia.

Belinda Byrd was left unattended for three hours after her five-minute “life of the mother” abortion.

Kathy Davis died of heart failure after her safe, legal abortion.

Elise Kalat went into bronchospasms and died two days after her abortion.

Patricia King died in an abortion facility that her sister described as looking "like a haunted house".

Myria McFadden suffered heart and lung failure after her abortion.

Michelle Thames was one of four women I know of who died at Her Medical Clinic. Kevin Sherlock finds it unlikely that she was counted by the CDC because NCHS data didn’t record her death as abortion-related.

Iris Velazquez's survivors sued after her abortion, which they said was allegedly illegal. I was unable to confirm if any aspect was ruled illegal or not.

Pamela Wainwright left two children, one of them with Down syndrome, motherless after her abortionist accidentally pumped carbon dioxide into her bloodstream. The CDC didn’t count any white women her age that year as legal abortion fatalities.

Sheila Watley went into cardiorespiratory arrest after her abortion and died, leaving her son Desmond without a mother before he was even one year old. The CDC didn’t count anyone her age in the list that year.

Diane Watson died when four doctors at the abortion facility all failed to resuscitate her. She matches case 498 but was not counted by the CDC because her death certificate was filled out incorrectly.

 Rosalyn Joy died of septic shock. The CDC didn’t count anyone 31 for that year.

A 37-year-old single Black woman died in New York City on May 4, 1987 from an abortion. (Cross-checking the Blackmun Wall for an existing pseudonym or I’ll give her one)

The Scarlet Survey also recorded:

Monica Dee Johnston, 22 W (“septic abortion with complications” but was ruled died of natural causes. Her body was found roughly 200 miles from her home on October 15 in Portland. Need to investigate more and see Oregon death certificate 87-19149)

Teresa or Jane Roe of Mississippi was a 16-year-old married (!) white girl who died in a Memphis hospital from septic shock and hepatitis. The doctor who examined her listed abortion as the contributing cause of her death (Teresa Gayden—need documents)

All Blackmun Wall Jane Roes

 Page 1:

(Jane Doe of Newark)

Page 2:

Page 3: 

(“Elle” in the CoC wiki)

(Marilyn Lynch)

Page 4:

(Edith Clark)

Page 5:

(in the wiki as “Sylvie”)

(“Cora” in the wiki)

Page 6:

(Gloria Faye Frith)

Page 7:

(“Callie Roe” then ID as Pilar Caranco)

(“Trinity Roe” in the wiki)

(“Lauren” in the wiki)

Page 8:

(“Evie” in the wiki and your posts)

Page 9: 

(“Melanie” in the wiki)

(“Christi” in RealChoice posts)

Page 10:

(“Chryssie” in the wiki)

(“Georgia” in the wiki)

(Mildred Maxine Thomas)

Page 11:

(LDI doesn’t mention her seizures, but otherwise this could be “Meredith” from the wiki)

(???)

(Matches Elizabeth Tsuji)

Page 12:

(More info in The Scarlet Survey but still no ID yet)

(“Ellen of New Jersey” in your posts, “Ellie” in the wiki)

Page 13:

(Pamela Modugno)

(Lisa Marie Hoefener/“Linda Michelle Hoffman”)

(Need to confirm info, but if hospital facility was technically licensed as clinic this could be Lynn McNair)

(“Lana” in the wiki)

Page 14:

(Multiple possible matches??? Will investigate)

Page 15:

(TSS Match: 26-year-old Black woman from Queens, New York who underwent a legal abortion and died on June 21, 1983)

(“Margaret” in the wiki)

(“Hope” in the wiki)

Page 16:

(Maybe a possible match for “Eva Roe”?? Eva’s source didn’t give age)

(Gabrielle Ivy Felts)

(“Frankie” in the wiki)

(“Martha” in the wiki)

Page 17:

(“Shayna” in the wiki and your posts)

Page 18:

(Could be Doris Yanick, Marjorie Harrison, Elizabeth Olds or Lois Owens(see also “Marcia”, “Lorraine” and “Laura”))

(“Lydia” in the wiki)

(“Stacy” in the wiki)

(Maybe Mary Ann Page??? Really not sure)

(“Tillie” in the wiki)

Page 19:

(“Charlotte” in the wiki, more info found)

Page 20:

(“Lexi” in the wiki)

(Maybe Diane Smith?? Year matches and age)

Page 21:

(Possibly Maria Guzman— need certificate)

(Match for “Teresa”?? Duplicate memorials??)

(Doris Yanick, Lois Owens, Marjorie Harrison or Elizabeth Olds(see also “Margaret”, “Laura” and “Lorraine”))

Page 22:

         [Jasmine — page not working on the archive]

(TSS data: 36, died on July 25 1980)

Page 23:

(“Faye” in the wiki)

(TSS Match: 20, died on May 10 1983)

Page 24:

(Possible match: Barbaralee Davis)

(“Carly” in the wiki)

(Carmen Rodriguez)

Page 25:

(“Eden” in the wiki and RealChoice)

(Francesca Sardina)

(“Willow” in the wiki)

[“Laura” (saved page not working) 20–24, not match for anyone else on the Blackmun Wall:

Marjorie Harrison, Lois Owens, Elizabeth Olds, Doris Yanick see also “Margaret” “Marcia” and “Lorraine”]

Page 26:

(Marjorie Harrison, Lois Owens, Elizabeth Olds, Doris Yanick (see also “Margaret” “Marcia” and “Laura”))

Page 27:

(Barbara Riley)

(“Gracie” in the wiki)

(Pearl Schwier)

Page 28:

(“Lottie” in the wiki)

Page 29: None