Abortion: A Deadly Choice
Abortion is often touted as "safe" but is it? Here are the stories of some women who learned the hard way that abortion can be a deadly choice.
Women die from legal abortion. As with any surgical (or chemical) procedure, abortion has its risks, including death. The actual number of women who die from legal abortion each year is difficult to document as not all abortion deaths are attributed to the abortion or reported as such.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the following number of U.S. abortion deaths in recent years:1
- 1994 10 legal abortion deaths
- 1995 4 legal abortion deaths
- 1996 9 legal abortion deaths
- 1997 7 legal abortion deaths
- 1998 10 legal abortion deaths
- 1999 4 legal abortion deaths
- 2000 11 legal abortion deaths
Although abortion is legal, it still carries stigma for those who may be injured or even killed during a procedure, further reducing the likelihood that an abortion death will be reported for what it is. Unfortunately, those closest to the abortion death (i.e., family, abortion clinic and hospital staff) may either not be aware of the abortion or desire to protect the deceased woman who had one.
Another wrinkle in the reporting structure is that the death certificate may report the cause of death (what the woman died of) without reporting that the underlying cause of her death was an abortion.
Common themes among reported abortion deaths are that the death occurs immediately or shortly after the abortion—or that the woman had such serious complications that she was taken to a nearby hospital where she died. The woman’s death is often made public when family members take legal action against the abortion clinic.
Women do die from legal abortion. Women should be informed that complications from abortion can be life threatening and fatal. Whether women experience complications caused by the procedure itself or by the negligence of the doctor performing it, abortion can be much riskier than many women realize.
While it would be impossible to identify the women and circumstances of every legal abortion death since 1973, newspaper reports reveal many stories. It is doubtful that any of the women who died from legal abortion realized that this procedure would result in their death. In remembrance of the women who have died from legal abortion since 1973, here are a few of their stories:
Partial List of Known Abortion Deaths
Tamiia Russell, 15, died January 8, 2004 in Detroit, MI
Russell was six months pregnant when she died after complications from a second-trimester abortion. Following the abortion, "Russell developed heavy vaginal bleeding and died," according to a Wayne County autopsy. The abortionist at the Woman Care Clinic in Lathrup Village did not seek the consent of Russell’s parents as state laws requires for those under 18 years of age. Russell’s family hired an attorney to consider legal action against the abortion clinic.2
Holly Patterson, 18, died September 17, 2003 in Pleasanton, CA
Patterson died at a local hospital one week after receiving the chemical abortion drug, mifepristone (also known as RU-486), from a Planned Parenthood affiliate. She was seven weeks pregnant. The Alameda, California coroner’s office reports that Patterson died from septic shock, caused by a “therapeutic, drug-induced abortion.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating her death.3
Diana Lopez, 25, died February 28, 2002 in Los Angeles, CA
Lopez was 18 weeks pregnant when she went to the Los Angeles Planned Parenthood for an abortion by Dr. Mark Maltzer. According to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, “she bled to death after her cervix was punctured during her abortion.” She died at a nearby hospital after an emergency hysterectomy. Lopez’ family is suing Planned Parenthood and Maltzer on behalf of her two living children.4
Nicey Washington, 26, died June 6, 2000 in Brooklyn, NY
Washington went to the Ambulatory Surgery center in Sunset Park for an abortion and died shortly afterwards. She was rushed to the hospital and declared dead about an hour later, after suffering heart failure. 5
Kimberly K. Neil, age unknown, died May 22, 2000 in Fresno, CA
Abortionist Kenneth Wright and the Family Planning Associates Medical Group face a malpractice lawsuit filed by Neil’s family—which claims Neil was not properly treated after she went into respiratory arrest during the May 5, 2000 abortion. Neil slipped into a coma and died May 22.6
Tamika Dowdy, 22, died December 2, 1998 in Brooklyn, NY
Paramedics were called to the Brooklyn Women’s Medical Pavilion and began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Dowdy when her heart stopped after having an abortion. She was transported to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead. 7
Lou Anne Herron, 33, died April 14, 1998 in Phoenix, AZ
Abortion clinic employees told police Herron suffered in a recovery room for three hours after an abortion, bleeding heavily and complaining of numbness. Employees say abortionist John Biskind left the clinic while Herron was in distress. An employee called for emergency assistance, but by the time help arrived, Herron had bled to death due to a perforated uterus. In May 2001, Biskind was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in prison in connection with Herron’s death.8
For more on Herron's death, see the June 2001 Citizen magazine article, "She Didn't Have to Die," accessible on-line.
Gracealynn T. Harris, 19, died September 16, 1997 in Stanton, DE
Harris had an abortion at the Delaware Women’s Health Organization in the morning, and by 10 p.m. was declared dead at a local hospital. According to medical reports, Harris bled to death from a perforation in her uterus caused by the abortion. Harris’ family filed a civil lawsuit against the abortion clinic and Mohammad Imran, the doctor who performed the abortion. In January 2002, a jury found both the clinic and Imran responsible and awarded $2 million to Harris’ 5-year-old son.9
Nichole Williams, 22, died April 25, 1997 in St. Louis, MO
Williams went to Reproductive Health Services in St. Louis for a first-trimester abortion. According to news reports, her vital signs began to deteriorate during the abortion procedure and she was announced dead at Barnes-Jewish Hospital a short time later. Kansas City area abortionist Robert Crist performed Williams’ abortion. Williams was Crist’s third patient to die during or after an abortion-related procedure, including 19-year old Diane Boyd, who died in 1981 after reacting to the painkiller she received after an abortion.10
Tanya Williamson, 35, died September 7, 1996 in the Bronx, NY Williamson was 13 weeks pregnant when she had an abortion at Gynecological Surgical Services. She received a general anesthetic, went into cardiac arrest, and stopped breathing. Although a hospital was across the street, an ambulance was not called for at least 25 minutes. Williamson died, leaving behind a husband and four children.11
Sharon Hamptlon, 27, died December 13, 1996 in Moreno Valley, CA
Abortionist Bruce Steir pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Hamptlon’s death. Hamptlon bled to death on the way home from the abortion clinic. According to the Sacramento Bee, “the California Medical Board already knew of five other similar surgeries mishandled by Steir that had resulted in serious complications.” 12
(This page was originally posted on September 1, 2004.)
Carrie Gordon Earll is the Senior Policy Analyst for Bioethics at Focus on the Family and a fellow with the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity.
1Center for Disease Control and Prevention, "Abortion Surveillance," November 26, 2004, Table 19, accessed on-line January 5, 2005 at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Abortion Surveillance 2001
2“Abortion death of teen girl spurs calls for investigation,” The Detroit News, April 9, 2004; “Minor dies from abortion,” The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News Network, April 15, 2004.
3“Autopsy Released in RU-486 Fatality,” The Argus (Fremont, CA), November 2, 2003.
4 "State faults clinic in death," Sacramento Bee, June 19, 2003.
5 “City, state probe patient death at abortion clinic,” New York Post, June 9, 2000.
6 “Fresno doctor is sued in death,” Fresno Bee, August 18, 2001.
7 “Abort-linked death turns rapper’s joy into heartbreak,”New York Post, December 7, 1998.
8 “BOMEX faces suit, Family of woman in botched abortion cites doctor’s record,” Arizona Republic, March 12, 1999; “Abortion doctor sentenced to five years,” Associated Press, May 5, 2001.
9 “Trial under way in lawsuit filed over abortion death,” Associated Press, January 8, 2002; “Jury awards more than $2 million in lawsuit over abortion death,” Associated Press, January 16, 2002.
10 “City’s examiner clears doctor in abortion death,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 13, 1997.
11 “A Woman’s Right, A Woman’s Risk,” ABC News 20/20, March 8, 1999; “Abortion doctor tied to six deaths,” Journal News, Westchester County, NY, January 31, 1999.
12 “Guilty plea entered in fatal-abortion trial,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 7, 2000;“Botched abortion: An issue of medical negligence, not politics,” Sacramento Bee, February 19, 1999.
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