An unredacted autopsy report surfaces that shows a 4 cm perforation and internal hemorrhaging as the result of a botched abortion

By Cheryl Sullenger

Kalamazoo, MI — At a press conference with pro-life leaders held yesterday outside the Calhoun County Medical Examiner’s office in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Tyler Sheppard, the brother of Cree Erwin-Sheppard produced new evidence to show his sister suffered an incomplete abortion in addition to a large uterine perforation.

Sheppard, who lives in Florida, traveled to Michigan specifically to participate in the press conference, so he could call attention not only to what happened to his sister, but also to what goes on at Planned Parenthood.

“They are ravaging these women . . . I want to know what happened. I want to know why my sister’s life wasn’t good enough to save,” he said.

Sheppard displayed a copy of Cree’s medical record obtained by another family member from Bronson Hospital in Battle Creek where she had sought help for severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting two days after having a 12-week abortion at Planned Parenthood in Kalamazoo.

At the hospital, records show that an ultrasound discovered “products of conception” inside the uterus consistent with an “incomplete miscarriage,” the hospital’s term for an incomplete abortion.

“They saw baby parts still inside of my sister and they still sent her home . . . I want to know what happened,” Sheppard said, questioning why she was not treated at this hospital.

Instead, the Bronson Emergency Department prescribed a pain killer and an anti-nausea medication to Cree and told her to report to her doctor or Planned Parenthood after the long July 4th weekend.

However, the hospital pharmacy was closed for the weekend and Cree was in too much pain to get those prescriptions filled. She died just hours later.

Cree’s death certificate noted mysteriously that her “injury” took place because of “unprescribed drug use,” but Sheppard insisted that his sister did not use illegal drugs. Methadone was found in Cree’s system but Sheppard said he believes that she took the methadone because she was in excruciating pain and she could not fill the prescription for pain medication prescribed by the hospital.

The press conference, led by Michigan pro-life activists Lynn Mills of Pro-Life Detroit and Monica Miller of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, also spurred the local news media to conduct their own research. As a result, the Kalamazoo Gazette requested and received public records from the City of Battle Creek that contained a final police death investigation report and an unredacted autopsy report.

Pro-life groups, including Operation Rescue, which has worked with Lynn Mills and Catherine Davis, Founding Core Member for the National Black Pro-Life Coalition to investigate Cree’s death, were given heavily redacted copies of the autopsy report that covered any mention of Cree’s abortion and injuries she suffered because of it.

However, the unredacted autopsy, now in the hands of Operation Rescue thanks to the Kalamazoo Gazette, sheds new light on exactly what Cree’s botched abortion did to her.

The coroner reported a four-centimeter long full-thickness perforation that ran through the lower back side of her uterus. The autopsy also discovered 250 cc’s (or 8 ½ ounces) of blood that had hemorrhaged internally into the space behind her uterus. Her womb was also filled with “clot material,” in which the Bronson Emergency Department identified parts of the aborted baby.

As for the redactions found in the copies provided to pro-life groups, the Kalamazoo Gazette confronted Calhoun County Jim Dyer, who admits he made the decision to omit the abortion related information from only certain copies.

Dyer admitted that he withheld critical information from those he determined to be “curiosity seekers,” in order to “protect the family.” However, Dyer’s poor judgement in deciding who deserved access to public information only hurt the family – and helped cover up for Planned Parenthood.

“I want those responsible for my sister’s death to take accountability for it, be responsible. Giving us the information they gave us is insulting our intelligence,” Sheppard stated, referring to the redactions in Cree’s autopsy report.

“I have a message for Mr. Dyer and any other city official who thinks he or she can dole out public information to whomever they deem worthy,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “We are not ‘curiosity seekers.’ We are members of the public who happen to be serious pro-life investigators and journalists that have a keen interest in truth and justice. The law says we’re are entitled to public information such as autopsy reports. You have no right to violate the public records laws simply because you do not like those who are seeking public information. Mr. Dyer should resign and issue Cree Erwin-Sheppard’s family a public apology.”

The Kalamazoo Gazette also learned that after the Battle Creek Police referred Cree Erwin-Sheppard’s death investigation information to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, it was determined that Cree’s death warranted no investigation, and the case was closed on September 9, 2016.

However, Mills learned last week that a complaint filed by Cheryl Sullenger of Operation Rescue against Laura Castleman is still open. Castleman is the abortionist whose name was on a Kalamazoo Planned Parenthood prescription slip made out to Cree Erwin on the day of her fatal abortion.

“In our attempts to hold Castleman accountable, we pray for an unbiased investigation that does not assume, as so many investigators do, that everything possible was done for Cree. It wasn’t. It was unconscionable for Planned Parenthood to kick Cree down the road with an incomplete abortion and a big hole torn in her uterus,” said Newman. “It may have been a mistake, but people are forced to pay for their mistakes all the time. Abortionists should be no different, especially when the mistake is a fatal one.”

Tyler Sheppard wants the world to know that before she died, his sister acknowledged that she regretted her abortion decision.

“She was very sorrowful. She was regretting it. Not just because she was in agonizing pain. She was bawling. She was crying her eyes out. She didn’t like that she did that,” Tyler Sheppard told reporters.

Read Erwin-Sheppard’s Bronson Hospital Records
Read Erwin-Sheppard’s Unredated Autopsy Report
Read Battle Creek Police Final Death Investigation Report