Tiller Patient Feared “They’re Liable To Kill Me” During Botched Abortion That Hospitalized Her
Patient S. was locked in a room against her will for four hours while a raging, life-threatening infection nearly took her life.
(The full narrative of Patient S.’s harrowing abortion experience is posted below the video.)
Wichita, KS — An abortion complication landed a 23-year old patient of late-term abortionist George R. Tiller in the hospital last Thursday. The woman, who developed sepsis as a result of a botched procedure during a late-term abortion and suffered cardiac arrest, has come forward to tell of her harrowing near-death experience at Tiller’s Women’s Health Care Services.
Patient S. had been under routine obstetrical care when she decided to abort her baby due to involvement in an abusive relationship. According to her last menstrual period and ultrasounds that she had received, she was 23 weeks pregnant at the time of her abortion, which she began on Tuesday, September 23, 2008.
However, WHCS misdiagnosed her as being only 19 weeks – a difference of an entire month of gestation. According to Kansas law, at 22 weeks, a second physician must concur that the abortion is medically necessary. Patient S. never saw a second physician.
Because she could not pay for the expensive abortion, Patient S. was asked to fill out forms, which included information about her race, so that she could have the abortion paid for by the National Abortion Federation and another fund that sponsors abortions for those who cannot afford them. Because Patient S. is an African-American, there was some concern that her abortion was covered by these funds because of her race.
Abortionist Shelley Sella, a California abortionist employed part time at WHCS by Tiller, began the abortion on Patient. S. by giving her an injection digoxin into the abdomen, which is meant to stop the baby’s heart. Apparently something went wrong with the injection, because Patient S. began feeling sick. She was sent home for the day.
Later that day, because she felt so badly, she went to the Wesley Medical Center emergency room for treatment. When it was discovered that she was a patient of George Tiller’s in the middle of an abortion, she was told to return to her own ObGyn, who informed her that the best thing for her to do was to go back to Tiller’s abortion clinic to complete the surgery.
On Thursday, while shakey, sick, and running a fever of 103.7°, she returned to WHCS, where Tiller angrily confronted her about going to the hospital. He isolated her in a locked room for four hours, during which time her pleas to be let go were ignored.
During this time, Patient S. was told that she should be quiet because she was upsetting the other women. She was told that unless her attitude changed, they would no longer treat her. She was also told that she would have to drive over three hours to a “Catholic Hospital” in Kansas City, Missouri, where her abortion would be completed. Patient S. Refused to make the trip and demanded that Tiller finish the procedure.
Patient S.’s cousin, a man named L., arrived at WHCS and asked to see Patient S. but was refused. He sensed that something was wrong and began demanding to see his cousin. He was threatened with arrest and forcibly removed from the clinic by the security guard, who sprayed with a water hose in the parking lot.
Patient S.’s mother arrived at WHCS and demanded to see her daughter. She was refused. The mother then called her attorney, who spoke with Tiller. After the call, Tiller reportedly told the mother that if she wanted him to help her daughter she had to say, “Please.”
Patient S. observed that up until the time she was sedated for the removal of her baby that she felt movements in her womb. She informed Tiller’s staff that she had a high toleration for sedation, but was ignored. Attempts at sedation proved ineffective. While she was supposed to have been sedated, she heard comments made by the staff that led her to believe that something was terribly wrong. She remembered fearing for her life and suspected that they may try to kill her while she was under sedation by overdosing her. Once the staff realized that she could hear them, they stopped their conversation and fully sedated her.
The mother was present during the removal of the baby, and observed Tiller inserting a tube into the back of the baby’s skull and vacuuming out the brains. This disturbed her so greatly that she told pro-lifers that she could not sleep for three days because of what she saw.
The abortion described by Patient S.’s mother is also referred to as a “partial birth abortion,” which has been banned both by the state and Federal governments, if done on a live baby. If Patient S. baby was alive at the time of the delivery, as she believes, then her abortion would have been an illegal one.
During the procedure, Patient S. suffered an asthma attack and cardiac arrest. She was revived after being given epinephrine and other measures.
Instead of calling an ambulance, Tiller told Patient S. was told to hold her I.V. bags, while he drove her to Wesley Medical Center in his personal Jeep. During the short drive to the hospital, Patient S. feared several times that they would get into a car accident since Tiller did not seem to be able to see very well, and was verbally directed though traffic by a female employee who was in the back seat.
Once at Wesley, Patient S. bypassed both the emergency room and admissions and was taken by Tiller directly to a private room. She was given a course of antibiotics and discharged from the hospital on Saturday, September 27, 2008, even though she was still in pain and feeling sick from her ordeal.
Patient S.’s experience closely resembles that of 19-year old Christin Gilbert, who died from untreated sepsis during a third-trimester abortion at WHCS on January 13, 2005.
Abortionist Shelley Sella, the abortionist who began Patient S.’s abortion, was involved in the abortion of Michelle Armesto-Berge, where she is also accused of botching the digoxin injection. In addition, Sella was accused by a former Tiller nurse of having stabbed to death a baby born alive during a late-term abortion at WHCS in 2007.
September 29th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
They kill babies, why would they not kill adults? People need to know the dangers of abortion mills.
September 29th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
This is horrific. I hope Patient S. files a lawsuit against Tiller and exposes him to the public for the modern-day Mengele that he is. Sela’s got to lose her license over this too.
September 29th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
SHUT HIM DOWN NOW!!! How long will our country stand for these murders, all in the name of being “legal”, and not expect God to deal a swift and powerful blow of judgement on this country? It is coming, and coming soon.
September 29th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
God forgive us for allowing this to continue! We’ve (I’ve) become so callused to these killings we don’t do anything about it.
September 29th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Enough is enough!!!!!
If you are reading this. PLEASE PUSH FOR TILLMAN
AND THE SELLA MONSTERS to be charged with Mass Murder. 1 count of murder for each child that has been
killed.
The US Government is equally guilty of Murder for allowing the Satanic Act of Abortion to still be carried out. Just goes to show that the Courts are also corrupt!!!
September 29th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
That the young woman is still alive is a miracle. Sadly, her child is not. I hope this family realizes what happened and gets a revelation and shouts it from the roof tops!!
What will it take for the Law in Kansas to make this stop! They should have elected PHill Kline.
He did a partial birth abortion?? Of course, tiller (lower case intended) is above the law (in Kansas)! Lord have mercy on our nation!
September 30th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
As it says in Psalms: “nations that forget God will be turned into hell.” and “children are a gift from the Lord.” Proverbs says: “the shedding of innocent blood is an abomination.” Exodus says: “life for life if an innocent in the womb is killed.” Shall I go on? There is more scripture about this!!!
September 30th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
How many more of our innocent babies must be murdered before this nation stands up and calls it what it really is. Murder in no uncertain terms. Are all of these women as navive as they appear to be? If these women are intelligent enough to plan to get an abortion then they cannot possibly be naive.God have mercy on our country. I just wish these women would consider having these little ones and adopt them to families that really want children and can’t have them.Do they ever consider where they would be if their mothers had had an abortion while carrying them. We need a president that will stand up against abortion and not be ashamed to do so.
September 30th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
This is so sad!! If Obama is elected we can look forward to 40 years of abortion on demand. Also on the video Operation was missing the a.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
I’ve been @ Tiller’s gate since Sunday night, I got off a plane @ 10:30pm and went directly there til 7pm last night and spent all day there today and will spend everyday and night there til he shuts down!
I’m praying for Patient S. and her family and my heart goes out to them.
God have mercy on Tiller the Killer, Sella for what she’s done, and Carhart for authoring Partial Birth Abortion and laws for it and leaving Tiller with the MOLD idea!
What is this nation coming to?
October 1st, 2008 at 7:53 am
Tiller has bought out state, county, and city government. He will not be prosecuted. If you want justice, you will have to get rid of all the crooked politicians in November and replace them with good people.
October 1st, 2008 at 4:57 pm
CONSTANT PUBLICATION OF THESE STORIES MUST BE
KEPT IN THE PUBLIC READING………THE POINT MUST BE
MADE OVER, and OVER…..THESE ARE AMERICANS BEING
SLAUGHTERED……THE GREATEST CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATION IN OUR HISTORY…….OUR MORALS, NEED NOT BE MENTIONED.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:31 am
“Jesus protect and save the unborn”.
Please pray the Rosary of the Unborn requested by Jesus and designed by His Blessed Mother Mary - order online @ rosaryoftheunborn.com. This rosary carries special graces and will “save a child with each Hail Mary said with love”.
Fight the culture of death with this rosary!
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:32 am
The following comments are mine alone and I state them according to what I believe as a Roman Catholic. I agree with Catherine who says: Please pray the Rosary of the Unborn requested by Jesus and designed by His Blessed Mother Mary (and she is our heavenly mother too). Stop the tears shed by Mother Mary.
Florence
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I’m sorry for this woman who went through so much but I’m sorryer for the little innocent one who suffered much much more and did, infact, die in a horrible, cruel, and inhumane way. So sad that the innocent are forced to pay with their lives for the sins of their parents.
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Over and over again, we have to ask ourselves where are the cries from the churches over these abominations. Oh, don’t look now but they’re cowering behind their 5o1(c)3 tax exempt status. Doesn’t everyone know that if they were to speak up concerning these things they would lose their precious tax exemption which they love and serve! I pray all the silent “churches” choke on the mammon they adore and worship so that it might possibly bring them to repentance!
Excuse me now while I go get my barf bag just thinking about them!
Julie Richards
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:50 am
Regarding tax exempt status- churches CAN speak on one side or the other on ISSUES. They can’t do that for candidates. So, if they are silent it is not because of their tax status, it is just because they choose to stand on the side lines.
Thankfully there are many Bishops speaking out. Pray for our Priests!
October 4th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Does anyone know which hospital in Kansas City is being referred to in this claim? I am very familiar with Kansas City and am aware of no Catholic hospital there that performs abortions. So I would be very interested in which facility this is. KC has a large organization of pro-life Christian doctors who would be very interested in this. Thanks
October 5th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I don’t undersatnd how tiller can keep his horrible works up, when he is violating the law. Pray for this mother and her daughter for healing. So many people are tricked into thinking its not a baby. Its so sad. When people finally see abortion for what it really is , they are ussually horrified and disgusted. Pray for the truth to be revealed and that the church can stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. God bless you Operation Rescue for your tireless effort to promote the truth and bring life back to America. I’m so saddened by this story. I wonder if her baby was alive during the procedure since she felt movements all the way till they sedated her. Maybe thats what the nurses were talking about till they realized she was still awake. Maybe they gave her too much medication which caused her to have cardiac arrest , because they knew the baby was alive and what they were about to do was illegal and of coarse wrong.
October 13th, 2008 at 12:17 am
What saddens me is that chastisement has already come to our nation. Isn’t the current economic crisis a sign? If a majority of the nation turns its back on the ways and teachings of Jesus, then that nation will suffer the consequences. I only pray that the chastisements cause many to turn back to God.
October 29th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Sadly, this is nothing new. It is horrifying but not shocking. For those who have not yet done so, please read a book titled LIME 5. It is no longer in print, but you can find used copies online. I wish a similar follow-up book were forthcoming. LIME 5 details such horror stories and ends its data over 10 years ago. Imagine what has happened since then. Operation Rescue, keep fighting the good fight. Truth is our greatest weapon.
October 29th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
I was 14 and pregnant in 1977 and tiller recommended to my grandmother(who was a patient of his until this episode) that I have an abortion as I was too young to take care of an infant. At the time I was 7 months pregnant. If we had listened to him we would not have a beautiful, 31 year old daughter, a great son-in-law and 2 awesome grandsons. I sincerely hope and pray that everyone continues to fight against this abomination masquerading as a physician.
November 9th, 2008 at 1:38 am
I’m disturbed by these abortions, no matter when they take place. But it seems self-serving to me that this person who agreed to undergo an abortion now is saying how awful it was for her to have to endure the mutilation of her unborn child. Forgive me if I seem callous, but surely she had to know the basics of what would happen to the child and was a little late in her apparent realization of the horror of it all. Also, I can think of no way that she could have seen what happened to the child while its poor little head was still inside her. Perhaps due to anesthesia she is confused about what happened or if her conscience bothers her then perhaps she has thought about it so much that it seems real to her to say that she saw what happened to the baby but that just seems physically impossible to me. I wish her no harm but I do hope she will be shown another way than abortion. As painful as it was for her the infliction of this monstrous act on the child was ten times worse.
November 14th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I had an abortion in 1994. I was 8 weeks pregnant. I was 35 years old and the mother of three young children. I was divorced. I was in such an emotional state that I was unaware of the horror of what I was doing. I make no excuses. I still try to understand how I could have done such a thing. Kill my unborn child, especially seeing I had had a miscarriage only four years earlier. I remember lying on the clinic table saying, “I don’t want to do this. I want to stop.” but they administered the sedation and when I awoke, my baby was gone. I had already arranged to have a tubal ligation following the procedure so that I would never be in such a situation again and so after a few hours of vomiting in the recovery area, I was again taken to the surgery room to have my tubes tied.
Patient S made her decision coming out of an abusive relationship and I do not condone in any way what she has done, but now, with 20/20 hindsight, she can see the result of her actions. I’m sure she would turn back the clock if she only could.
It is easy to sit in judgement when you haven’t stood in her shoes.
May God forgive her as He has forgiven me and has made me an outspoken pro-life advocate.
May this child and the many other millions of aborted children rest in peace.
One day abortion will end.
I hope I will be here to see that day.
November 16th, 2008 at 11:55 am
To Anne Peters–From watching the video I saw that it was Patient S’s mother who saw what happened to the baby. She was also there during the abortion and saw the baby.