By Cheryl Sullenger

Chicago, IL – For the fifth time this year, a Chicago abortion facility has called 911 for an emergency transport of a woman who suffered very serious or life-threatening complications to abortions.

The Pro-Life Action League provided Operation Rescue with the most recent 911 audio recording that showed a physician assistant asking for an ambulance transport to Northwestern Memoria Hospital’s emergency room.

According to the recording, a 35-year old woman who was having a first trimester abortion when things went wrong.

 “She underwent a first trimester abortion.  She had more bleeding than we expected. We have the bleeding under control, but she’s hypotensive,” the caller explained.

Hypotension is low blood pressure under 90/60.  It would require a significant loss of blood before a person would become hypotensive.

The Mayo Clinic’s website states that symptoms of hypotension can include dizziness, fainting, blurred vision, nausea, fatigue.  Hypotensive shock includes a rapid pulse as the heart attempts to compensate for the blood loss, rapid shallow breathing, and confusion. Left untreated it can result in cardiac arrest and death.

The caller noted that at the time of the call, the patient was no longer bleeding, but still needed emergency hospital care.  That care would likely would include intravenous fluids or even blood transfusions and other treatments.

Other medical emergencies that have taken place this year at Family Planning Associates included two incidents in June that involved two women who were bleeding uncontrollably after abortions, one emergency in May where a post-abortive woman showed signs of internal hemorrhage, and another woman who choked on her own vomit during an abortion in January.

Four women are known to have died from botched abortions done at Family Planning Associates’ Chicago abortion businesses. 

In 2000, Maria E. Rodriguez suffered a perforated uterus during an 18-week abortion that resulted in massive hemorrhaging.  She was sent to Rush University Hospital where efforts to save her life were unsuccessful.

On June 9, 1999, Maria Leho underwent a suction abortion at 13-weeks of pregnancy.  Leho was transfer to the recover room after the abortion but suffered an apparent cardiac arrest.  A lawsuit filed by her surviving family accused Family Planning Associates of failing to resuscitate her or call 911 in a timely manner.  She was declared dead on June 11, 1999, leaving one young son motherless.

In 1998, thirteen-year old Deanna Bell died from a botched 21-week abortion dismemberment done at FPA’s Elston Ave. facility.  On December 10, 1998, Nakia Jorden also died from injuries received during an abortion at the Elston Ave. location.

“Given the FPA’s decades of injuring and killing women during abortions, it is appalling that this abortion facility is still open,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “It should stand as a warning that abortion is not safe, and that women are not being fully informed of the misdeeds that have occurred there.”

For more documentation, visit FPA’s profile page at AbortionDocs.org.