When the abortion industry claims legal abortion is safe, they are being misleading. They are aware that only about half of all states even require abortion complications to be reported. Given such incomplete data, it is deceptive to claim – as a representative from the Kaiser Family Foundation recently did – that abortion has no risks.
Any procedure taking place at an abortion business, hospital, or doctor’s office always comes with risks, and reports of 911 calls to abortion facilities are widespread. Adding to the public’s ignorance is the fact that the media has helped to conceal the large number of anecdotal stories of women dying from supposedly “safe” abortions in recent years.
Below are the stories of three families who lost beloved family members to abortion.
Keisha Marie Atkins: Late-term abortion
Photo: Operation Rescue
New Mexico abortionist Curtis Boyd is currently named in a lawsuit for the death of 23-year-old Keisha Marie Atkins, who died during a second trimester late-term abortion process initiated at Boyd’s facility, Southwestern Women’s Options. Early reports estimated Keisha’s preborn baby to be at least 24 weeks along. New Mexico has no gestational limit on abortion, and according to Boyd, there is “no set period” on how late he and his staff will kill preborn children.
The Facebook page, Abortion on Trial, has been sharing portions of Boyd’s testimony in the case, and yesterday the group shared video of Keisha’s mother, Tina Atkins, speaking about her daughter’s last moments.
READ: These 7 young women died from late-term abortions, but they didn’t have to
In the video above, Atkins described the closeness she had with her daughter while she was alive. Before Keisha died, her mother said she was “pale as a sheet.” Atkins added that when she saw her daughter, “The first thing out of her mouth was, ‘I’m gonna die.'” Atkins said the ER personnel wouldn’t give her daughter water, so she wetted paper towels and gave them to her daughter to suck on.
“She was septic. And there was nothing they could do,” Atkins said tearfully.
Holly Patterson: First trimester – Abortion pill
Monty Patterson shows a House panel a photo of his daughter Holly, who died from sepsis after taking the abortion pill.
Holly Patterson was only 18 years old when she died from septic shock, a complication of having taken the abortion pill she obtained at Planned Parenthood. Holly’s parents had no idea that she was even pregnant at the time. At the website AbortionPillRisks.org, Monty Patterson, Holly’s father, shared what happened on September 17, 2003, day that Holly died from an infection known as Clostridium sordellii:
… A call came, earlier that morning, while I was at work. A nurse told me my 18-year-old daughter, Holly, was in the hospital and in very serious condition….
I sped to the hospital which was near the San Francisco suburb of Livermore, where Holly and I lived. Once there, I found her in the intensive care unit, barely conscious, too weak to talk, pale complexion, puffy faced, and struggling to breathe. …
While standing at her beside, the doctor came in and briskly explained, “We are doing everything we can for her, but she might not make it. These things sometimes happen as a result of the [abortion] pill.” …
Holly died on the seventh day after starting the mifepristone/misoprostol medical abortion regimen and on the same day she was scheduled to return to Planned Parenthood for a follow up visit to make sure her abortion had been completed.
READ: She died during a late-term abortion. Now, her mother wants answers.
Monty Patterson spoke about his daughter’s death on C-SPAN 2 a number of years ago (his remarks begin around the 1:00 mark):
Patterson stated that when he saw his daughter in the ER, she was “so weak she could barely hold on to my hand.” Since this experience, Patterson has made it his mission to bring to the public’s attention the very grave dangers of the abortion pill.
Cree Erwin-Sheppard – First Trimester Surgical Abortion
“Justice has not been given to my sister. I lost two people that day — not just a sister, but a niece or a nephew, as well.” These are the words of Tyler Sheppard, the brother of 24-year-old Cree Erwin-Sheppard, who died after a first trimester abortion at a Michigan Planned Parenthood in 2016. Cree left behind a loving family, including a one-year-old son. Tyler speaks about his sister and about how the abortion industry needs to be held accountable:
Cree’s mother was the one who discovered that her daughter was dead, and the 911 call is absolutely heartbreaking. Cree experienced intense abdominal pain and even went to a local hospital emergency room, where they gave her pain medication and instructed her to see her family physician the next day. She did not want to be alone, so she went to her mother’s house to stay the night, and this was where she spent the last moments of her young life:
These parents and family members buried their daughters after they obtained supposedly “safe,” legal abortions. These women didn’t have to die. They were sold abortion as an easy way out, and their deaths were entirely preventable. No matter what the abortion industry claims, there are very real risks involved with abortions — even legal ones. The abortion industry must be held accountable.
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