Indiana state documents show two abortion pill deaths and one report of an infant born-alive during an abortion are linked to Dr. Amy Caldwell, an abortionist who is also a named plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against Indiana’s pro-life law, SB1. The law prohibits abortion at any stage of gestation except in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal anomalies, or when the woman’s life is at risk.
A third abortion-related death, also involving a Planned Parenthood client, was committed surgically by Dr. Rhiannon Amodeo.
Melanie Lyon, Executive Director of Voices for Life, obtained copies of the required terminated pregnancy reports (TPR) submitted to the state by Caldwell from the Indiana Department of Health, and provided them to Live Action News. These are forms that abortion providers must submit to the state after each abortion.
Lyon and her team said the documents show that Dr. Caldwell performed multiple chemical (abortion pill) abortions, which resulted in two maternal deaths and one baby born alive following a botched abortion.
Caldwell “provides abortion care” at IU Health and the Georgetown Road Health Center operated by Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky (PPGNHAIK), the lawsuit against the state law states. Caldwell is also a named Plaintiff — along with abortionist Caitlin Bernard — in a separate lawsuit filed against Todd Rokita, the state’s Attorney General.
Maternal Deaths Reported
June 25, 2022: This Terminated Pregnancy Report (TPR) reveals that Dr. Amy Caldwell committed an abortion at Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Hospital on a 31-year-old woman who was 21 weeks (19 weeks post-fertilization) pregnant. Caldwell claimed that the baby had a “chromosomal anomaly.”
The form indicated that the “procedure that terminated the pregnancy” was mifepristone (the abortion pill) along with misoprostol. The abortion pill regimen is currently only approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use up to 10 weeks or 70 days. But Caldwell administered it to a patient well into her second trimester.
Then, under “Did this termination of pregnancy result in a maternal death?” Caldwell marked the box “YES,” indicating that the pregnant mother died as a result of the abortion.
April 5, 2022: This TPR appears to show that a “maternal death” occurred on a 29-year-old white woman who was seven weeks pregnant (5 weeks post-fertilization). She allegedly received the abortion pill regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol by Dr. Amy Caldwell at Planned Parenthood Georgetown (PPGI).
Here, too, the box asking whether the termination of pregnancy resulted in a maternal death” was marked “YES,” indicating a death as a result of the abortion pill.
November 23, 2022: A maternal death also appears to have been reported by Planned Parenthood abortionist Rhiannon Amodeo to the Indiana Department of Health. The Indiana Terminated Pregnancy Report dated November of 2022, seen in an image below, was allegedly filled out by the abortion provider or facility. It shows that a 31-year-old pregnant woman underwent a surgical procedure of her eight-week-old preborn baby at Planned Parenthood on College Ave. in Bloomington, Indiana.
In the box asking whether the abortion resulted in a “maternal death” the word YES was filled in, making this the third “maternal death” acknowledged in these reports since last year alone.
Suction abortion death reported in Bloomington, Indiana at Planned Parenthood, November 2022
Lyon said that despite indicating on the forms that these abortions resulted in “maternal death,” Caldwell claimed in her lawsuit against the state that restricting abortion results in an increased maternal mortality rate in Indiana.
The abortion pill can be dangerous even when prescribed within FDA safety guidelines.
On January 4, 2023, when the FDA updated its statistics on the abortion pill, the agency wrote that “As of June 30, 2022, there were 28 reports of deaths in patients associated with mifepristone since the product was approved in September 2000, including two cases of ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy located outside the womb, such as in the fallopian tubes) resulting in death; and several fatal cases of severe systemic infection (also called sepsis).”*
While the FDA specifies that “These events cannot with certainty be causally attributed to mifepristone,” it is unclear whether these specific maternal deaths are included in the most recent totals.
Aborted infant born alive
A separate state TPR dated July 1, 2022, submitted by Dr. Caldwell provided evidence of a possible born-alive birth following an abortion.
That abortion was committed at Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Hospital on a 27-year-old married woman.
The form claims that the 20-week (18-week post fertilization) male fetus suffered from a “neural tube defect” and was not considered viable, yet had somehow survived two hours post-abortion.
Once again, the procedure Caldwell used was the abortion pill regimen, well past FDA guidelines. The box asking whether the baby was given the best chance to survive was marked “yes” with no further details provided. No second physician was listed in the section that claimed this was required by law, and reportedly, no pathological examination was performed.
State report shows Baby born alive after abortion in Indiana committed by Amy Caldwell
Possible violations
“Our team reviews every single document and reports any violations to the Health Department and Attorney General. We are currently working with both to investigate all three of these disturbing incidents and hold Dr. Caldwell accountable,” Lyon told Live Action News.
She outlined a few possible infractions:
1. Use of abortion pill beyond limits under state law. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only approved the abortion pill regimen through 10 weeks, or 70 days of pregnancy, yet Caldwell is committing chemical abortions well into the second trimester of pregnancy and beyond the point that FDA deems the drugs effective or safe. In addition, according to copies of the complaints reviewed by Live Action News, which Voices for Life filed with the Health Department and Indiana Attorney General, Indiana state code 16-34-2-1 states that “an abortion inducing drug may not be dispensed, prescribed, administered, or otherwise given to a pregnant woman after eight (8) weeks of post fertilization age.”
In addition to the later abortion pill abortions previously detailed, RealNewsMichiana.com reviewed another TPR they claimed “shows Caldwell performed yet another illegal pill abortion on a 22-year-old woman who was 19-weeks pregnant in April of 2022.”
2. Failure to have a second doctor present during later abortion. “As documented on the Terminated Pregnancy Report, on 07/01/2022 Dr. Amy Caldwell at Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital performed a nonsurgical abortion with Mifepristone and Misoprostol on a woman who was 20 weeks pregnant (18 post fertilization age of the fetus). This resulted in the baby being born alive and no second doctor is noted,” Voices for Life noted in its complaint to the Health Department and Indiana Attorney General, reminding them of the previously mentioned limits on abortion pill use.
State law says, “An abortion may be performed after the earlier of the time a fetus is viable or the time the postfertilization age of the fetus is at least twenty (20) weeks only if there is in attendance a physician, other than the physician performing the abortion, who shall take control of and provide immediate care for a child born alive as a result of the abortion.”
The law continues, “Any fetus born alive shall be treated as a person under the law, and a birth certificate shall be issued certifying the child’s birth even though the child may subsequently die, in which event a death certificate shall be issued. Failure to take all reasonable steps, in keeping with good medical practice, to preserve the life and health of the live born person shall subject the responsible persons to Indiana laws governing homicide, manslaughter, and civil liability for wrongful death and medical malpractice.”
3. Filing reports late. “Additionally on 3/24/22 Dr. Caldwell at Eskenazi submitted the Terminated Pregnancy report later than 30 days,” Voices for Life stated in its complaint referring to other reports. The group added, “In accordance with IN state code 16-34-2-5 ‘The health care provider shall complete the form provided for in subsection (a) and shall transmit the completed form to the state department, in the manner specified on the form, within thirty (30) days after the date of each abortion.’”
Lyon told Live Action News, “As a prolific Indiana abortionist, Dr. Amy Caldwell has a financial interest in keeping abortion legal so she can continue profiting off women in crisis Caldwell claims she cares about women’s health while simultaneously selling dangerous abortion pills that kill babies AND women.”
*The FDA has received reports of serious adverse events in patients who took mifepristone. As of June 30, 2022, there were 28 reports of deaths in patients associated with mifepristone since the product was approved in September 2000, including two cases of ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy located outside the womb, such as in the fallopian tubes) resulting in death; and several fatal cases of severe systemic infection (also called sepsis). The adverse events cannot with certainty be causally attributed to mifepristone because of concurrent use of other drugs, other medical or surgical treatments, co-existing medical conditions, and information gaps about patient health status and clinical management of the patient. A summary report of adverse events that reflects data through June 30, 2022, is here. The FDA has reviewed this information and did not identify any new safety signals. The FDA intends to update this summary report as appropriate.
Editor’s Note, 5/5/23: This article has been updated to include another abortion-related death.
