Coroner fought release of autopsy of teen killed by Planned Parenthood

The unredacted autopsy of Lexi Arguello — a teenager who died following an abortion at Planned Parenthood in Fort Collins, Colorado — has been released, after the coroner fought to keep it sealed.

Key Takeaways:

• Eighteen-year-old Lexi Arguello died after undergoing an abortion at a Planned Parenthood in Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2025. She was 22 weeks pregnant.

• The autopsy confirms she died of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), a clotting disorder, following an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE).

• Planned Parenthood staff allegedly delayed getting Arguello emergency care.

• The coroner tried to keep the autopsy sealed, as he believed unsealing it might prevent women from seeking abortions.

The Backstory:

Arguello's death was first revealed publicly during testimony before Colorado Health and Human Services (HHS) by Dr. Keri Kasun, a pharmacist who had been contacted by members of Arguello's family. According to Kasun, Arguello had sought treatment for a urinary tract infection (UTI) when she discovered she was 22 weeks pregnant; her family didn't know she had undergone an abortion until they were contacted by the hospital.

Arguello experienced an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE), which is a known complication of abortion. This then led to disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), in which there is abnormal clotting in the blood vessels that causes widespread, uncontrollable bleeding. It is highly fatal if not treated quickly.

And yet, Planned Parenthood staff did not seem to take the situation seriously. Kasun testified that Planned Parenthood delayed her transfer to the hospital by instructing emergency responders to turn off lights and sirens, a tactic often used by the abortion industry to avoid bringing attention to the injury.

“Lexi’s grandfather was told by the abortion providers that she was transferred too late,” Kasun said. “She didn’t receive the urgency of care that would be required in order to have a chance to survive this condition; instead, she got a silent siren treatment.”

Once pro-life watchdog group Operation Rescue was finally able to get the unredacted autopsy report, it was confirmed that she died from abortion complications, including DIC.

The Details:

Operation Rescue and the Life Legal Defense Foundation went through a year-long court battle to force Larimer County Coroner Stephen Hanks to release the complete autopsy report. The original report was heavily redacted when Operation Rescue first received it, after which Life Legal was sought for assistance.

But before they could file suit, Hanks filed his own suit, asking the court to force the report to remain redacted.

Pointing to Colorado's pro-abortion laws, Hanks said he wanted the report sealed to protect abortion and ensure that women were not discouraged from seeking abortions out of fear:

Mr. Hanks testified that he determined that Colorado has a public interest in non-interference with reproductive healthcare decisions and in keeping those records private.

Mr. Hanks also testified that the public would be harmed by the disclosure of reproductive healthcare information. He testified that the public has an interest in private health care information remaining private. Further, Mr. Hanks testified that allowing the release of reproductive health care information in an autopsy report might discourage someone from seeking reproductive healthcare during their life.

He testified generally to these propositions—Mr. Hanks did not provide any specific examples or data. Nor did Mr. Hanks provide any evidence, even anecdotal, that people skipped reproductive healthcare based on the possibility that those records might be disclosed after their death.

“This was not a narrow privacy redaction," Alexandra Snyder, CEO of Life Legal, said. "Colorado officials concealed medical findings and Lexi’s official cause of death from the public to shield a politically favored industry from scrutiny.”

Ultimately, the Larimer County District Court forced Hanks to release the unredacted autopsy report. Yet it is disturbing to see how far pro-abortion public officials will go to protect Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry — even to the point of covering up a teenager's death.

The Bottom Line:

“Lexi’s death highlights the dangerous lack of oversight surrounding Colorado’s abortion industry," Snyder concluded. "The public has a right to know what happens inside Planned Parenthood, especially when taxpayer-funded abortion providers continue fighting common-sense safety standards.”