Chicago Planned Parenthood client collapses outside: 'They threw me out'

According to the pro-life organization Coalition Life, a Planned Parenthood client who was experiencing pain and unable to stand was allegedly kicked out of the facility following an abortion procedure.

The client told a sidewalk counselor that she had to call 911 for herself and wait outside in the Chicago cold, saying through tears, "They just did the procedure and threw me out on the streets. They just threw me out on the streets."

Key Takeaways:

• Jacob, a sidewalk counselor with Coalition Life, said he saw a woman collapse in the doorway of a Chicago Planned Parenthood on November 16.

• Jacob was equipped with a body camera, and as he helped her, she told him, "They just did the procedure and threw me out on the streets."

• The woman alleged that Planned Parenthood staff had told her to call 911 herself and left her to wait outside in the cold as she suffered from a possible abortion complication.

• Jacob helped guide paramedics to the woman.

The Details:

Coalition Life executive director and founder Brian Westbrook held a press conference outside Planned Parenthood Near North: Elizabeth Cohn Morris Health Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Thursday, detailing what appears to have been an abandonment of a patient following an abortion procedure.

Westbrook stated that since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and the state's lawmakers have abolished standard health and safety inspections for abortion facilities, removed reporting requirements for abortion-related complications, and other changes to expand access to abortion.

Westbrook explained that Coalition Life sidewalk counselor Jacob was present at the Planned Parenthood facility on November 16, when a patient who was in "obvious severe pain" came out of the door. It was about an hour after the business had closed for the day, and the woman was reportedly "slumped in the doorway" and was "yelling and crying."

Jacob was wearing a body camera, which revealed the heartbreaking scene.

"As I was praying, I looked to the entrance of the Planned Parenthood and I saw that there was this woman there collapsed in the doorway," he explained. "So I approached her. I'm like, 'Are you okay?' Do you need an ambulance or something?"

The woman, in tears, told Jacob:

"They just did the procedure and threw me out on the streets. They just threw me out on the streets."

She had allegedly undergone an abortion procedure and was suffering from a complication. But staff allegedly told her to call 911 on her own, according to Coalition Life.

Chicago Planned Parenthood Kicks Out Injured Mother After Abortion Procedure

A fire engine arrived, and Jacob guided paramedics to the woman, who received the help she needed.

"...[W]hat I just witnessed, literally treating their own clients as garbage," Jacob said after the woman was being cared for by paramedics. "I pray that she's okay."

In a press release, Westbrook said, "We knew that Near North Chicago was a site where women were being victimized because of on-the-ground reports we heard from volunteers,” said Westbrook. “We tested the site and gathered all of the data and testimonials from our staff, including this disturbing video of medical malpractice and abuse. With all of the information, it was clear that our compassionate sidewalk counselors are desperately needed in Chicago.”

Westbrook explained that Coalition Life will now ensure there is a permanent sidewalk counselor present outside the facility to help women.

The Bottom Line:

A similar situation took place in December 2018, when a Cleveland abortion facility kicked a hemorrhaging woman out because they were closing. She, too, had to call 911 herself.

Women frequently suffer abortion complications, yet the media rarely reports on these incidents.

When requirements to report abortion complications are removed, it is likely that the serious risks associated with abortion will continue to be hidden from women.