Woman dies during late-term abortion, but autopsy lays blame on pregnancy complications

A woman undergoing a late-term abortion in New Mexico has died, and it appears that authorities may be blaming her pregnancy for the death, rather than complications from the abortion.

Operation Rescue issued a press release today, stating that 23-year-old Keisha Marie Atkins, believed to be at least six months pregnant, died on February 4, 2017, during a four-day abortion procedure committed by Southwestern Women’s Options in Albuquerque.

OR notes that four days after the procedure was begun on January 31, “Atkins returned to SWO for the completion of the abortion where she displayed labored breathing and signs of sepsis, a systemic, life-threatening infection.” It is unknown as to how Atkins ended up at the UNM Medical Center for emergency help, because “an ambulance was called to transport Atkins to the hospital, but was later cancelled.” An emergency D&E was done at UNM Medical Center in an effort to complete the abortion, but Atkins “suffered cardiac arrest” during that procedure, and was unable to be resuscitated.

An autopsy conducted by the UNM Office of the Medical Investigator “determined that Atkins’ cause of death was ‘pulmonary thromboembolism due to pregnancy,’ in other words, blood clots in the lungs.” OR believes this is a “whitewash” meant to blame Atkins’ pregnancy for her death, instead of laying the blame on a mismanaged abortion procedure:

There is evidence that Atkins suffered from sepsis, a bacterial infection caused by the four-day abortion process, which brought about symptoms consistent with Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC). Atkins suffered hemorrhaging in her brain, a buildup of fluid around her lungs, and other symptoms of DIC that the autopsy ignored.

Southwestern Women’s Options is one of a handful of abortion facilities in the nation which commits late-term abortions. Eighty-year-old abortionist Curtis Boyd operates the facility, along with abortionists Shelley Sella and Carmen Landau. The facility advertises surgical abortions up to 28 weeks, and even takes the time to slam pro-life pregnancy centers on its website — centers which help women with resources to choose life for their babies. An abortion this far along in pregnancy is typically done by the induction method, explained in the video below by former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levatino:

3rd Trimester Induction Abortion: Injection and Stillbirth

Southwestern Women’s Options was featured in Live Action’s InHuman undercover investigation, during which a counselor advises a woman not to call 911 if she is experiencing premature labor. Instead, the woman is told to “deliver the child alone, into a toilet, while she waits for the abortionist to arrive”:

Inhuman: Undercover in America's Late-Term Abortion Industry - New Mexico

Southwestern Women’s Options has also been caught on a recording discussing “euthanizing” a 25-week-old preborn baby, and on another recording expressing willingness to abort a 30-week-old preborn baby because the mother was experiencing “stress.”