Barbara Riley

Barbara Riley20s, 1970s, preroelegal, newyorkSUMMARY: 23-year-old Barbara Riley died July 20, 1970 from complications of an abortion performed at Harlem Hospital in New York.

Barbara Riley was 23 years old when she chose abortion on her doctor’s recommendation. She had a history of sickle cell anemia and three previous term pregnancies — two live births and a stillborn child. She was in her first trimester of pregnancy when she underwent the abortion on July 11, 1970 at Harlem Hospital. Her doctor was also planning a sterilization operation so that Barbara would not face this kind of health crisis again.

Because of Barbara’s health problems, her abortion would have been legal under New York’s old abortion law; the new law just meant that they didn’t need to legally justify going ahead with it. But instead of improving, Barbara’s health deteriorated. Her blood started to break down. Nine days after the abortion, July 20, Barbara died. She was the third abortion-related death reported in New York State in the first 23 days that abortion had been legal in New York. Medical examiner Dr. Michael Baden tried to downplay the significance of three legal abortion deaths in 23 days by pointing out that three women had died in New York from illegal abortions the month before legalization.

The other women I’ve identified as dying from sickle cell crisis triggered by an abortion are Margaret Davis and Betty Hines.

The 1970 liberalization of abortion had made New York an abortion mecca until the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling that abortionists could legally set up shop in any state of the union. In addition to Barbara, these are the women I know of who had the dubious benefit of dying from the newfangled safe-and-legal kind of abortion in pre-Roe New York:

Pearl Schwier, July, 1970, cardiac arrest during abortion
Carmen Rodriguez, July, 1970, salt solution intended to kill the fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
“Amanda” Roe, September, 1970, sent back to her home in Indiana with an untreated hole poked in her uterus
Maria Ortega, October, 1970, fetus shoved through her uterus into her pelvic cavity then left there
“Kimberly” Roe, December, 1970, cardiac arrest during abortion
“Amy” Roe, January, 1971, massive pulmonary embolism
“Andrea” Roe, January, 1971, overwhelming infection
“Sandra” Roe, April, 1971, committed suicide due to post-abortion remorse
“Anita” Roe, May, 1971, bled to death in her home during process of outpatient saline abortion
Margaret Smith, June, 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
“Annie” Roe, June, 1971, cardiac arrest during anesthesia
“Audrey” Roe, July, 1971, cardiac arrest during abortion
“Vicki” Roe, August, 1971, post-abortion infection
“April” Roe, August, 1971, injected with saline for outpatient abortion, went into shock and died
“Barbara” Roe, September, 1971, cardiac arrest after saline injection for abortion
“Tammy” Roe, October, 1971, massive post-abortion infection
Carole Schaner, October, 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
“Beth” Roe, December, 1971, saline injection meant to kill fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
“Roseann” Roe, February, 1971, vomiting with seizures causing pneumonia after saline abortion
“Connie” Roe, March, 1972, cardiac arrest during abortion
“Julie” Roe, April, 1972, holes torn in her uterus and bowel
“Robin” Roe, May, 1972, lingering abortion complications
“Roxanne” Roe, May, 1972, given overdose of abortion sedatives
“Danielle” Roe, May, 1972, air in her bloodstream

The deaths on this list are disproportionately in 1971 because most are taken from a report published by the New York health department covering the first 24 months of legalized abortion in New York, which included that latter half of 1970 and the beginning of 1972.

As you can see from the graph below, abortion deaths were falling dramatically before legalization. This steep fall had been in place for decades. To argue that legalization lowered abortion mortality simply isn’t supported by the data.

external image Abortion+Deaths+Since+1960.jpg

Sources:

“Maternal Mortality Associated With Legal Abortion in New York State: Jul. 1, 1970 – Jun. 30, 1972, Berger, Tietze, Pakter, Katz, Obstetrics and Gynecology, 43:3, Mar. 1974, 320;
“Abortion Curbs Put Off by City”, New York Times, Jul. 22, 1970
“Abortion Death Victim Autopsy Slated Today,” White Plains (NY) Journal-News, Jul. 22, 1970
“Abortions Prove Fatal to Three N.Y. Women,” The Troy Times Record, Jul. 22, 1970
“Abortion Autopsy Due,” Canandaigua (NY) Daily Messenger, Jul. 23, 1970

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Barbara Riley