Eurice Agbagaa20s1980s, quackery, hemorrhagedeathSUMMARY: Eurice Agbagaa, age 26, bled to death on January 15, 1989 after being abandoned in the care of a receptionist by Abram Zelikman in New York, NY.

Eurice Agbagaa, a 26-year-old immigrant from Ghana, went to Abram Zelikman for a safe, legal abortion on January 7, 1989. Zelikman estimated the pregnancy as 11 to 12 12 weeks. He performed the abortion at about 1pm, then sent Eurice to the recovery room.

Over the next 2 1/2 hours, Eurice bled so heavily that the receptionist, Yolanda Penalzer, became alarmed and asked Zelikman to do something. Zelikman told her that the bleeding was normal and that she should put an ice bag on the patient. He then left the facility, leaving Yolada to care for the patients in recovery.

Yolanda continued to be concerned about Eurice’s bleeding, and tried repeatedly to reach Zelikman at his home, but couldn’t contact him. Finally she called an ambulance. The ambulance crew found Yolanda performing CPR on Eurice, who was in shock. They were able to restore her breathing and transport her to a hospital, where an emergency hysterectomy was done. It was determined that Eurice had actually been at least 19 weeks pregnant. Eurice had a perforated uterus and severed abdominal artery.

Eurice survived the surgery and was put on life support, but remained in a coma until her death in the early morning of January 15.

Zelikman’s license was suspended.

Eurice isn’t the only woman who ended up having an abortion far later in the pregnancy than she intended. read more about
**Unintended Late Abortions**.

Sources:

• “License Suspended After Patient Dies,” Watertown (NY) Daily Times, Feb. 4, 1980
• New York Post 1/10/89;
• New York Daily News 1/12/89, 1/16/89;
• Associated Press 1/16/89, 2/3/89
• “Patient left bleeding; doctor’s license pulled,” Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle, Feb. 4, 1985
• “Doctor suspended,” Poughkeepsie Journal, Feb. 4, 1989

1. 1900s
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11. 19th century
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