Woman's death tied to abortion, says medical examiner

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Rick Ruggles

A Maryland medical examiner has confirmed that a woman's death occurred as a result of complications related to an abortion.

Anti-abortion groups near and far have said the abortion provider in the case was Dr. LeRoy Carhart, whose clinic in Bellevue, Neb., is well-known and often-picketed by anti-abortion entities. Carhart also practices at a Germantown, Md., clinic.

The spokesman for the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said the doctor isn't named on the woman's death certificate and that he couldn't verify that Carhart was the doctor involved.

Carhart did not return phone calls Thursday.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://www.omaha.com/article/20130221/NEWS/130229901/1685#woman-s-death-tied-to-abortion-says-medical-examiner

[HERVEPA]

1. What was your point in posting this?

[DURHAM D]

3. Good question and interesting editing.

From the article -

Goldfarb said the manner of death officially is from natural causes as opposed to homicide, suicide or accident.

[Omaha Steve]

5. Two way question

If the title doesn't tell you you're not interested, why read it?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Anybody can post a deceptive title to fraudulently get readers interested, wasting their time. nt

[Omaha Steve]

7. LBN rule: Use the published title of the story as the title of the discussion thread

I followed the rule. There used to be allowances for clarity. That has been removed from LBN rules. So we are stuck with the sources title.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

21. You are free to add your comments to the thread title. But why post it anyway?

You could have put the title in quotes and then added -- deceptive title.

Why bother with that article anyway? It's natural causes.

If it really is not newsworthy (it is not newsworthy) but you are bound and determined to post it, then post it in General Discussion with a more appropriate title, like "Woman Dies from Natural Causes" or "Deceptive Article Title used to Spuriously Link to Abortion Doctor".

[Omaha Steve]

24. Are you not up on pro choice current events?

I've had so many pro-choice posts on the DU over the years. Strange I have to comment on this at all. I posted this in LBN because to me it belongs here. How else do you know what people are saying about this story in the lunch room tomorrow?

Rachael did a full segment of her show last night about TWO states using parlor tricks to close reproductive clinics: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/the-rachel-maddow-show/50881776

IF you think the other side of the issue isn't doing maximum promoting of this story your a bit naive.

OS

[naaman fletcher]

40. I'm with the other guy

When I come to DU, I don't want to read ANYTHING that might possibly challenge my worldview, even if it ends up confirming my worldview.

/sarcasm

[alp227]

35. Steve routinely posts AP national news stories from omaha world herald site n/t

[msanthrope]

2. "Natural Causes" according to the death certificate. Way to bury the lead. nt

[Wait Wut]

4. Death happens.

I almost died giving birth to my son.

[Arkansas Granny]

9. Yep. Medical procedures carry a risk. That's why you

are required to sign all that paperwork any time you undergo any kind of medical procedure or surgery, regardless how minor.

[sikofit3]

23. Absolutely

I too had severe complications during child birth... it is a risk of life, every medical procedure carries a risk. I too would like to know why this was posted on DU. These people are really relentless and this is scary, they won't let up until they erode abortion rights... they will wait forever till its accomplished. Stories like these are part of it. Why not post on someone who died during other procedures? This OP does not pass the smell test... I wish there was a way to end this argument once an for all and keep the public out of the personal r helm and this topic out of politics. I am dreaming of course.

[Liberalagogo]

8. What is the point?

Bruce Goldfarb, the spokesman for the Maryland medical examiner, said the death certificate indicates the woman died following the abortion because amniotic fluid seeped into the woman's bloodstream and blood clotting occurred, and because there were "fetal abnormalities."

What's the point with this article? Abortion is dangerous and bad? All operations have varying degrees of risk.

I don't get the poster is trying to say with this.

[sybylla]

10. And how many women died in the last year due to pregnancy and childbirth?

People think pregnancy and childbirth is all roses and cheesecake. There are always risks and there always will be.

The woman was being treated by a qualified doctor, no different than any other pregnant woman.

Whether or not the death is due to complications of abortion, it has zero bearing on the abortion debate unless you want to start talking about the risks of death in carrying a baby to full term.

[sinkingfeeling]

11. So, anti-abortionists, let's see. If it's possible to die from complications of an abortion when

performed by one of the country's leading abortion doctors, what do think the chances of survival are when the abortion is performed by a non-doctor in a back alley?

[patricia92243]

13. Bingo!!!

[backtoblue]

22. + 1

[CBHagman]

12. Local coverage lacks the slant of the Omaha paper.

Last edited Thu Feb 21, 2013, 11:19 PM - Edit history (1)

Here's how it's reported in The Washington Post:

[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/after-abortion-woman-died-of-natural-causes-from-rare-complication-examiners-initial-finding-says/2013/02/20/3900dec4-7b73-11e2-9a75-dab0201670da_story.html[/url]

A 29-year-old woman died of natural causes after visiting an abortion clinic in Montgomery County and suffering a rare complication related to childbirth, according to an initial finding by the Maryland medical examiner’s office.

The complication, which occurred when amniotic fluid was pushed into the woman’s bloodstream, can occur during or after abortions, natural deliveries or Caesarean section

(SNIP)

The medical examiner listed three “causes of death.” One was “amniotic fluid embolism following a medical termination of pregnancy,” the complication involving amniotic fluid in the woman’s blood. Another was “disseminated intravascular coagulation,” a complication in which the body starts producing thousands of tiny blood clots, which have the counterintuitive effect of hampering the body’s ability to clot blood elsewhere. A third was “fetal abnormalities.”

[MsPithy]

16. Drat! You beat me to the diagnosis by 2 minutes.

However, I figured it out from the Omaha rag.

In the 70's I worked in a high-risk perinatal center and DIC (total breakdown of the blood's ability to clot) was one of the scariest situations possible. In the time I worked there, I think we saved only one of the women who diagnosed with DIC.

[MsPithy]

14. In the Omaha news release, it sounds like

an Amniotic Fluid Embolism, which can happen in any form of delivery.

[niyad]

15. the anti-choice, pro-forced birth brigade is going to have a field day with this one,

because they will use the headlines, and their minions will never bother to read the entire article, nor will they care.

[sinkingfeeling]

17. See post #11.

[niyad]

19. the reality is, they are not capable of thinking in logical terms, no matter what those terms

are.

and the fact that, if I remember correctly, more women die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth than die from abortion, also carries no weight with them.

[DRoseDARs]

18. Omaha Steve, it amuses me that people are jumping on you for legitly posting a LBN article...

...as if you were some sort of screeching right-wing harpy. Knee-jerk reactions are teh funzy.

[azurnoir]

20. so abortion is now a natural cause?

good to know could be a step forward or something

[AlbertCat]

25. so abortion is now a natural cause?

Well many abortions do happen naturally. We usually call them "miscarriages".

But that's not what you meant.

The article says "COMPLICATIONS related to an abortion" .... not the abortion.

There's a big difference.







Reading comprehension is key to not sounding like a dummy.

[azurnoir]

29. and having some sense of humor is key to recognizing snark

when you read it and BTW the actual medical terminologies are spontaneous abortion meaning what laymen call miscarriage and clinical abortion meaning just that an abortion preformed in a clinic

[crim son]

34. Read the unbiased version of the article somebody posted the link to.

She didn't die from the abortion, she died from an event that occurs in pregnant women and isn't exclusively tied to abortion. The fetus was abnormal and a regular birth could have caused the same complication.

[azurnoir]

37. well yes I certainly do realize that

that is most late term abortions are preformed

[AlbertCat]

36. and having some sense of humor is key to recognizing snark

Sorry. You weren't snarky enough. Your statement sounded exactly like some "pro-life" snark.... not the other way around.

[azurnoir]

38. wow well okay then

saying that abortion could be considered a natural cause of death sounds prolife

I understand your misreading now

[Ilsa]

26. It might have been a complication related to pregnancy, too.

Pregnancies have been known to cause death, usually during ir after delivery.

[uppityperson]

27. Thanks, I have been wondering what the medical examiner found. The poor woman, and I am glad they

aren't going after Dr Carhart. Having to go through a later abortion like she did is no piece of cake and not easily chosen. I am sorry that her pregnancy killed her. What an awful situation.

the death certificate indicates the woman died following the abortion because amniotic fluid seeped into the woman's bloodstream and blood clotting occurred, and because there were "fetal abnormalities."

[azurnoir]

30. I'm wondering if it was some sort of infection that killed her

I have seen death from post operative infection called 'natural causes' too, because what the person died from was fluid buildup in the body cavity, albeit the fluid build up was caused by the infection

[uppityperson]

31. Amnionic fluid getting into the bloodstream is easy to do, causing dic which is clotting and bleedin

you get blood clots traveling around your system mucking up your kidneys, heart, brain, lungs, as well as increased bleeding levels. The whole situation from the get go sucks.

[azurnoir]

32. yes that was what happened however that too would be considered natural cause

strange as it sounds and the same could have occurred had she given birth also

[uppityperson]

33. Yup. Pregnancy is not risk free at all. Most go through ok, but it does have potential to kill

the woman and the embryo/fetus.

[azurnoir]

39. No pregnancy is not risk free

in fact in the past I've read that actually carrying to term and delivering the baby is more risky than a first tri-mester abortion

the reason I asked about infection is that most cases of DIC I've heard of related to pregnancy involved infection of some sort, in this case however it was more likely an allergic reaction to the amniotic fluid, in which case death was quite rapid

[caseymoz]

28. Finally, a body for the anti-choice vultures.

I thought the poor things were gonna starve to death.