Operation Rescue brought to light disturbing developments in the tragic case of 23-year-old Keisha Marie Atkins who died earlier this year after a botched abortion. Atkins died in February during a four-day abortion procedure at the notorious Southwestern Women’s Options in Albuquerque, where abortionists commit abortions up to 28 weeks. Operation Rescue revealed in a recent press release that Atkins’ autopsy shows she died from pregnancy complications, ignoring the obvious cause of death—the botched abortion procedure.
The Pro-Life group Abortion Free New Mexico obtained the autopsy report. Operation Rescue will assist the local group in an ongoing investigation. According to this week’s press release:
This abortion-related death is particularly troubling in light of a criminal investigation that is currently underway by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office into Southwestern Women’s Options and UNM. UNM has aggressively worked to increase second and third trimester abortions at SWO, which, in turn, is UNM’s largest provider of aborted baby tissue and organs. A U.S. House investigation found this arrangement violates state and federal law, despite stonewalling and obfuscation on the part of UNM and SWO.
The Pro-Life groups report that the abortion began on January 31, 2017. Four days later, on February 3, 2017, Atkins returned to Southwestern Women’s Options to complete the abortion. Late abortions routinely progress for several days after the abortionist has killed the preborn baby but before the baby’s dead body can be delivered. When Atkins returned to the clinic she showed signs of acute distress including “labored breathing and signs of sepsis, a systemic, life-threatening infection.” The abortion mill initially called an ambulance but then canceled the call, which means Atkins was likely not transported to the emergency room immediately. Once in the emergency room, staff raced to save Atkins’ Life but she died due to cardiac arrest.
Despite the many disturbing details of negligence and mismanagement at an abortion mill already under investigation, the Office of the Medical Examiner lists pregnancy complications as the cause of Atkins’ untimely death and not the brutal procedure that killed her preborn child and endangered her Life. Atkins’ is not the first case of public officials’ complicity in the negligence and abuses of the abortion industry. Cree Erwin-Sheppard died after a botched abortion at Planned Parenthood in Kalamazoo, Michigan, last summer. Despite disturbing evidence of fetal tissue and placenta left after the abortion and a large uterine tear that led to Erwin-Sheppard’s death, the abortionist responsible has yet to be held accountable. Cree’s family continues to fight for justice.
These tragic cases show the predatory nature of the abortion industry. Not only are women lied to about their preborn babies, they are also left with scars and emotional wounds that last a lifetime; sometimes their own lives are cut short. Abortion activists insist that if abortion were illegal, women would die in so-called “back alley” abortions. The reality is that women die in “safe” and legal abortions at abortion mills across the country every year.
