Planned Parenthood to Pay $2 Million for Death in Botched Second-Trimester Abortion

By Kathy Schiffer

A $2 million settlement has been reached in the death of a young woman who obtained a second-trimester abortion at a Planned Parenthood clinic in downtown Chicago.  Besides Planned Parenthood, also included in the settlement agreement are Northwest Memorial Hospital and the Northwest Medical Faculty Foundation.

Tonya Reaves was in the second trimester of pregnancy when she sought an abortion at Planned Parenthood’s Loop Health Center, in downtown Chicago in 2012.  Late-term abortionist Mandy Gittler botched the D&E abortion, causing three major medical problems which resulted in the 24-year-old woman’s death:

• Pieces of placenta were still attached to the inside of her womb even after a second abortion done by Northwestern Memorial Hospital to remove fetal remains left by Planned Parenthood.
• She suffered a 3/16 inch uterine perforation near forcep impression marks.  D&E abortions involve dismembering the baby in the womb and removing the pieces with forceps.
• She suffered an “extensive” perforation of her broad uterine ligament with a possible severing of her left uterine artery as a result of her abortion.  This accounted for the internal bleeding that was discovered only too late by the hospital trauma team.

Tonya Reaves

The injuries sustained by Reaves during the botched abortion were, according to Operation Rescue president Troy Newman, survivable had she received immediate emergency care.  Instead, the Planned Parenthood clinic waited five hours to transport her to the hospital.  Additionally, they failed to report the incomplete abortion and uterine perforation–leaving the trauma team to solve the puzzle of her injuries while her life ebbed away.

Reaves left behind a one-year-old son, Alvin Jones III.  Payouts of the $2 million will not begin until 2029, when the son turns 18.

Walter Hoye, a pro-life leader who has closely followed the case, said, “In my opinion, Planned Parenthood is guilty of criminal negligence, depraved indifference, and gross medical incompetence.  Now that the case is settled, we will never know how a jury would have reacted.”

LifeNews has more details on the case.