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Woman Dies After Abortion But It’s Still a Safe Option for Others

by Ericka Sóuter on July 23, 2012 at 12:17 PM

pro-choice signPlanned Parenthood is at the center of yet another huge controversy. Recently, a 24-year-old woman died at one of the Chicago clinics shortly after having an abortion.

It's a tragic story for more reasons than one. It's heartbreaking to hear of someone so young dying unexpectedly, but undoubtedly this family's pain will be used in the ongoing war against a woman's right to choose.

Tonay Reaves was rushed to the hospital after she began bleeding heavily after the procedure. Her death was ruled an accident by the Cook County Medical Examiner, but both her pregnancy and the abortion were listed as contributing factors.

Immediately, Pro-Life groups jumped on the story, villainizing abortion rights as a whole. Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue and Pro-Life Nation, said in a statement to The Christian Post:

In light of this tragedy, which is yet another in a long list of Planned Parenthood abuses, we call on President Obama to immediately withdraw all Federal funding and personal support from Planned Parenthood.

I won't dispute there are risks. There are risks with every single medical procedure. Heck, there are risks with taking birth control pills and aspirin. But the truth of this matter is, legal abortions are typically very safe procedures for women. Less than 0.3 percent of patients have a complication that even requires hospitalization, so a death is incredibly rare in this country. The risk does increase as the pregnancy progresses. Even still, there was just one death in 29,000 when the abortion occurred between the 16th and 20th weeks of pregnancy.

For most women, this certainly isn't an easy choice. There are many devastating personal circumstances that can lead her to it. What Newman and other pro-life advocates propose won't end abortions, it will just increase the number of women who, in desperation, opt for illegal, back alley procedures. Is that really what we want women to have to turn to? That would only result in more deaths, wouldn't it?

Do you think a woman has the right to a legal abortion?

 

Image via alexandralee/Flickr

Filed Under: abortion

Comments

69
  • navyw...
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    navywife0204

    July 23, 2012 at 12:34 PM

    I absolutely believe that women have a right to a legal abortion!  Would I ever get one?  No, but who am I to deny that right to other women.  If we deny women the right to LEGAL abortions, more women will die from ILLEGAL ones. 


  • Lovin...
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    LovinJerseyMama

    July 23, 2012 at 12:41 PM
    Yes. Everyone has a right to do with their body as they please. I do not think abortion should be used repeatedly as a form of birth control, but I do think it should be an option when a woman has been abused or when contraception such as birth control or condoms fail. Every medical procedure has risks. Should we withdraw funding from getting cavities filled, or heart transplants, or routine vaccinations? Those are all choices people are allowed to make too. If I died on the operating table after having breast implants, I would blame no one but myself because I knew the risks beforehand. Let's hold people accountable for their own actions for once, instead of blaming everyone else.
  • fave82
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    fave82

    July 23, 2012 at 12:45 PM
    Someone always dies when there's an abortion. Just sayin.
  • Guest
    -- Nonmember comment from

    Guest

    July 23, 2012 at 12:46 PM
    I am "pro-choice", but this brings up an important issue. Recently there was a political tussle over medical building codes and abortion clinics. The left was shrieking that laws requiring abortion clinics to follow the same building codes that other medical facilities were required to meet was somehow restricting access to abortions. "was rushed to the hospital after she began bleeding heavily after the procedure." Yes, abortion should be legal, but it is a medical procedure and should be treated as such, and the facilities should be built as such and be properly equipped and staffed.

    Seems some on the left owe some apologies...
  • Momma...
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    MommaCady

    July 23, 2012 at 12:47 PM

    her death is no different then the child he was going to abort. a life lost is a life lost. its funny how if she would have known her life was hanging in the balance she probably wouldn't have gone throught with it even tho her life isn;t anymoe imprtant than the child that was lost. irony at its best.


  • Momma...
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    MommaCady

    July 23, 2012 at 12:48 PM

    if should would have kept her whore legs closed and used a form of BC the baby and her wouldn't have had to die.


  • Evaly...
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    EvalynCarnate

    July 23, 2012 at 12:49 PM

    I agree with NavyWife204


  • Cynth...
    -- Facebook comment from

    Cynthia Parten

    July 23, 2012 at 12:50 PM

    I used to work at an abortion clinic (as a counselor) and we never lost a patient due to a procedure. But as you stated, there are always risks. It is still a safe procedure. At this point in my life, I would not choose to get an abortion. But I can't use that as a reason for denying other women the right to choose what is best for THEM. Every woman has to make the choice that they can live with. At the end of the day, isn't the pro choice or anti choice people who have to raise the baby or deal with the emotional effects of an abortion. It is the patient.


  • Ladyw...
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    Ladywithtwo

    July 23, 2012 at 12:50 PM
    1 in 29,000 die is inaccurate. 29,001 die. The rare mother dies but all babies died. Her death is tragic as is all the aborted babies deaths.
  • Cynth...
    -- Facebook comment from

    Cynthia Parten

    July 23, 2012 at 12:52 PM

    And MommaCady, you have no idea if she used BC or not. There were plenty of women who used BC and still got pregnant. But regardless of whether she did or didn't, having sex and making a choice that you don't agree with doesn't mean she deserved to die.


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