In the last eight months, ten women have been rushed to the hospital from unregulated, unlicensed abortion operations in Illinois – a tally that now includes two minors.
Just days ago, Operation Rescue released the report of a 15-year-old who, according to the Planned Parenthood worker calling 911, had no detectable pulse for some part of what was likely an abortion procedure and needed emergency care.
Now, pro-life witnesses reported two additional women who suffered post-abortion injuries at separate clinics in “abortion-friendly” Illinois. Both newly reported cases happened in July and required emergency transport. One involved yet another underage girl.
The First Emergency: Heavy Bleeding
On July 15, staff at the Aurora Planned Parenthood clinic called 911 requesting ambulance transport for a patient in Room 2. The caller initially sounded evasive, requesting a “transfer” for a patient who needed to “continue her care.” Pressed further by the dispatcher, the staff member clarified that the patient was undergoing an abortion procedure and was experiencing a hemorrhage, which the caller described as “just some heavy bleeding.”
Despite the patient hemorrhaging so badly that she needed an ambulance and emergency care, the caller requested EMS personnel to turn off the sirens and emergency lights on their vehicles — a request which has been made by other abortion facilities previously, trying to hide emergencies, especially in liberal states.
“The apparent intent to hide details and circumstances surrounding these emergencies, and the willingness to minimize injuries which are potentially life-threatening, cannot be ignored. The abortion cartel doesn’t want us to know about the reality many women are exposed to when they choose the evil of abortion. Why?” says Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
Heavy bleeding during or after an abortion can have several causes. In surgical abortions, possible causes include uterine atony (in which the uterus fails to contract adequately afterward), retained pregnancy tissue, cervical lacerations, uterine perforation, abnormal placental attachment, and other complications.
Newman adds, “In any case, if a woman’s bleeding requires emergency medical attention, it is not simply ‘just some heavy bleeding.’”
The current medical condition of this 26-year-old woman remains unknown.
The Second Emergency: Underage Girl Suffering Complications in Carbondale
Five days later, on July 29, a 911 call was placed from another Illinois abortion facility. This one came from the Alamo Women’s Clinic at 2800 West Main Street in Carbondale. Although the call was brief and the public record audio clip was incomplete, it provided enough information to confirm that an emergency involving a patient had occurred.
Upon further investigation, and with the assistance of pro-life collaborators, Operation Rescue obtained a redacted copy of the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) report. The report showed that the call involved an underage girl — only 16-years-old — who was experiencing a “complication during a procedure.” Based on the circumstances and the nature of the Alamo Women’s Clinic being a dedicated abortion facility committing abortions up to 24 weeks, Operation Rescue believes the procedure was likely an abortion.
What complication caused the medical emergency is unknown. According to the CAD report, there was no serious bleeding. But there are many other types of abortion complications, including respiratory failure, heart failure, anesthesia or drug reactions, and many more.
“Did the girl’s parents know she was pregnant? Having an abortion? Being rushed to the hospital?” asked Newman. “Can we trust an industry that profits from death? How can we believe people who promote abortion for teenagers without their parents’ consent or knowledge, in a state that seems to celebrate death?”
Radical Abortion Laws are Putting Minors at Serious Risk
A serious question arises from underage girls being targeted by unregulated, unlicensed abortion clinics: When a teenager experiences a complication during an abortion procedure, how much will her parents know? Are they even notified that their child is being rushed to an emergency room??
Two minors have been injured in less than a week at abortion facilities in Illinois. A 15-year-old was taken to the emergency room after losing her pulse during an abortion, and just five days later, another teenager was taken to the hospital also experiencing abortion complications.
Newman comments, “Any time a woman is injured by abortion, we should take notice — but any time an underage minor is injured, we must pay serious attention. Now we have not one, but two girls suffering emergencies from abortion. Wake up, Illinois! Wake up, America! These unfortunate girls and their emergencies are the result of this state repealing the Parental Notice of Abortion Act and shielding abortion businesses from any repercussions.
Illinois’ broad legal framework is designed to protect and expand access to abortion while abandoning patient safety. The 2019 Reproductive Health Act established abortion as a “fundamental reproductive-health right” and repealed several previous life-affirming legislation, including Illinois’ former abortion law and its Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Abortion was expanded even further in subsequent years. State-regulated insurance plans that provide pregnancy-related benefits are now required to cover abortion. And in 2022, Illinois repealed the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995, removing the previous requirement that parents be notified when their minor daughter sought an abortion.
“These policies raise serious concerns about whether the emphasis on protecting the cartel has come at the expense of parental involvement and public transparency — particularly when emergencies involve minors,” Newman noted.
“How many more teenagers are going to have to suffer or die before we act? And how many other abortion emergencies involving teenagers go unreported? What if sexual abuse is involved? Abortion is an easy way for an abuser or human trafficker to cover up statutory rape or sexual abuse. In an ‘abortion devastation’ like Illinois, the greatest winner is now the abortion cartel, profiting from death without accountability.”
This article was originally published by Operation Rescue, a leading pro-life, Christian activist organization dedicated to exposing abortion abuses, demanding enforcement, saving innocent lives, and building an abortion-free America. The author, Ricardo Pinedo, writes for Operation Rescue.
