Planned Parenthood offered condolences to the family of a woman who hemorrhaged to death following an abortion at one of its Chicago clinics. Twenty-four-year-old Tonya Reaves died July 20 after undergoing what CBS News described as a “cervical dilation and evacuation” abortion procedure in the Planned Parenthood clinic at 18 S. Michigan Avenue. According to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, while the abortion procedure contributed to Reaves’ death, an intrauterine pregnancy was also listed as a factor.
In a written statement, Planned Parenthood of Illinois CEO Carole Brite responded to Reaves’ death by saying that she and other officials with the abortion giant were “shocked and saddened upon learning of a tragic development at a nearby hospital. Our hearts go out to the loved ones of this patient.” Brite insisted that “legal abortion services in the United States have a very high safety record,” but offered that “a tragedy such as this is devastating to loved ones and we offer our deepest sympathies.” She claimed that “Planned Parenthood of Illinois cares deeply about the health and safety of each and every patient,” but closed the door to further questions on Reaves’ death by declaring that “we do not publicly discuss private patient matters and we follow HIPAA laws that forbid the disclosure of patient information.”
Reaves had a twin sister, Toni, who sorrowfully recalled to CBS News that she and Tonya “were born the same day. She was my other half. It happened so fast. She was just fine one day and then the next day she was gone. We’re just trying to figure out what happened.”
What happened, clarified Troy Newman of the pro-life group Operation Rescue, was a death that was unnecessary. “Abortion deaths like this are completely avoidable,” Newman said in a statement. “When a woman bleeds to death after an abortion, it is usually an indication of error on the part of the abortionist coupled with a delay in calling for emergency assistance. Our heartfelt prayers go out to the victim’s family at this time of tragic loss.”
The most recent death of a mother related to an abortion comes as several states have defunded Planned Parenthood, and as congressional Republicans have demanded that Planned Parenthood hand over 10 years’ worth of its records to determine if the group has been illegally funding its abortion business with tax monies. While Planned Parenthood claims that abortion accounts for a small fraction of its business, a study last year by Americans United for Life (AUL) found that, based on Planned Parenthood’s own numbers, abortion accounted for at least $114.9 million of the $404.9 million the group reported as income in 2008-09. According to AUL, abortion has made up a growing percentage of Planned Parenthood’s clinic income over the past decade: 32 percent in 2001, 33 percent in 2006, and 37 percent in 2009.
And, as reported by The New American, an undercover investigation by the pro-life group Live Action found that Planned Parenthood has been involved in what has become known as “gendercide” — the practice, traditionally most prevalent in nations such as China and India, of killing pre-born babies based on their sex.
Amazingly, despite Planned Parenthood’s long and gruesome history, President Obama has continued to serve as its unofficial spokesman and most high-profile supporter, with his administration’s Department of Health and Human Services most recently announcing a grant of $1 million to Planned Parenthood’s Memphis, Tennessee, franchise. The announcement came after the Tennessee legislature voted this year to cut Planned Parenthood’s funding.
According to Operation Rescue, Reaves’ death “follows a report published in the Chicago Tribune in June, 2011, that took to task abortionists in Illinois for failing to report abortion complications and exposed the fact that some abortionists did not report complications at all, in violation of the law. At that time, Illinois officials made no attempt to enforce abortion laws in that state.”
The pro-life group said that while the name of the abortionist who performed the procedure on Reaves has not been published, Planned Parenthood’s most recent 990 Tax Forms list Caroline M. Hoke as the medical director of the Chicago clinic where Reaves received the fatal abortion. The group also noted that the procedure took place in Obama’s hometown “at a time when his administration is working hard to provide funding to Planned Parenthood through the federalized health care system.”
Said Operation Rescue’s Troy Newman: “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.” Newman added that the young woman’s death “is yet another reason why men and women of conscience across this nation cannot and will not comply with the forced funding of abortion and its intentional violation of religious liberties.”
