Police Investigate Abortion Death at DC Area Abortion Facility
Source: Cybercast News Service; November 26, 2002

Alexandria, VA -- Police in suburban Washington, D.C., are investigating the death of a woman who died while likely underoing an abortion at a local abortion business. The abortion facility is disputing the police account of the death.

Alexandria police spokeswoman Amy Bertsch said authorities were continuing their inquiry into the death of a 26-year old woman who died earlier this month at the Landmark Women's Center in Alexandria. The woman, who was not identified, lived in nearby Fairfax, Virginia.

According to Bertsch, paramedics were summoned to the abortion facility where the woman died on the morning of Nov. 16. The woman was then taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead about 40 minutes later.

A police statement issued the afternoon of the incident said, "The victim... was undergoing a medical procedure at the Women's Center when she died."

Bertsch said the investigation was prompted by a call to police from Inova Alexandria Hospital. "It was a sudden death," she said. "When young, otherwise healthy people die, it's considered a sudden death and we investigate that."

Similarly, Bertsch said an autopsy had been performed on the victim Nov. 18, though neither a cause of death nor manner of death has been determined. The delay in reporting the cause of death was attributed to the results of a pending toxicology report.

"Autopsies and referrals to the medical examiner are made in cases of sudden death or suspicious death," said Bertsch, who stressed there is nothing at this time to indicate foul play.

But an official with the Landmark Women's Center abortion business is disputing the police account of events surround the woman's death.

When asked about the police report on the woman's death, a woman who refused to identify herself stated, "Some of the information you received is incorrect." When asked to specify which information in the police report was incorrect, she refused to do so.

"I have strict restrictions not to discuss this with you," said the woman, who refused to say who ordered the restrictions and would not answer questions about the services provided at the clinic.

A female reporter who later called the abortion facility anonymously was told it does both surgical and chemical abortions utilizing the dangerous drug RU-486.

A surgical abortion without anesthesia cost $300 while an abortion with anesthesia cost $380, the female reporter learned. Abortions induced by RU-486 cost $650 and were available only to women who were less than seven weeks pregnant.

In spite of the denials by the unidentified woman at the Landmark Women's Center, Alexandria Police are standing by the facts they have obtained.

"As far as we know, that's accurate," said Bertsch. "We did not know why she died and that had to be investigated."

However, police were not able to discuss the precise medical procedure being performed at the time of the woman's death. "We're not disclosing that," said Bertsch. "It's a medical procedure and we try to keep people's medical history confidential."

As far as the scope of the investigation, Bertsch would neither confirm nor deny whether authorities had interviewed any of the facility's staff, saying only, "it's routine to interview anyone who would have information helpful to our investigation."

Here's the Alexandria police statement on the death.