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Eurice Agbaaga |
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Eurice, who had come to the U.S. from Ghana to “find a better life,” underwent an abortion by Dr. Abram Zelikman on January 7, 1989. She went to his Brooklyn clinic where a friend of her’s worked, and was told by Zelikman that she was between 11 and 12 weeks pregnant. After the procedure, the clinic’s receptionist became alarmed at Eurice’s bleeding and asked that the doctor, who had already left the clinic, come back and examine her. The nurse eventually called an ambulance for Eurice, who was still bleeding, unconscious, and in shock. She was performing CPR on Eurice when the paramedics arrived, and they were able to restore her breathing. Doctors at Long Island College Hospital performed surgery, but Eurice did not come out of her coma. She was placed on life support, but on January 15, 1989 at the age of 26, she died leaving one child behind. The heavy bleeding was found to be from a perforated uterus and a severed abdominal artery, and her fetus was determined to have been at least 19 weeks old. The state health commissioner suspended Zelikman’s license when an investigation showed that he had allowed the receptionist to give Eurice and other abortion patients anesthesia, that he failed to perform medical tests prior to abortions, and that he had left Eurice in the facility with no medical supervision. (“She dies after B’klyn abortion,” New York Daily News, January 16, 1989; “Abortion Leaves Woman, 26, Brain Dead,” New York Post, January 10, 1989; “Axelrod Suspends License of Brooklyn Doctor Who Performs Abortion,” Associated Press, February 3, 1989) |
