WOMAN'S DEATH AFTER ABORTION UNDER SCRUTINY - AMBULANCE RESPONSE QUESTIONED
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Tuesday, April 29, 1997
Author: Jo Mannies ; Of The Post-Dispatch Staff
At 2 p.m. Friday, Dr. Robert Crist began the early term abortion sought by his 22-year-old patient, Nichole Williams , a mother of three who lived with her boyfriend in the 4400 block of West Florissant Avenue.
Williams had been given Lidocaine, a local anesthetic, and Vasopressin, an anti-bleeding drug, for the five-minute procedure, which involves suctioning out the contents of the uterus.
Seconds before he finished, the doctor saw that something was wrong with Williams ' breathing.
Crist completed the abortion in seconds and ordered the staff at Reproductive Health Services, 100 North Euclid Avenue, to call 911. Oxygen was administered, and the medical staff began rescusitation efforts as Williams ' vital signs continued to fail.
Fifteen minutes later, an ambulance crew found Williams in full cardiac arrest. She never revived, despite recovery attempts at the clinic, in the ambulance, and in the emergency room at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. At 3:12 p.m., Williams was pronounced dead.
Officials at Planned Parenthood of St. Louis, which owns the clinic, outlined on Monday the final minutes of Williams ' life as they grappled with the impact of her death.
If Williams ' death is found to be abortion-related, it would be the third in Missouri - and the second in St. Louis - since abortion became legal 24 years ago.
Crist was the physician for the local abortion-related death of Diane Boyd in 1981. Boyd, a severely retarded 19-year-old, died two days after her second-trimester abortion. Authorities said the cause was a reaction to Sublimaze, a painkiller. Boyd's abortion also had been at Reproductive Health Services.
The other Missouri death was in Springfield in 1988 and was not related to Crist.
In his 30-year career, Crist says, two deaths were related to abortions he performed. The other was in Houston in 1991.
The St. Louis medical examiner's office said Monday that it might be weeks before authorities learned what killed Williams .
"We're awaiting the results of toxicology and microscopic studies," said Rose Psara, the office's chief investigator.
Questions About Ambulance
The Reproductive Health Services staff is upset that it took 12 minutes for the ambulance to arrive, although Planned Parenthood head Paula Gianino declined Monday to say that a swifter response could have saved Williams ' life.
A spokesman for the St. Louis Fire Department, which last week began overseeing the ambulance service, said he was "hesitant to say it was a good or bad response" since a physician was with Williams the whole time.
The spokesman, Capt. Ralph Break, noted that the ambulance crew spent 20 minutes at the clinic trying to revive Williams before it left for the hospital.
"If time was so critical, they would have left sooner" for Barnes, Break said.
Because no city ambulance was available when the 911 call was made, city dispatchers alerted Gateway Ambulance, a private service that serves as a backup. Gateway got the call at 2:08 p.m. and arrived in the parking lot at 2:17 p.m., reaching Williams three minutes later.
Eugene Richardson, Gateway's executive director, said he was investigating the incident "as we do all serous calls" and that he believed that the service had responded appropriately.
At Barnes-Jewish, spokeswoman Kathy Holleman said doctors were unable to revive Williams .
Abortions Continue
Pam Manning, spokeswoman for Missouri Right to Life, the state's largest anti-abortion group, cites Williams ' death - and Crist's involvement - as evidence that abortion is unsafe, particularly as practiced at Reproductive Health Services.
Gianino disagrees, citing Reproductive Health Services' exoneration after a partial inspection by the state Health Department in February. Health Department spokesman Nanci Gonder said the inspection, prompted by a confidential complaint, found no related deficiencies.
Reproductive Health Services has continued to operate since "Friday's tragedy," Gianino said. "We will continue to serve women who need us," noting the clinic provides various family-planning services besides abortions.
State figures show that women are almost 12 times more likely to die of complications from childbirth than they are from abortion. Missouri's abortion death rate per 100,000 procedures is less than half the rate nationwide.
Manning disputes the figures, saying many abortion-related complications or deaths go unreported, while any pregnant woman's death "is counted as pregnancy related, even if it had nothing to do with it."
Anti-abortion activists met Monday in Jefferson City with legislators as part of an effort to push passage of various bills seeking to tighten restrictions on abortion clinics or physicians.
Gianino blasted anti-abortion pickets who showed up in force Saturday morning with signs calling Crist "a mother killer."
"This is a tragedy, and its wrong to exploit it," Gianino said.
Manning said Saturday's demonstration, larger than the usual anti-abortion contingent, was "people who spontaneously appeared there. They are concerned about the women walking in there."
Funeral Details
Relatives are preparing for Williams ' funeral, scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at the New North Side Baptist Church, 8645 Goodfellow Boulevard. Visitation will be from 3-7 p.m. Thursday at A.L. Beal Funeral Home, 4746 West Florissant Avenue.
Williams leaves the grandmother who raised her, Mildred Savage, and three children: ages 1, 3 and 7, relatives say.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Tuesday, April 29, 1997
Author: Jo Mannies ; Of The Post-Dispatch Staff
At 2 p.m. Friday, Dr. Robert Crist began the early term abortion sought by his 22-year-old patient, Nichole Williams , a mother of three who lived with her boyfriend in the 4400 block of West Florissant Avenue.
Williams had been given Lidocaine, a local anesthetic, and Vasopressin, an anti-bleeding drug, for the five-minute procedure, which involves suctioning out the contents of the uterus.
Seconds before he finished, the doctor saw that something was wrong with Williams ' breathing.
Crist completed the abortion in seconds and ordered the staff at Reproductive Health Services, 100 North Euclid Avenue, to call 911. Oxygen was administered, and the medical staff began rescusitation efforts as Williams ' vital signs continued to fail.
Fifteen minutes later, an ambulance crew found Williams in full cardiac arrest. She never revived, despite recovery attempts at the clinic, in the ambulance, and in the emergency room at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. At 3:12 p.m., Williams was pronounced dead.
Officials at Planned Parenthood of St. Louis, which owns the clinic, outlined on Monday the final minutes of Williams ' life as they grappled with the impact of her death.
If Williams ' death is found to be abortion-related, it would be the third in Missouri - and the second in St. Louis - since abortion became legal 24 years ago.
Crist was the physician for the local abortion-related death of Diane Boyd in 1981. Boyd, a severely retarded 19-year-old, died two days after her second-trimester abortion. Authorities said the cause was a reaction to Sublimaze, a painkiller. Boyd's abortion also had been at Reproductive Health Services.
The other Missouri death was in Springfield in 1988 and was not related to Crist.
In his 30-year career, Crist says, two deaths were related to abortions he performed. The other was in Houston in 1991.
The St. Louis medical examiner's office said Monday that it might be weeks before authorities learned what killed Williams .
"We're awaiting the results of toxicology and microscopic studies," said Rose Psara, the office's chief investigator.
Questions About Ambulance
The Reproductive Health Services staff is upset that it took 12 minutes for the ambulance to arrive, although Planned Parenthood head Paula Gianino declined Monday to say that a swifter response could have saved Williams ' life.
A spokesman for the St. Louis Fire Department, which last week began overseeing the ambulance service, said he was "hesitant to say it was a good or bad response" since a physician was with Williams the whole time.
The spokesman, Capt. Ralph Break, noted that the ambulance crew spent 20 minutes at the clinic trying to revive Williams before it left for the hospital.
"If time was so critical, they would have left sooner" for Barnes, Break said.
Because no city ambulance was available when the 911 call was made, city dispatchers alerted Gateway Ambulance, a private service that serves as a backup. Gateway got the call at 2:08 p.m. and arrived in the parking lot at 2:17 p.m., reaching Williams three minutes later.
Eugene Richardson, Gateway's executive director, said he was investigating the incident "as we do all serous calls" and that he believed that the service had responded appropriately.
At Barnes-Jewish, spokeswoman Kathy Holleman said doctors were unable to revive Williams .
Abortions Continue
Pam Manning, spokeswoman for Missouri Right to Life, the state's largest anti-abortion group, cites Williams ' death - and Crist's involvement - as evidence that abortion is unsafe, particularly as practiced at Reproductive Health Services.
Gianino disagrees, citing Reproductive Health Services' exoneration after a partial inspection by the state Health Department in February. Health Department spokesman Nanci Gonder said the inspection, prompted by a confidential complaint, found no related deficiencies.
Reproductive Health Services has continued to operate since "Friday's tragedy," Gianino said. "We will continue to serve women who need us," noting the clinic provides various family-planning services besides abortions.
State figures show that women are almost 12 times more likely to die of complications from childbirth than they are from abortion. Missouri's abortion death rate per 100,000 procedures is less than half the rate nationwide.
Manning disputes the figures, saying many abortion-related complications or deaths go unreported, while any pregnant woman's death "is counted as pregnancy related, even if it had nothing to do with it."
Anti-abortion activists met Monday in Jefferson City with legislators as part of an effort to push passage of various bills seeking to tighten restrictions on abortion clinics or physicians.
Gianino blasted anti-abortion pickets who showed up in force Saturday morning with signs calling Crist "a mother killer."
"This is a tragedy, and its wrong to exploit it," Gianino said.
Manning said Saturday's demonstration, larger than the usual anti-abortion contingent, was "people who spontaneously appeared there. They are concerned about the women walking in there."
Funeral Details
Relatives are preparing for Williams ' funeral, scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at the New North Side Baptist Church, 8645 Goodfellow Boulevard. Visitation will be from 3-7 p.m. Thursday at A.L. Beal Funeral Home, 4746 West Florissant Avenue.
Williams leaves the grandmother who raised her, Mildred Savage, and three children: ages 1, 3 and 7, relatives say.
WOMAN'S DEATH AFTER ABORTION UNDER SCRUTINY - AMBULANCE RESPONSE QUESTIONED
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Tuesday, April 29, 1997
Author: Jo Mannies ; Of The Post-Dispatch Staff
At 2 p.m. Friday, Dr. Robert Crist began the early term abortion sought by his 22-year-old patient, Nichole Williams , a mother of three who lived with her boyfriend in the 4400 block of West Florissant Avenue.
Williams had been given Lidocaine, a local anesthetic, and Vasopressin, an anti-bleeding drug, for the five-minute procedure, which involves suctioning out the contents of the uterus.
Seconds before he finished, the doctor saw that something was wrong with Williams ' breathing.
Crist completed the abortion in seconds and ordered the staff at Reproductive Health Services, 100 North Euclid Avenue, to call 911. Oxygen was administered, and the medical staff began rescusitation efforts as Williams ' vital signs continued to fail.
Fifteen minutes later, an ambulance crew found Williams in full cardiac arrest. She never revived, despite recovery attempts at the clinic, in the ambulance, and in the emergency room at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. At 3:12 p.m., Williams was pronounced dead.
Officials at Planned Parenthood of St. Louis, which owns the clinic, outlined on Monday the final minutes of Williams ' life as they grappled with the impact of her death.
If Williams ' death is found to be abortion-related, it would be the third in Missouri - and the second in St. Louis - since abortion became legal 24 years ago.
Crist was the physician for the local abortion-related death of Diane Boyd in 1981. Boyd, a severely retarded 19-year-old, died two days after her second-trimester abortion. Authorities said the cause was a reaction to Sublimaze, a painkiller. Boyd's abortion also had been at Reproductive Health Services.
The other Missouri death was in Springfield in 1988 and was not related to Crist.
In his 30-year career, Crist says, two deaths were related to abortions he performed. The other was in Houston in 1991.
The St. Louis medical examiner's office said Monday that it might be weeks before authorities learned what killed Williams .
"We're awaiting the results of toxicology and microscopic studies," said Rose Psara, the office's chief investigator.
Questions About Ambulance
The Reproductive Health Services staff is upset that it took 12 minutes for the ambulance to arrive, although Planned Parenthood head Paula Gianino declined Monday to say that a swifter response could have saved Williams ' life.
A spokesman for the St. Louis Fire Department, which last week began overseeing the ambulance service, said he was "hesitant to say it was a good or bad response" since a physician was with Williams the whole time.
The spokesman, Capt. Ralph Break, noted that the ambulance crew spent 20 minutes at the clinic trying to revive Williams before it left for the hospital.
"If time was so critical, they would have left sooner" for Barnes, Break said.
Because no city ambulance was available when the 911 call was made, city dispatchers alerted Gateway Ambulance, a private service that serves as a backup. Gateway got the call at 2:08 p.m. and arrived in the parking lot at 2:17 p.m., reaching Williams three minutes later.
Eugene Richardson, Gateway's executive director, said he was investigating the incident "as we do all serous calls" and that he believed that the service had responded appropriately.
At Barnes-Jewish, spokeswoman Kathy Holleman said doctors were unable to revive Williams .
Abortions Continue
Pam Manning, spokeswoman for Missouri Right to Life, the state's largest anti-abortion group, cites Williams ' death - and Crist's involvement - as evidence that abortion is unsafe, particularly as practiced at Reproductive Health Services.
Gianino disagrees, citing Reproductive Health Services' exoneration after a partial inspection by the state Health Department in February. Health Department spokesman Nanci Gonder said the inspection, prompted by a confidential complaint, found no related deficiencies.
Reproductive Health Services has continued to operate since "Friday's tragedy," Gianino said. "We will continue to serve women who need us," noting the clinic provides various family-planning services besides abortions.
State figures show that women are almost 12 times more likely to die of complications from childbirth than they are from abortion. Missouri's abortion death rate per 100,000 procedures is less than half the rate nationwide.
Manning disputes the figures, saying many abortion-related complications or deaths go unreported, while any pregnant woman's death "is counted as pregnancy related, even if it had nothing to do with it."
Anti-abortion activists met Monday in Jefferson City with legislators as part of an effort to push passage of various bills seeking to tighten restrictions on abortion clinics or physicians.
Gianino blasted anti-abortion pickets who showed up in force Saturday morning with signs calling Crist "a mother killer."
"This is a tragedy, and its wrong to exploit it," Gianino said.
Manning said Saturday's demonstration, larger than the usual anti-abortion contingent, was "people who spontaneously appeared there. They are concerned about the women walking in there."
Funeral Details
Relatives are preparing for Williams ' funeral, scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at the New North Side Baptist Church, 8645 Goodfellow Boulevard. Visitation will be from 3-7 p.m. Thursday at A.L. Beal Funeral Home, 4746 West Florissant Avenue.
Williams leaves the grandmother who raised her, Mildred Savage, and three children: ages 1, 3 and 7, relatives say.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Tuesday, April 29, 1997
Author: Jo Mannies ; Of The Post-Dispatch Staff
At 2 p.m. Friday, Dr. Robert Crist began the early term abortion sought by his 22-year-old patient, Nichole Williams , a mother of three who lived with her boyfriend in the 4400 block of West Florissant Avenue.
Williams had been given Lidocaine, a local anesthetic, and Vasopressin, an anti-bleeding drug, for the five-minute procedure, which involves suctioning out the contents of the uterus.
Seconds before he finished, the doctor saw that something was wrong with Williams ' breathing.
Crist completed the abortion in seconds and ordered the staff at Reproductive Health Services, 100 North Euclid Avenue, to call 911. Oxygen was administered, and the medical staff began rescusitation efforts as Williams ' vital signs continued to fail.
Fifteen minutes later, an ambulance crew found Williams in full cardiac arrest. She never revived, despite recovery attempts at the clinic, in the ambulance, and in the emergency room at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. At 3:12 p.m., Williams was pronounced dead.
Officials at Planned Parenthood of St. Louis, which owns the clinic, outlined on Monday the final minutes of Williams ' life as they grappled with the impact of her death.
If Williams ' death is found to be abortion-related, it would be the third in Missouri - and the second in St. Louis - since abortion became legal 24 years ago.
Crist was the physician for the local abortion-related death of Diane Boyd in 1981. Boyd, a severely retarded 19-year-old, died two days after her second-trimester abortion. Authorities said the cause was a reaction to Sublimaze, a painkiller. Boyd's abortion also had been at Reproductive Health Services.
The other Missouri death was in Springfield in 1988 and was not related to Crist.
In his 30-year career, Crist says, two deaths were related to abortions he performed. The other was in Houston in 1991.
The St. Louis medical examiner's office said Monday that it might be weeks before authorities learned what killed Williams .
"We're awaiting the results of toxicology and microscopic studies," said Rose Psara, the office's chief investigator.
Questions About Ambulance
The Reproductive Health Services staff is upset that it took 12 minutes for the ambulance to arrive, although Planned Parenthood head Paula Gianino declined Monday to say that a swifter response could have saved Williams ' life.
A spokesman for the St. Louis Fire Department, which last week began overseeing the ambulance service, said he was "hesitant to say it was a good or bad response" since a physician was with Williams the whole time.
The spokesman, Capt. Ralph Break, noted that the ambulance crew spent 20 minutes at the clinic trying to revive Williams before it left for the hospital.
"If time was so critical, they would have left sooner" for Barnes, Break said.
Because no city ambulance was available when the 911 call was made, city dispatchers alerted Gateway Ambulance, a private service that serves as a backup. Gateway got the call at 2:08 p.m. and arrived in the parking lot at 2:17 p.m., reaching Williams three minutes later.
Eugene Richardson, Gateway's executive director, said he was investigating the incident "as we do all serous calls" and that he believed that the service had responded appropriately.
At Barnes-Jewish, spokeswoman Kathy Holleman said doctors were unable to revive Williams .
Abortions Continue
Pam Manning, spokeswoman for Missouri Right to Life, the state's largest anti-abortion group, cites Williams ' death - and Crist's involvement - as evidence that abortion is unsafe, particularly as practiced at Reproductive Health Services.
Gianino disagrees, citing Reproductive Health Services' exoneration after a partial inspection by the state Health Department in February. Health Department spokesman Nanci Gonder said the inspection, prompted by a confidential complaint, found no related deficiencies.
Reproductive Health Services has continued to operate since "Friday's tragedy," Gianino said. "We will continue to serve women who need us," noting the clinic provides various family-planning services besides abortions.
State figures show that women are almost 12 times more likely to die of complications from childbirth than they are from abortion. Missouri's abortion death rate per 100,000 procedures is less than half the rate nationwide.
Manning disputes the figures, saying many abortion-related complications or deaths go unreported, while any pregnant woman's death "is counted as pregnancy related, even if it had nothing to do with it."
Anti-abortion activists met Monday in Jefferson City with legislators as part of an effort to push passage of various bills seeking to tighten restrictions on abortion clinics or physicians.
Gianino blasted anti-abortion pickets who showed up in force Saturday morning with signs calling Crist "a mother killer."
"This is a tragedy, and its wrong to exploit it," Gianino said.
Manning said Saturday's demonstration, larger than the usual anti-abortion contingent, was "people who spontaneously appeared there. They are concerned about the women walking in there."
Funeral Details
Relatives are preparing for Williams ' funeral, scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at the New North Side Baptist Church, 8645 Goodfellow Boulevard. Visitation will be from 3-7 p.m. Thursday at A.L. Beal Funeral Home, 4746 West Florissant Avenue.
Williams leaves the grandmother who raised her, Mildred Savage, and three children: ages 1, 3 and 7, relatives say.
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