Donna Heim
Donna Heim, age 20, went to Her Medical Clinic on August 12, 1986, accompanied
by her sister. Donna told staff that she had asthma, and she noted this
on her forms when she filled them out. Despite this pre-existing condition,
a nurse anesthetist administered general anesthesia for her safe and legal abortion. Donna
started to have difficulty breathing, but Mahlon Cannon continued with
the procedure for five more minutes before helping the nurse anesthetist
to try to restore Donna's breathing.
Donna's sister, who was in the waiting room, became alarmed at the intense
staff activity she noticed, and questioned a staffer about her sister.
She was reassured that Donna was fine. The sister saw an ambulance pull
up to the building and stepped outside, where she observed her sister being
transferred into the emergency vehicle. Donnaâs sister followed the ambulance
to a nearby hospital, which summoned the comatose young woman's parents.
Donna died the next day without regaining consciousness. An investigation
was sparked, and an administrative law judge ruled that Cannon was negligent
in continuing with the abortion despite the patient's respiratory distress.
The judge also found that Cannon often failed to do medical exams, take
medical histories, or administer standard tests prior to abortions./we
Liliana Cortez also died after an abortion at Her Medical Clinic that year.
Sources: Los Angeles Times 6/17/91,
Los Angeles Herald Examiner 2/22/88, and The Wanderer, July
1991
Abortion Deaths
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