Tonya Reaves

***Update*** The local CBS television station received new documents regarding the death of Tonya Reaves. Her D&E abortion was performed at Planned Parenthood at 11 am, but after the procedure she began bleeding heavily. The bleeding continued for five and a half hours at Planned Parenthood until she was taken to the emergency room at 4:30 pm. There the doctors had to start from scratch to figure out what was wrong with her. They performed an ultrasound then another D&E. When the heavy bleeding continued they performed a second ultrasound and discovered a perforation. Tonya was taken to emergency surgery at 10:12 pm, but the bleeding was uncontrollable. Her death was completely avoidable, but after bleeding heavily for over five hours at Planned Parenthood before receiving medical treatment was too much. Once she was moved from Planned Parenthood to a hospital, even more valuable time was lost while the doctors started from scratch to discover the severity of her injuries.

LifeNews quotes an emergency room doctor with 30 years of experience named Dr. James C. Anderson, M.D. He pointed out the habit of abortion clinics sending injured patients to the emergency room without giving the doctors appropriate information concerning their condition. "I have always had to evaluate the situation, come to my own conclusions, and initiate what I thought was appropriate treatment. This definitely created some time delays that were not in the patient's best interest," stated Dr. Anderson. "These delays can have life-threatening implications when dealing with hemorrhage or infection." (More)

**Update** Tonya's family have found an attorney who is looking into a civil lawsuit against Planned Parenthood. (More)

*Update* Congressman Cliff Stearns has been looking into an investigation of Planned Parenthood regarding hiding sexual abuse and Medicaid fraud, and he is now pressing for an investigation regarding Tonya's death. (More)

Last Friday, a health young woman named Tonya Reaves went to a Planned Parenthood in Chicago for a second trimester D&E abortion. She was 24, engaged to be married, and had a son who had just turned one. She was transported to a hospital for hemorrhage. She was pronounced dead at the hospital at 11:20 PM. The autopsy Saturday determined that she died from hemorrhage caused by the abortion. Troy Newman, the head of Operation Rescue, explained, "Abortion deaths like this are completely avoidable. 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. Planned Parenthood should be held accountable." Abortion clinics are not equipped for such emergency complications, and when an emergency does happen, calling an ambulance is avoided because it brings such bad publicity.

Yesterday, in an incredibly insensitive move, Obama called for more government funding for Planned Parenthood. "Mr. Romney wants to get rid of funding for Planned Parenthood. I think that's a bad idea," the president explained. "I've got two daughters. I want them to control their own health care choices."

Really, Obama? You want your daughters to be cared for by Planned Parenthood? I don't often get angry, but I'm angry about this one. How many more women like Tonya have to die before things change? What will it take for the government to stop funding organizations with blood on their hands?

Tonya Reaves 

Life and Death and Parks and Rec

Last week's episode of the best TV show ever, Parks and Recreation, brought up some interesting questions. When City Counsel candidate Leslie Knope accidentally insulted a man in a speech, only to find he had just died, people were horrified. What she said would have been fine if he had been living, but because he had recently passed away it was unacceptable. Now me, being the Parks and Rec fan and nerd that I am, couldn't help but ask questions.

What is it about death that makes us respect those who have passed?

We go to funerals of people we barely knew or aren't even fond of. Why is that? Why is insulting a deceased person extra offensive, even if it's the truth? Why do we honor the dead, even those whose life we never honored?

I think this has to do with our understanding and value of life. Which leads to more questions.

How much do you value life? If you had to put a price on it, what would it be? To what extent would you go to save the life of someone you love, somebody you know, or a stranger? Saving a life could mean jumping in a frozen lake to save a drowning person, pushing someone out of the path of an oncoming car, stepping in when a person is being mugged, preventing suicide, performing life saving surgery, being at the right place at the right time to call 911, or sending money to developing countries to provide food, water, and medicine to the poor. Whatever it may be, is it worth you sacrificing your time, energy, and resources for?

We all value life to some extent. It's not entirely about courage, bravery, or sacrificing. While that's definitely part of it, I think it's mostly about our value of life. Do we ever not value life enough? That's an extremely dangerous mistake to make, but I do it all the time. Where do we need to value life more? Whose life am I not valuing?

(Also, congratulations to Leslie for winning the campaign.) 

Be My Vote