Botched Abortions Killed Three Women in Indiana Last Year, Two From “Safe” Abortion Pills

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   May 1, 2023   |   10:04AM   |   Indianapolis, Indiana

Three women died along with their unborn babies in abortions last year in Indiana, including two by the supposedly “safe” abortion pills, according to state records obtained by Voices for Life.

The Indiana pro-life organization said it found records of more than 100 health and safety violations in 2022 by state abortion facilities, including the three women’s deaths and at least four cases where abortion facilities appeared to cover up the sexual abuse of girls as young as 13. Additionally, records indicate two babies were born alive in botched abortions, according to The Federalist, which first reported the story.

Pro-life leaders expressed frustration that state authorities do not appear to be doing anything to investigate or punish these violations and protect women and babies.

“I am not aware of any doctors who have lost their licenses,” Voices for Life executive director Melanie Garcia Lyon told The Federalist.

State health authorities have not closed or suspended any abortion facility licenses either, and Lyon said her organization filed complaints with the Indiana Department of Health, which is where the records came from.

Meanwhile, the reports suggest women are dying, babies are surviving abortions and possibly being left to die without medical care, and abortionists are ignoring the sexual abuse of very young girls.

One woman, 31, died soon after her unborn baby was aborted June 25, 2022 at the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis; the abortionist was Amy Caldwell, who also works at Planned Parenthood, and she used abortion pills to kill the baby, according to state health records. The unborn baby was 21 weeks and had been diagnosed with a chromosomal disorder, The Federalist reports.

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A second woman also died under Caldwell’s care after her unborn baby was aborted April 5, 2022, another state record indicates. The 29-year-old woman’s unborn baby was killed with abortion pills at seven weeks of pregnancy at the Planned Parenthood-Georgetown in Indianapolis, and the mother also died, according to the report.

The third woman who died with her unborn baby had a surgical abortion Nov. 8, 2022, at the Planned Parenthood in Bloomington; the abortionist was Rhiannon Amodeo, the state health record indicates. The woman was 31 and her unborn baby was about eight weeks of pregnancy, according to the record.

Other records show at least two babies were born alive in abortions in 2022 in Indiana. One baby estimated to be about 20 weeks of pregnancy survived the abortion and lived for three hours on March 28, 2022, at the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Hospital; the child’s mother was 23, the record indicates. It is not clear if the baby received medical care or was left to die.

The Federalist reports more about the second abortion survivor: “Caldwell is also listed as the physician on a January 7, 2022 report that says she delivered a baby alive during an abortion procedure. That baby was also potentially viable in a NICU: she was listed on the report as 20 weeks old when her mother and an abortionist ended her life.”

Still more troubling reports indicate abortion facilities may not be reporting cases of sexual abuse of young girls to authorities. Indiana law requires mandatory reporting of abortions on girls under 16 to the health department and the Indiana Department of Child Services within three days of the abortion so that authorities can investigate potential child sex abuse.

Here’s more from the report:

One of the abortion reports, dated April 21, 2022, shows a chemical abortion on a 15-year-old girl performed by abortionist Deborah Nucatola in Bloomington, Ind. at a Planned Parenthood. …

The state report suggests this abortion was not reported, as legally required, to the state Department of Child Services for investigation as the potential result of child rape. The space on the form for the date of reporting this abortion to IDH is blank. …

One of the four underage girls whose 2022 abortions weren’t reported to child services, as legally required, was 13 years old when her child was aborted, according to state records. That surgical abortion on a seven-week-old baby was performed at a Planned Parenthood branch in Indianapolis by abortionist Cassandra Cashman, the record states.

As of yet, however, pro-lifers say none of the 22 abortionists listed in the reports have been disciplined and no abortion facility licenses have been suspended.

On Saturday, Students for Life and Voices for Life held a rally outside the Clinic for Women in Indianapolis, an abortion facility planning to expand to Illinois, to urge Attorney General Todd Rikita to investigate the violations and the handling of them by the Indiana Department of Health.

“This is shocking information that proves what we knew all along: we need a National Abortion Reporting Law because things are so much worse than we think,” said Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins. “I so am grateful for our SFLA alumni continuing their pro-life activism through the Campaign for Abortion Free Cities and working with Voices for Life to gather this information to report to the proper authorities. The abortion industry loves to hide in the dark, but we are bringing this into the light.”

Responding to The Federalist, the Indiana Department of Health said the Indiana Attorney General’s Office handles actions against licensed medical professionals, not the health department.

It continued: “When [health department] receives a complaint alleging statutory or regulatory violations, a survey team is sent to the facility to determine compliance with state and federal regulations. If violations are discovered, a standard correction process is initiated to bring a facility back into compliance to ensure the health and safety of Hoosiers.”

In November, state Attorney General Todd Rokita did file a complaint against Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an abortionist and OB-GYN with Indiana University Health. Bernard is accused of violating patient privacy laws and failing to properly report child abuse to authorities in the case of the 10-year-old rape victim for whom she had performed an abortion.

A few years earlier, she and eight other abortion practitioners also were accused of failing to file abuse reports in 48 cases involving girls as young as 12 years old, LifeNews reported in 2018.

According to information Indiana Right to Life provided LifeNews at the time, some of the girls who had abortions that were not reported to the Indiana Department of Child Services were as young as 12 and 13. The alleged 48 instances occurred since July 1, 2017. Complaints were filed with former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill and the Indiana State Department of Health. The Marion, Lake, Tippecanoe and Monroe county prosecutors also were notified.

Two members of Congress, including Rokita who was in the U.S. House at the time, called for investigations. However, after the accusations were made, nothing ever came of them.

Indiana lawmakers passed a bill to protect unborn babies by banning abortions, but the law currently is blocked in court.