Shelby Moran, mother of five, languished for twenty years after suffering complications from her abortion.
A lawsuit filed on behalf of Shelby A. Moran, a 39-year-old mother of five, alleged that she was given Prostaglandin F2 Alpha for a safe, legal abortion at Illinois Masonic Medical Center in January of 1978.
Immediately after the drug was injected, Shelby experienced grossly abnormal elevation of her blood pressure. The abortionist, Dr. John J. Barton, thought that the elevation would be transient, and left the facility.
Half an hour later, Shelby went into cardiopulmonary arrest. She suffered brain damage due to lack of oxygen, causing dementia and speech aphasia.
Shelby was no longer able to care for herself, much less her five children. She required 24-hour care in a nursing home until her death on September 16, 1999.
Her family was awarded $9.5 million on her behalf.
Sources: York Daily Record 4-17-89, AP 4-15-89, 4-16-89, 4-17-89; Cook County Circuit Court, Law Division, Case No. 80-L-1539; Illinois Appellate Court Nos. 1-89-2165, 1-89-2244, 1-89-2359; Social Security Death Index
Credit: Christina Dunigan
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