(The Center Square) – After an unredacted autopsy showed that an 18-year-old girl’s death was caused by a 2nd-trimester abortion she received at a Colorado Planned Parenthood, pro-life groups spoke to the fatal consequences of radicalized abortion policies stating that taxpayers deserve the truth.
SBA Pro-Life America president Marjorie Dannenfelser told The Center Square that “Lexi Arguello’s autopsy confirms a horrifying reality: another young woman is dead after an abortion at Planned Parenthood.”
“At just 18 years old, Lexi lost her life following a late-term abortion in a state with virtually no limits on abortion whatsoever,” Dannenfelser said.
“The abortion industry sells the lie that abortion is ‘safe,’ while women and girls like Lexi pay the price,” Dannenfelser said. “Americans deserve the truth, not efforts to hide the facts to protect Planned Parenthood’s image and profits.”
Operation Rescue’s President Troy Newman noted to The Center Square that “Lexi Arguello died after Planned Parenthood delayed emergency care during a catastrophic complication their staff is not trained or equipped to handle inside a facility that Colorado officials no longer inspect or license.”
Dannenfelser said that “Colorado is one of the most extreme abortion states in the country, allowing late-term abortions like the one that killed Lexi to happen legally, even at nearly 22 weeks of pregnancy.”
“At nearly 22 weeks, unborn children can respond to voices, feel pain, and survive outside the womb,” Dannenfelser said.
She also added that “abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood don’t deserve a dime of taxpayer dollars,” and thanked “House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune for their work to defund Big Abortion in reconciliation.”
Neither Planned Parenthood nor the ACLU have responded to The Center Square’s individual requests for comment.
According to an SBA Pro-Life America press release, Operation rescue and Life Legal Defense Foundation obtained a “new unredacted autopsy report” that confirmed “18-year-old Lexi Arguello died from complications of a second-trimester abortion at a Colorado Planned Parenthood.”
“The county coroner pushed to keep information regarding the abortion redacted from the report, citing ‘Colorado’s strong public policy in favor of protecting reproductive healthcare [sic],’” the release said.
The coroner also argued “that women might be dissuaded from seeking abortions” if the information was not kept redacted “but was ordered by a judge to release the public records in accordance with the law,” the release said.
The autopsy report itself states Arguello died of “complications of surgical pregnancy termination, including disseminated intravascular coagulation,” which SBA explained is “abnormal blood clotting that can be life-threatening.”
The autopsy report further said that “probable amniotic fluid embolism, refractory shock, and multiorgan failure are significant contributing conditions” to Arguello’s death.
Operation Rescue’s President Troy Newman told The Center Square: “Unfortunately, it often takes multiple deaths and injuries before state officials are willing to act.”Dannenfelser told The Center Square that “many pro-life leaders and elected officials already recognize the danger of extreme abortion policies and are fighting for protections for both mothers and babies.”
“But Planned Parenthood aggressively lobbies lawmakers and the public by claiming they provide a wide range of essential health services like cancer screenings, contraception, STI testing, and preventive care,” Dannenfelser said. “In reality, Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion business, reporting a record-breaking 434,450 abortions in 2023-2024 alone.”
“Women deserve better than an industry that profits from ending lives while downplaying the risks,” Dannenfelser said.
Life Legal Defense Foundation has not yet responded to The Center Square’s request for comment.
