Teacher dies after 'having abortion 33 weeks into pregnancy' as protesters lay siege to clinic of doctor blamed for her death
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Anti-abortion activists have taken up the tragic case of a 29-year-old woman from upstate New York who died while terminating her advanced pregnancy, demanding the closing of the clinic where the procedure was performed.
On Monday, more than 150 pro-life activists gathered near the clinic in Germantown, Maryland, accusing the head of the medical center, Dr LeRoy Carhart, of being directly responsible for the death of Jennifer McKenna Morbelli last week.
'We will not rest until this clinic is shut down and the license of LeRoy Carhart is revoked. God let it be so,' the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, said at the demonstration.
Tragic end: Jennifer McKenna Morbelli, pictured with her husband, TJ, passed away after getting a late-term abortion in a Maryland clinic
McKenna Morbelli, of New Rochelle, traveled to the clinic last week to have a late-term abortion 33 weeks into her pregnancy after it became apparent that her fetus had developed abnormalities.
Following a complex multi-day procedure, the 29-year-old married woman allegedly suffered a ruptured uterus and passed away from massive internal bleeding in a nearby hospital.
This information has not been confirmed by Maryland officials who are awaiting the results of an autopsy.
Maryland currently allows clinics to perform late-term abortions in cases where the fetus develops an abnormality. In contrast, New York law allows such abortions only when the mother's health or life is in danger.
Amid growing pressure from conservative groups that have seized on the woman's death to raise awareness about the purported dangers associated with late-term abortions, the Maryland Office of Health Care Quality and the Montgomery County Police Department both launched investigations into the incident, The Washington Post reported.
The circumstances surrounding the death remain unclear, along with the exact nature of the baby's abnormalities.
The Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has performed an autopsy on Morbelli’s body, but officials say a complete review could take more than a month.
‘It is so tragic that this family had to lose not only their nearly full-term child, but also their wife, daughter, and sister,’ said Michael Martelli, executive director of the Maryland Coalition for Life, according to the Catholic News Agency.
Public rage: A group of pro-life protesters (not pictured) gathered outside the Germantown abortion clinic where Morbelli terminated her pregnancy, demanding that it be shut down
Tough decision: Morbelli and her husband traveled to Germantown from New York for a multi-day abortion after it had been revealed that their child had fetal abnormalities
‘What is most appalling is that the state of Maryland refused to hear the pleas of the community, and has allowed [Carhart] to butcher women and children.’
According to an online gift registry created by McKenna Morbelli and her husband, TJ, the couple were expecting to welcome their daughter home on March 20.
The husband and wife wrote that they wanted to name the child Madison Leigh, suggesting that the pregnancy was planned and the baby wanted.
Under fire: Dr LeRoy Cathart, 69, has been in the center of the controversy surrounding Morbelli's death, with activists accusing him of botching the woman's abortion
On February 3, Mrs Morbelli, a substitute teacher from New Rochelle, and her husband arrived in Germantown and checked into a hotel where they were to spend several days during the procedure.
Four days after having the abortion at Germantown Reproductive Health Services clinic, the young woman reportedly complained of chest pain and other discomfort.
At around 5am last Thursday, she was rushed to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, where she passed away a few hours later from massive bleeding into her abdominal cavity.
According to Morbelli’s online obituary, the 29-year-old graduated from New Rochelle High School and then went on to attend the University of Delaware where she met her college sweetheart, TJ, whom she married in 2009.
Morbelli was a kindergarten teacher at Preschool Learning Center in New Rochelle and then went on to teach at Church Street Elementary in White Plains.
Dr Cathart, 69, one of only four physicians in the country who openly perform late-term abortions, has been in the cross-hairs of pro-life groups since 2005, when another patient of his died after having her pregnancy terminated.
Cathart had been practicing in Nebraska until 2010, when the state banned abortions performed after the 20th week. After that, the doctor began traveling to the clinic in Germantown to provide his services.
Pro-life activists have been picketing the clinic for the past three years, carrying signs and even trying to talk Cathart's patients out of doing the procedures on their way into the office.
On the demonstrators even told the post Monday that she spoke to Morbelli last week on one of her visits, trying to dissuade her from having the abortion, but the woman would not listen.
Cathart has been the target of anti-abortion groups since 2005 when another patient died after getting a late-term termination
This week, Kathy Morbelli, Jennifer’s mother-in-law, told The Journal News that she is extremely upset with the rhetoric coming from abortion opponents, saying that Madison Leigh was a ‘wanted baby.’
NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland, a pro-choice and reproductive rights organization, expressed condolences to McKenna-Morbelli’s loved ones, but defended a woman’s right to make decisions about her body.
‘The people who are pushing for laws to ban abortion after a certain point cannot possibly know the circumstances of every woman and her doctor who are making medical decisions about her pregnancy,’ Amber Banks, outreach and communications coordinator for NARAL, wrote in a statement to The Huffington Post.
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