A U.S. House investigation has found that Southwestern Women's Options is the University of New Mexico's largest provider of aborted baby tissue and organs, which is an arrangement that violates state and federal law.
Atkins, believed to have been six months pregnant or more, reportedly arrived at the clinic on Jan. 31 for a four-day late-term abortion procedure. On Feb. 3 she returned for the completion of the procedure, but had trouble breathing, and had signs of sepsis, a systemic, life-threatening infection.
Later the same day, an ambulance was called to transport Atkins to the hospital, but upon arriving at the UNM Medical Center, the young woman's condition deteriorated rapidly, prompting an emergency D&E abortion procedure to remove her baby through dismemberment.
"During the procedure, Atkins suffered cardiac arrest. Efforts to revive her were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at 12:10 a.m. on Feb. 4," the press release said.
"There is evidence that Atkins suffered from sepsis, a bacterial infection caused by the four-day abortion process, which brought about symptoms consistent with Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation. Atkins suffered hemorrhaging in her brain, a buildup of fluid around her lungs, and other symptoms of DIC that the autopsy ignored," it added.