Autopsy Confirms Planned Parenthood Killed Woman in Botched Abortion

Planned Parenthood killed a young woman in a botched abortion. So far, the massive abortion business has faced no accountability for ending her life and the life of her unborn baby.

The unredacted autopsy of 18-year-old Lexi Arguello confirms she died from complications of a second-trimester surgical abortion at a Planned Parenthood facility in Fort Collins, Colorado.

This revelation comes after a year-long legal battle to make the autopsy report public.

Arguello, who was 21 weeks and 6 days pregnant, underwent the abortion on February 6, 2025. The forensic pathologist determined she developed disseminated intravascular coagulation — a catastrophic clotting disorder — after the abortion, leading to cardiovascular collapse and multi-organ failure.

The report identified “probable amniotic fluid embolism” as a significant contributing condition.

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The pro-life groups Operation Rescue and Life Legal Defense Foundation requested the autopsy less than two weeks after Arguello’s death. They initially received only a heavily redacted copy that blacked out information related to the abortion and possible complications.

Working with Colorado attorney Tim Goddard, the groups prepared to file suit against the coroner for misinterpreting multiple laws and regulations to withhold public information about Lexi’s cause of death.

Yet, after Larimer County Coroner Stephen Hanks moved to keep the document heavily redacted, a district court judge ordered its full release on April 27. After further analysis, the autopsy report has been release today publicly for the first time.

Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, told LifeNews.com that the autopsy clearly exposes Planned Parenthood’s wrongdoing.

“This autopsy is one of the few public documents that can expose Planned Parenthood for wrongdoing in the tragic death of Lexi Arguello,” Newman said. “It’s also a document that can prove just how dangerous unregulated and unlicensed Colorado abortion clinics have become. Women are dying and state officials are looking the other way.”

Newman criticized the coroner’s reasoning for trying to withhold details in an attempt to not cast abortion in a negative light.

“The Coroner fully understood that women might not enter an abortion clinic when they know the staff have injured or even killed a patient,” he said. “Only, instead of believing women deserve all the facts when choosing where they go for healthcare, Mr. Hanks thought it better they be kept in the dark and the truth about Lexi’s death kept under wraps. This is how abortion radicals keep abortion in business – by constantly hiding the truth.”

Alexandra Snyder, CEO of Life Legal Defense Foundation, called the initial redactions an attempt to protect the abortion industry.

“This was not a narrow privacy redaction,” Snyder said. “Colorado officials concealed medical findings and Lexi’s official cause of death from the public to shield a politically favored industry from scrutiny.”

Snyder added: “Lexi’s death highlights the dangerous lack of oversight surrounding Colorado’s abortion industry. The public has a right to know what happens inside Planned Parenthood, especially when taxpayer-funded abortion providers continue fighting common-sense safety standards.”

Operation Rescue said it spent more than a year investigating Arguello’s death, gathering records and conducting interviews. The group believes Planned Parenthood failed her in numerous ways, including by delaying emergency care that may have saved her life.

Newman concluded: “We also suspect Planned Parenthood led family members to believe Lexi’s death was unavoidable. We encourage the family to reach out to a malpractice attorney. If needed, Operation Rescue is always willing to put family members in touch with legal help.”