18-year-old girl dies from complications after Planned Parenthood abortion

An 18-year-old woman died after suffering complications from a second-trimester abortion at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado.

Alexis “Lexi” Arguello died Feb. 6, 2025. She had an abortion at Planned Parenthood in Fort Collins when she was 21 weeks and 6 days pregnant.

The unredacted autopsy report said Arguello “died of complications of surgical pregnancy termination, including disseminated intravascular coagulation,” according to Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. The report also listed probable amniotic fluid embolism, refractory shock, and multiorgan failure as contributing conditions.

Disseminated intravascular coagulation is a dangerous blood-clotting condition. Amniotic fluid embolism can happen when amniotic fluid or fetal material enters a mother’s bloodstream.

Arguello’s death has drawn scrutiny from pro-life groups arguing the case shows how abortion businesses often receive protection from liberals.

Operation Rescue said it requested Arguello’s autopsy shortly after her death but initially received a heavily redacted copy. The group said the redactions removed abortion-related information and obscured portions of the cause of death.

A Colorado judge later ordered the release of the unredacted autopsy report.

“This autopsy is one of the few public documents that can expose Planned Parenthood for wrongdoing in the tragic death of Lexi Arguello,” Operation Rescue president Troy Newman said.

The public records fight also raised questions about whether Colorado officials wanted to shield the abortion industry from criticism.

In one example, the Larimer County coroner argued against releasing abortion-related information from the report, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said.

The group said the coroner cited “Colorado’s strong public policy in favor of protecting reproductive healthcare [sic]” and argued disclosure could discourage women from having abortions.

Alexandra Snyder, chief executive officer of Life Legal Defense Foundation, said the redactions went too far.

“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.”

The case comes as Colorado has some of the most liberal abortion laws in the country. Colorado allows abortion throughout pregnancy, and it is one of nine states with no gestational limit on abortion.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said Arguello’s death was part of a trend.

“Lexi Arguello’s autopsy is definitive: Another young mom has been killed by abortion and Planned Parenthood,” Dannenfelser said. “Arguello’s death isn’t just a tragedy, it is a pattern of callousness on the part of America’s largest abortion business.”