BREAKING: Mother of Woman Who Died During Abortion Seeks Wrongful Death Investigation, Attorney to File Medical Board Complaint

ALBUQUERQUE, NM -- New Mexico Alliance for Life announces Tina Atkins, the mother of 23-year-old Albuquerque resident, Keisha Atkins, who died from complications of a late-term abortion that took place at Southwestern Women's Options, is seeking a wrongful death investigation through her attorney, Michael Seibel.  
Tina Atkins has retained Albuquerque attorney, Michael Seibel, to pursue any wrongful death action including filing a complaint with the New Mexico Medical Board on behalf of the estate. A New Mexico District Court named Atkins the personal representative of her daughter's estate and ordered her to carry sole responsibility in the management of her daughter's case, including any Medical Board complaints and wrongful death action.  NMAFL's Elisa Martinez is serving as Tina Atkins' spokesperson, and all media inquiries will be handled by Martinez on behalf of the estate.

Keisha Atkins was a healthy young woman with no prior medical history. At 24 weeks gestation, Atkins checked in to Southwestern Women's Options (SWO) abortion clinic on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 then again, each day through Friday, February 3, 2017 for a multi-day abortion procedure when she was transported to University of New Mexico (UNM) Hospital for emergency care, where she died. Atkins died during the highly-dangerous late-term procedure that is known to carry high risk. A study published by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists indicates that compared to abortion at eight weeks gestation, the relative risk of mortality increases by 38 percent for each additional week of gestation. This translates to a woman seeking an abortion at 21 weeks or more, she is 91 times more likely to die from abortion than she was in the first trimester. Despite these factors, the Office of the Medical Investigator, located at the UNM School of Medicine, found Atkins' "manner of death is natural." 

"It is well established that UNM Hospital and Medical School have a deeply-aligned collaboration with Southwestern Women's Options abortion center, whether it's conferring faculty appointments for Southwestern abortion doctors or the free supply of aborted baby body parts for UNM's experimentation," said Elisa Martinez, Tina Atkins' spokesperson. "We want to ensure no conflict of interest played a role in the handling of Keisha's situation, however serious questions remain surrounding Keisha's cause of death."

Attorney Seibel has subpoenaed internal notes, memorandum, photographic evidence and all documents relating to Atkins' autopsy performed by the Office of the Medical Investigator at the UNM School of Medicine. Additionally, Seibel has requested a complete history of all medical records for Keisha Atkins from both SWO and UNM Hospital.

"All I want is justice for my baby and my grandbaby and every other woman who has put her life and health at risk to endure this brutal procedure," Tina Atkins said. "My grandbaby would have been a year and 3 months now, but instead I have to deal with the constant pain of two deaths, my daughter and grandbaby, as well as the injustice."  

Martinez added, "for justice to be served, the Atkins family expects complete transparency as to what transpired, including how the cause of death was determined and to what degree the conflict of interest between UNM and Southwestern Women's Options abortion business come into play. No family should have to go through what the Atkins family has suffered."

Additionally, Tina Atkins seeks that outside groups do not exploit the tragic loss of her daughter for personal gain or agenda. Previous statements to the media and Medical Board regarding Keisha Atkins' death were not authorized by the family and did not contain the complete medical file. Seibel will provide the complete medical file, including medical records released to Tina Adkins, eyewitness testimony and expert witness analysis to the Medical Board on behalf of the estate. 

"I look forward to working with the New Mexico Medical Board in order to file a formal complaint on behalf of Keisha Adkins with eyewitness accounts, expert witness testimony and the complete medical file," Seibel said. "It's important that the board have a complete and accurate record of all the facts surrounding the death of Southwestern Women's Options patient, Keisha Atkins."
 
Tina Atkins asks that the public respect the family's privacy at this time and refers any further questions or comments to Elisa Martinez.