Abortionists Botched Abortion So Badly They Left a Woman Infertile
Documents recently obtained by Operation Rescue uncover three abortionists in Connecticut who brutally butchered a woman and her 19-week unborn child during a botched dilation and evacuation abortion, leaving her completely infertile and in intensive care.
“This is one of the most grisly and shocking abortion injuries we’ve ever investigated,” says Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “What these abortionists did to this woman goes beyond the pale.”
According to a lawsuit filed in April 2024, Darcia Coretto arrived at a “family planning pre-op appointment” at Yale Family Planning on January 20, 2022. Coretto was 18 weeks, 6 days pregnant and had learned in the previous month that her unborn child had Pentalogy of Cantrell, a rare fetal anomaly involving defects in the heart, pericardium, diaphragm, sternum, or abdominal wall. Abortionists Audrey Merriam and Samantha Baer did the consultation.
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A review of Coretto’s medical records by a Board-Certified OB/GYN revealed Merriam and Baer told Coretto “further delay in terminating this pregnancy would only continue to put her health at risk.” It is unclear what the risks to her own health would be.
Ultimately, Coretto was given two incredibly dangerous choices: a medical abortion at 18 weeks, 6 days of pregnancy – well past the 10 week limit established by the FDA – or a dilation and evacuation abortion, during which her unborn child would be painfully dismembered and Coretto would risk life-threatening complications. These dangers were likely not highlighted by Merriam or Baer.
It was also noted in the review that Coretto was at an even higher risk for complications due to “advanced maternal age, super obesity, 19-week pregnancy, [and] two prior cesarean sections….”
The review states all the abortionists involved ultimately failed to recognize these risks, evidenced by the fact that, despite the higher chances of complications, a D&E abortion was scheduled for the very next day at Yale New Haven Health Hospital. Merriam and Baer would perform the abortion, along with a third abortionist, Aileen Gariepy.
The grisly trio proved disastrous.
According to the review of medical records, there was no documentation of “pre-operative cervical ripening or mechanical dilation with laminaria” before the abortion began. With a closed cervix now being forced open, a tenaculum (sharp-pointed, ratcheted forceps used to grasp tissue) suddenly tore through Coretto’s cervix, lacerating the “anterior cervix” and “posterior vagina” and resulting in heavy bleeding.
The review says it took the three abortionists two hours to identify and repair the lacerations, all while Coretto lost an estimated 1500 mL of blood. That is around 30% of an average adult’s total blood volume.
But the most unbelievable part of this horror show was yet to come: despite significant blood loss and injuries to the cervix and vagina, the abortionists did not stop the procedure or even begin a blood transfusion. Instead, they further dilated the cervix and began the process of ripping Coretto’s 19-week child out of her womb.
The review states they did this brutal work with ultrasound guidance – assumedly to give a better view of the uterus. However, the ultrasound guidance meant nothing. Before the abortion was completed the abortionists not only lacerated the uterine wall, a cut that was three and half inches long from “just below the fundus to just above the cervix,” but they also sliced Coretto’s right uterine artery, causing more internal bleeding and blood loss.
A gynecological surgical team was finally called. After exploring the injuries, this team performed an emergency hysterectomy and the removal of both fallopian tubes. Coretto also lost another 2000 mL of blood. By the time she was transferred to the surgical ICU, she required 5 units of blood along with vasopressors just to stabilize her blood pressure.
“Where is the outrage for this woman?” asks Newman. “Where is the ‘my body, my choice’ crowd that keeps accusing the pro-life movement of not caring for women? This woman was not cared for. This woman’s uterus was cut to pieces while abortion radicals keep screaming abortion is safe. Abortion is not safe. It is devastating. Both to the life of the child and the life of her mother.”
Though filed in April of 2024, a scheduling order dated four months later indicates all parties, including Coretto, were willing to “refer the case to a private ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution).” In other words, to settle outside of court. By March of 2025, Coretto’s attorneys withdrew the complaint against Merriam, Baer, and Gariepy. And by June of 2025, the entire lawsuit was withdrawn – all strong indicators that the three abortionists and Yale New Haven Health Hospital finally offered enough money to convince Coretto not to go to trial.
“We see this happen again and again,” says Newman. “Whether these mothers realize it or not, they are often accepting hush money, very often agreeing to sign non-disclosures. These abortionists walk away essentially unscathed, and unknown as the butchers they are to the next woman who walks in their clinic. But that’s where Operation Rescue comes in. Even when abortionists avoid the scrutiny of a jury, they can’t avoid our investigative team.”
A recent deep-dive by OR’s investigators found that Aileen Gariepy’s Connecticut medical license lapsed just two months after leaving Coretto infertile. It is unclear if Coretto’s botched abortion had anything to do with the lapse, but Gariepy is now licensed in New York, one of the most pro-abortion states in the nation and one that is adamant about protecting abortionists who harm women.
“It’s like when a criminal flees to a country with no extradition,” adds Newman.
Samantha Baer’s Connecticut license also lapsed in May of 2023 but she is now licensed in Florida.
Audrey Merriam is the only one of the trio who remains licensed in Connecticut. Even worse, she is currently listed as an Adjunct Faculty member for Yale School of Medicine and has an additional medical license in Delaware.
“That any of these three butchers still hold any kind of medical license after demonstrating such incompetence and callousness is unconscionable,” says Newman. “We will be contacting the Medical Boards of every state where this grisly trio is trying to practice and calling for the removal of their medical license – before they leave another mother barren after dismembering her precious child.”
LifeNews Note: This article was originally published by Operation Rescue, a leading pro-life, Christian activist organization dedicated to exposing abortion abuses, demanding enforcement, saving innocent lives, and building an abortion-free America. The author, Sarah Neely, is Chief Operating Officer for Operation Rescue.
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