Rosie Jimenez (August 5, 1950 – October 3, 1977), also known as Rosaura Jimenez, is the first woman known to have died in the United States due to an unsafe abortion after the Hyde Amendment was passed. The 1977 Amendment cut off Medicaid funding for safe medically-supervised abortions. Unable to afford a safe and legal abortion at a clinic, Jimenez sought out a cheaper and unsafe abortion. She died at age 27 from an infection in McAllen, Texas. At the time, she was a student who would have earned a teaching credential in six months, as well as the single mother of a four-year-old daughter.
Rosaura "Rosie" Jimenez | |
|---|---|
| Born | August,1950 McAllen, Texas |
| Died | October 3, 1977 |
| Cause of death | Complications from Unsafe Abortion |
| Nationality | Mexican-American |
Rosie's Life edit
Jimenez was born in McAllen, to a large Mexican-American family. She had 11 siblings though some died young, including her twin.[1] Before her death, she obtained her GED and attended Pan American University.[1] She became a single parent in her 20s and when she passed she had a four-year-old daughter, Monique[1]. Monique said that her mother hoped to become a Special Education teacher if not for her untimely death.[1]
Rosie received an abortion from an unlicensed midwife in McAllen.[2] The estimated cost of an abortion in McAllen at the time was $230 without insurance.[2] After the passage of the Hyde Amendment, patients were unable to use Medicaid funding for abortions.
Cause of Death edit
An infection caused by Colstridium perfringens.[3]
Jimenez sought an unsafe abortion after the cost of an abortion without Medicaid was prohibitive. Two months before her final abortion, the Hyde Amendment restricted Medicaid funding for abortions. The instruments used were unsanitary which introduced the bacteria which eventually caused her death.[2]
ROSIE: The Investigation of a Wrongful Death (1979) edit
The book ROSIE: The Investigation of a Wrongful Death (1979), by Ellen Frankfort, with Frances Kissling, is about Jimenez. The book walks readers through the investigation that was conducted after Jimenez's death. Speaking with doctors and family, the book considers all the systems that were responsible for Jimenez's fatal abortion. The book opens with protests against Secretary of Health Joseph Califano Jr who was responsible for the Hyde Amendment.[3]
Five percent of the royalties of that book were planned to be contributed to the Rosie Jimenez Fund of financial assistance to poor women wishing to have abortions in Texas.
Legacy edit
A month after her death, the New York Times published an editorial that stated Rosie Jimenez as the "first victim" that linked Jimenez's cause of death with cutting Medicaid funds for abortion.[4] The editorial stated "The dead woman carried a Medicaid card, but it did her little good. On Aug. 4, the Federal Government had stopped paying for abortions for the poor unless the life of the mother is endangered."[4]
A 1995 compilation album issued by 550 Music/Epic Records called Spirit of '73: Rock For Choice was put together by the activist group Feminist Majority, and the liner notes state that the proceeds of the album went to supporting the Becky Bell/Rosie Jimenez Campaign "to lift consent laws and federal funding restrictions that are forcing young women to turn to back-alley abortions".
Since 1995, the Abortion Access Project has organized Rosie Jimenez Day every October 3, as well as sponsored speak-outs and other events every year that month to remember her.
Response to her death edit
Rosie's Law edit
Rosie's Law is named in honor of Rosie Jimenez. Rosie's Law would restore health insurance coverage of abortion care services for Texans by:
- Lifting the state Medicaid funding ban for abortion care
- Adding abortion care to the list of services covered by the Texas Medicaid program
- Lifting the 2017 health coverage ban, also known as H.B 214, which regulates abortion care through private insurance plans and through federal health insurance marketplace plans
Activism edit
Activism of the Socialist Party of Massachusetts includes, among other things, annual demonstrations to mark Rosie Jimenez Day.[citation needed]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d Chavez, Nicole (2021-10-11). "Texas woman died after an unsafe abortion years ago. Her daughter fears same thing may happen again". CNN. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
- ^ a b c Garcia-Ditta, Alexa (2015-11-03). "What a 38-Year-Old Abortion Story Can Teach Us Today". The Texas Observer. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
- ^ a b Frankfort, Ellen; Kissling, Frances (1979). Rosie: the investigation of a wrongful death. New York: The Dial press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8037-7504-6.
- ^ a b "First Victim". The New York Times. 1977-11-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-04.