One Year Since an 18-Year-Old Died After a Ft Collins Planned Parenthood Abortion

   This article is being written on February 6, 2026, marking exactly one year since the death of an 18-year-old girl following an elective abortion at the Ft Collins, Colorado, Planned Parenthood on Feb 6, 2025. An ambulance took her to Poudre Valley Hospital after the abortion, but she died before the day ended. We grieve the loss of two lives, plus the apparent failure to respond promptly to a medical emergency, and the delays in care that may have contributed to her death.

        At 9:00 AM today (Feb 6, 2026), a memorial was held for that 18-year-old on the public sidewalk outside that Ft Collins Planned Parenthood. News of the memorial was picked up by Operation Rescue in their report later in the day – and showing a picture of the women, men, babies and children at the memorial (tinyurl.com/operationrescue1yr). Six minutes of testimony by Dr. Keri Kasun—read from the public record of the March 11, 2025 Colorado Legislative Committee hearing (tinyurl.com/2kerikasunwitness, timestamps 12:09:45 and 12:16:10 PM)—were shared aloud. In that testimony, Dr. Kasun detailed how the girl suffered an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) caused by abortion complications, which led to massive internal bleeding. “She did not come in with this,” Dr. Kasun testified. The girl’s grandparents were told she was transferred to the hospital too late, resulting in Lexi’s death. Dr. Kasun also stated, “The abortion industry wants to legitimize itself as a form of women’s health care, but they don’t want regulations or accountability. I would consider that ‘back-alley,’ and it elicits back-alley behaviors such as the silent siren.” The 'silent siren' refers to ambulances told not to use their sirens to avoid drawing attention to abortion-related emergencies. The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies is conducting investigations into this and five other ambulance transports from the same clinic (tinyurl.com/memorialfor18). Following the 6-minute reading of Dr Kasun’s testimony, the memorial continued with singing, praying and fellowship.

     Colorado requires no inspections or medical oversight for abortion clinics—standards required of every other ambulatory surgical center in the state.  By exempting abortion clinics from standard safety regulations, the Colorado Assembly has prioritized ideology over women’s well-being. Abortion clinics are even exempt from providing informed consent about abortion risks. Shouldn’t women’s safety come first? Dr. Christina Francis notes that abortion is not health care because “induced abortion carries no maternal health benefit and ends the life of a separate human being” (tinyurl.com/christinafrancis2).  True compassion requires honesty, and real health care requires oversight.  Women face risks that are too often hidden, minimized, or denied.

      Call to Action! The 2026 Colorado Legislative Session is underway, with three bills that could offer real opportunities for improvement in women’s healthcare:

      HB26-1004 – Extends the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit through 2038. This supports organizations like Catholic Charities, empowering local communities to assist families in need through childcare and parental support.

      HB26-1024 – Expands Colorado’s Safe Haven Law to allow distressed mothers to safely relinquish newborns at designated sites within 30 days (up from 3 days). Since 2000, 96 babies have been saved, but in the past five years, 58 were illegally abandoned outside the current window—many found deceased in dumpsters. Extending the timeframe saves lives and offers compassion to mothers in crisis.

     HB26-1105 – Requires healthcare providers to discuss adoption as an alternative at least 24 hours before an abortion. This partially addresses the current absence of informed consent in Colorado abortion clinics. More is needed, such as requiring abortion clinics to inform women that if they take the first of the 2 abortion pills, abortion-pill-reversal is possible. Also, women need to be informed that abortion clinics have been involved with large numbers of ambulances taking women from their clinic to the hospital - including the 18-yrear-old girl who died in the hospital after an abortion at the Fort Collins Planned Parenthood on Feb 6, 2025.

      You can contact your local Colorado legislator at https://leg.colorado.gov/find-my-legislator to urge support for HB26-1105, HB26-1004, and HB26-1024. If your legislator opposes these bills, respectfully ask for detailed clarification/justification and then contact me by email at lloydbenes50@gmail.com with their response to help coordinate testimony on these measures in the coming weeks.

     Lloyd Benes is a retired engineer and Loveland, Colorado resident.