Life News
Even though Diamond Renee Williams died in 2016, it is still extremely emotional for her mother, Shakira, to talk about it.
It was January 23 of that year, one day after supporters of abortion around the nation celebrated 43 years of Roe v. Wade and so-called “safe and legal” abortion on demand.
But it’s doubtful that eighteen-year old Diamond Williams had the politics of abortion on her mind as she and her mom reported to the Carolina Center for Women, an abortion facility on Wendover Road in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a scheduled six-week surgical abortion.
Diamond, an African-American, was a high-risk patient, but that did not seem to matter to the outpatient abortion facility staff. At five feet, six inches in height, she weighted approximately 300 pounds and suffered from diabetes mellitus, a condition that affects the metabolism of sugars and carbohydrates in food. Her risk of complications was high enough that a hospital setting would have been a much safer environment for any surgery.
Because of her medical issues, the clinic’s staff should have turned her away. Accepting her as a patient proved to be a fatal mistake.
Diamond was one of the first to arrive that morning for the abortion. Her mother sat patiently in the waiting room at first, but after several hours, she began to worry. When the staff started to turn off the lights in the office at the end of the day, Shakira had to bang on the glass in the reception area to get someone’s attention. She needed to know what was happening with her daughter.
Eventually, Diamond was escorted out a side door and discharged to her mother.
Shakira understood that Diamond would experience some initial pain, but after a restless night, Diamond called the clinic’s after-hours operator for help. The operator told her that pain was normal, but to watch for excessive bleeding and fever. Since she had neither symptom, Diamond thought everything would be okay.
By Monday, Diamond was still in a lot of pain and Shakira suggested that she call the clinic again to see about returning for a follow-up visit. Diamond was told that a nurse from the clinic would be following up with her later in the day, but she never received a call-back.
Tuesday evening, Diamond began to feel a little bit better. As a precaution, Shakira planned to take Diamond to see their primary care physician the next morning.
But less than five minutes after Diamond went to her room to prepare for bed, Shakira heard another of her daughters scream.
A fire unit arrived and found an hysterical family, but apparently they perceived that as aggression and summoned a police unit. The other children and the family dog were shut into a bedroom, presumably for the responder’s safety.
It is unclear what steps the emergency responders actually took to save Diamond, but for Shakira, it seemed like they weren’t doing much, and she wondered why they weren’t working harder to help her daughter.
A note in Diamond’s autopsy report indicated that Diamond had no pulse when paramedics arrived, but Shakira insists that Diamond had revived after her apparent seizure.
It was January 23 of that year, one day after supporters of abortion around the nation celebrated 43 years of Roe v. Wade and so-called “safe and legal” abortion on demand.
But it’s doubtful that eighteen-year old Diamond Williams had the politics of abortion on her mind as she and her mom reported to the Carolina Center for Women, an abortion facility on Wendover Road in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a scheduled six-week surgical abortion.
Diamond, an African-American, was a high-risk patient, but that did not seem to matter to the outpatient abortion facility staff. At five feet, six inches in height, she weighted approximately 300 pounds and suffered from diabetes mellitus, a condition that affects the metabolism of sugars and carbohydrates in food. Her risk of complications was high enough that a hospital setting would have been a much safer environment for any surgery.
Because of her medical issues, the clinic’s staff should have turned her away. Accepting her as a patient proved to be a fatal mistake.
Diamond was one of the first to arrive that morning for the abortion. Her mother sat patiently in the waiting room at first, but after several hours, she began to worry. When the staff started to turn off the lights in the office at the end of the day, Shakira had to bang on the glass in the reception area to get someone’s attention. She needed to know what was happening with her daughter.
Eventually, Diamond was escorted out a side door and discharged to her mother.
By Monday, Diamond was still in a lot of pain and Shakira suggested that she call the clinic again to see about returning for a follow-up visit. Diamond was told that a nurse from the clinic would be following up with her later in the day, but she never received a call-back.
Tuesday evening, Diamond began to feel a little bit better. As a precaution, Shakira planned to take Diamond to see their primary care physician the next morning.
But less than five minutes after Diamond went to her room to prepare for bed, Shakira heard another of her daughters scream.
“I ran to find Diamond lying face down unable to speak and foaming at the mouth,” Shakira told Operation Rescue. “We called 911 and the operator said from what I was explaining, my daughter may have just suffered a seizure.”As Shakira heard the sirens approaching in the distance, painful memories of another tragic night flooded her mind. Diamond had been born with a twin brother who died at just three-months old. The sound of sirens had filled that tragic night as well. This time, they triggered a kind of post-traumatic stress in Shakira — and now her worst fears were coming true. Tragedy was again striking down one of her children.
A fire unit arrived and found an hysterical family, but apparently they perceived that as aggression and summoned a police unit. The other children and the family dog were shut into a bedroom, presumably for the responder’s safety.
A note in Diamond’s autopsy report indicated that Diamond had no pulse when paramedics arrived, but Shakira insists that Diamond had revived after her apparent seizure.
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