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 An unsafe abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by people lacking the necessary skills, or in an environment lacking minimal medical standards, or both. An unsafe abortion is a life-threatening procedure. It includes self-induced abortions, ...

after the

Hyde Amendment In U.S. politics, the Hyde Amendment is a legislative provision barring the use of federal funds to pay for abortion, except to save the life of the woman, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape. Before the Hyde Amendment took effect in ...

was passed. The 1977 Amendment cut off

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

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 An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

McAllen, Texas McAllen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Hidalgo County. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexican border. The city limits extend south to the Rio Grande, acros ...

. 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.

Biography

Early life

Jimenez was born in McAllen, Texas, to a large Mexican-American family. She had 11 siblings though some died young, including her twin. Before her death, she obtained her

GED Ged or GED may refer to: Places * Ged, Louisiana, an unincorporated community in the United States * Ged, a village in Bichiwara Tehsil, Dungarpur District, Rajasthan, India * Delaware Coastal Airport, in Delaware, US, callsign GED People * Ged B ...

and attended Pan American University. She became a single parent in her 20s and, when she passed, had a four-year-old daughter named Monique. She hoped to become a Special Education teacher.

Death

In 1976, the Hyde Amendment restricted Medicaid funding for abortions. The typical cost of an abortion in McAllen at the time was $230 without insurance, which many people could not afford. In September 1977, Rosie received an abortion from an unlicensed midwife in McAllen. She contracted an infection from

Clostridium perfringens ''Clostridium perfringens'' (formerly known as ''C. welchii'', or ''Bacillus welchii'') is a Gram-positive, bacillus (rod-shaped), anaerobic, spore-forming pathogenic bacterium of the genus '' Clostridium''. ''C. perfringens'' is ever-present ...

as a result of the procedure. After spending seven days in intensive care, she died of

organ failure Organ dysfunction is a condition where an organ does not perform its expected function. Organ failure is organ dysfunction to such a degree that normal homeostasis cannot be maintained without external clinical intervention or life support. It i ...

on October 3, 1977.

Legacy

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. 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." A

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

issued by

550 Music 550 Music (originally known as Sony 550 Music) was a unit of Sony Music Entertainment, which operated through Sony Music's Epic Records division while in activity. Launched in 1992, the "550" name was inspired by the address of the Sony building ...

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

called '' Spirit of '73: Rock For Choice'' was put together by the activist group

Feminist Majority The Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) is an American non-profit organization headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, whose stated mission is to advance non-violence and women's power, equality, and economic development. The name Feminist Maj ...

, and the liner notes state that the proceeds of the album went to supporting the

Becky Bell Rebecca Suzanne "Becky" Bell (August 24, 1971 – September 16, 1988) was an American teenage girl who died of complications from a septic abortion. After becoming pregnant, Bell inquired about a legal abortion but was hindered by Indiana state ...

/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.

Rosie's Law

In March 2023, Texas state senator

Sarah Eckhardt Sarah Eckhardt (born 1964) is an American attorney and politician from the state of Texas. She is a member of the Texas Senate and a former county judge for Travis County, Texas. Early life Eckhardt is the daughter of Bob Eckhardt, a Democratic ...

and state representative

Sheryl Cole Sheryl Nelson Cole (born August 16, 1964) is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives for House District 46, which is located within Travis County, Texas. Education Cole earned her Bachelor of Arts in accounting from Univer ...

filed Rosie's Law. The law would expand Medicaid coverage to include abortion care and contraceptives, and lift a 2017 ban on private insurance plans' coverage of abortion care.

References