A Colorado district judge last month ordered a coroner to release an unredacted autopsy report of a teen who died in 2025 of complications from a second-trimester abortion, a legal victory that pro-life groups have touted as a win for transparency surrounding abortions.
The case began in February 2025 after 18-year-old Lexi Arguello underwent a surgical abortion at a Colorado Planned Parenthood facility nearly 22 weeks into her pregnancy, pro-life organization Operation Rescue stated in a press release.
A complication that developed just hours after the abortion required Arguello to be hospitalized, but Operation Rescue said public testimony indicates Planned Parenthood waited too long to call 911. The abortion facility eventually requested a “silent siren” ambulance in order to avoid attention, therefore delaying Arguello’s arrival at the hospital. Arguello died at the hospital shortly thereafter.
CatholicVote reported at the time that a medical professional’s testimony suggested that Arguello experienced an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE), which can occur after abortions or births. The embolism caused Arguello to develop a serious blood-clotting condition that proved fatal.
Operation Rescue had requested Arguello’s autopsy less than two weeks after her death and received a heavily redacted copy that blacked out information related to the abortion and complications. Seeking the report in order to provide transparency to the public about abortions, Operation Rescue turned to Life Legal Defense Foundation for aid in challenging Larimar County Coroner Stephen Hanks, who said that releasing the unredacted report might deter women from seeking "reproductive healthcare.”
“The Coroner fully understood that women might not enter an abortion clinic when they know the staff have injured or even killed a patient,” Operation Rescue President Troy Newman stated in the release. “Only, instead of believing women deserve all the facts when choosing where they go for healthcare, Mr. Hanks thought it better they be kept in the dark and the truth about Lexi’s death kept under wraps. This is how abortion radicals keep abortion in business – by constantly hiding the truth.”
A district judge sided with Operation Rescue April 27, ordering Hanks to send the unredacted autopsy report to the pro-life group. The report confirmed that Arguello likely experienced an AFE and serious clotting, causing cardiovascular collapse and multi-organ failure.
Alexandra Synder, CEO of Life Legal, stated in the release that Arguello’s death “highlights the dangerous lack of oversight surrounding Colorado’s abortion industry.”
“The public has a right to know what happens inside Planned Parenthood,” she added, “especially when taxpayer-funded abortion providers continue fighting common-sense safety standards.”