In Colorado, advocates for life are gathering to remember a young woman who died during a second-trimester abortion at a Planned Parenthood — and to call for better safety regulations.
Alexis “Lexi” Arguello died of complications during an abortion at the Planned Parenthood in Fort Collins; her grandparents claimed the clinic waited too long to call 911.
The three-day “Justice for Lexi” campaign, taking place Aug. 27–29, aims to draw attention to the “the tragic death of Lexi Arguello and the numerous abortion injuries sustained by other unprotected women in unregulated abortion clinics across the state,” according to Operation Rescue, a watchdog group working to end abortion in the U.S. In the 1980s and 1990s, the group organized peaceful sit-ins and blockades in front of abortion clinics, which sometimes led to arrests.
A press conference on Aug. 28 will be held on the sidewalk in front of the Fort Collins Planned Parenthood, where 12 other women have been injured, according to the group. Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez-Novelo of the Archdiocese of Denver will speak at the prayer rally following the press conference.
Dr. Catherine Wheeler, a former abortionist who now heads the Colorado Chapter of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a group that promotes patients’ rights for unborn babies and mothers, is set to speak at the event.
“The tragic loss of Lexi’s life and at least 13 ambulances from Fort Collins since January 2025 witness to the dangers of later abortion, magnified by lack of oversight, transparency and accountability,” Wheeler stated in an Aug. 24 press release.
“Women and Coloradans do not understand the dangers of abortion after the first trimester, and are not told the facilities are not regulated or inspected to be sure that anesthesia is safe, sterilization protocols are enforced, clinicians are adequately trained, or that the staff and facility are prepared, equipped and capable to manage emergencies like hemorrhage, uterine perforation or acute respiratory failure, known complications,” Wheeler continued.
Dr. Tom Perille, who heads Democrats for Life of Colorado, insists that women’s safety must come first.
“For two consecutive years, bills have been introduced in the Colorado Assembly to grant the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment the authority to license, regulate, and inspect second and third trimester abortion facilities like they do other high risk healthcare facilities,” Perille said in the release. “Both times, the bills were defeated along party lines at the bequest of the abortion industry.”
“Putting the abortion industry’s financial interests above the health and safety of Colorado women must stop,” he said.
Operation Rescue has been monitoring the Fort Collins Planned Parenthood since Arguello’s death last year, according to the press release.
“Since Lexi’s tragic death, our team has documented at least 12 more women injured at this same Planned Parenthood,” Sarah Neely, COO of Operation Rescue, said in a statement. “Another late-term Planned Parenthood located in Denver has injured nine women. Not one incident has been investigated, not even the death of Lexi, when evidence and testimony suggested Planned Parenthood staff waited too long to call 911.”
In one case on July 9, Planned Parenthood in Fort Collins called 911 for a “hemorrhaging” patient.
Attorney Alexandra Snyder of Life Legal Defense Foundation, a pro-life nonprofit defending unborn children, called for more safety regulations for abortion.
“The need for adequate regulations is most pronounced in facilities that perform second- and third-trimester abortions, like the one that treated Lexi before she died,” Snyder said. “Colorado’s legislature has twice rejected attempts to impose even basic safety requirements. We will continue to fight for laws that protect women in Colorado from this unconscionable neglect on the part of the Legislature.”
“We hope that Lexi’s death will finally compel lawmakers to require abortion clinics to meet the same patient safety standards required of other medical facilities,” Snyder said.
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