Tatia Malika Olden French

Tatia Malika French, PhD, 32, entered Oakland's Summit Hospital with her husband on December 27, 2001, expecting the birth of their first child. She had recently earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley and was preparing to enter medical school.
She was two weeks past her due date and had not wanted her labor to be induced. However, her physicians convinced her that waiting longer would be dangerous for her baby. At 7:00 p.m., she was given Cytotec to induce labor. Near midnight she was given a second dose. At 4:00 a.m. her blood pressure began to drop and the baby's heart rate plummeted. Suddenly she seized and died.

According to the Alameda County Coroner's Bureau report, Ms. French died from an amniotic fluid embolism. Her husband told the primary investigator from the coroner's office, Darrell Harris, that he felt that they had not been fully informed about Cytotec's risks before French was given the drug.