History: Doctor charged in abortion death

On February 16, 1929, Mrs. Ruth Weir, of East Orange, New Jersey, died at Orange Memorial Hospital of sepsis contracted through a criminal abortion.

Dr. James R. Chamberlain testified that he had examined Ruth at her home and had admitted her to the hospital due to a septic condition. Dr. James Wilson testified that he had treated Ruth in the hospital during late January and that she was suffering from septicemia.

Dr. Maurice Sturm was arrested when Ruth implicated him in a deathbed statement. Mrs. Frieda Sanger testified that Sturm had sent Ruth to her home to recuperate. Sturm admitted to performing the abortion, but insisted that it had not been illegal because it had been necessary to save Ruth's life.

The District Attorney claimed that Sturm failed to keep proper records, including concealing names and appointments of patients. Sturm, who was later acquitted of the manslaughter charge in Ruth's death, alleged during his trial that a judge had demanded bribe money from him to dismiss the case, but that $1,000 he had given the judge was a gift and not part of the bribe money.

This case raises several important points we would do well to remember:

The majority of criminal abortions were performed by physicians, not amateurs.

If the doctor thought the abortion was necessary to save the mother's life, all he had to do to protect himself from prosecution was keep adequate records.

When an abortionist killed a patient before legalization, the law would look at him closely and not shrug the death off as unimportant.

We don't know if Strum kept poor records on Ruth because the abortion was illegal, or because he was a quack who just kept poor records.



For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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