Thursday, October 30, 2008

1923: Back alley butcher performs fatal abortion on Chicago teen

On October 30, 1923, 19-year-old Mrs. Lydia Nelson died at Chicago's Englewood Hospital from an abortion performed there that day, evidently by Dr. Charles Klinetop.

On January 15, 1924, Klinetop was indicted by a grand jury for felony murder in Lydia's death.

Lydia's abortion was typical of criminal abortions in that it was performed by a physician.



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

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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi

I just stumbled across your blog and read a few posts so please forgive me if the questions I ask have already been covered.

I'm assuming that you're against abortion - (its a big assumption so again I apologize if I have that incorrect) but I wonder how you propose to reduce the number of unwanted children as that is what they will end up being. What about children who are wanted but by parents who are mentally or physically unable to care for them. I'm currently studying child psychotherapy and I gotta tell you that from what I have seen, death doesn't seem like such a bad alternative.

Would love to have your ideas.

Lilliput

Christina Dunigan said...

You balk at assuming that I'm against abortion until you've verified it. And I applaud you for that.

I ask you to do the same and balk at assuming that abortion reduces the number of unwanted, abused children.

Think about this: Since Roe vs. Wade, we've aborted, what, 42 million fetuses? But what's happened with child abuse? Has it gotten better or worse? Seems to me that there's been no improvement, that maybe things have even gotten worse.

How can this be? Did we abort the wrong 42 million unborn babies? Or was 42 million not enough? How many abortions would it take?

Chew that over and get back to me.

Anonymous said...

First of all, no-one is balking, just trying to have an exchange of ideas.

Abortion like child abuse has been present in society since man began, either in the garden of Eden or in the Savannah - whichever you prefer. Row vs Wade just legalised the process meaning reasearchers could develop the most humane and safest ways of carrying out the procedure.

In the same way what appears now as child abuse, would be accepted as a normal part of society so we have no clue wether the levels have stayed the same, increased or decreased - particulary as victims and perpetrators are not keen to talk.

The only thing we do know is that the overall population on earth has grown exponentially and therefore numbers of both child abuse and abortion will rise.

Do you have numbers of the ration of children available for adoption/fostering vs the number of parents because that would be an interesting relationship to look at?

Lilliput

Amy said...

Row vs Wade just legalised the process meaning reasearchers could develop the most humane and safest ways of carrying out the procedure.

If you've just stumbled across this blog, keep reading. You'll (hopefully) be shocked to discover Roe v. Wade did nothing to make abortion "humane" or "safe" - and that includes the mother.

Most abortion clinics are on-par with butcher shops, and the kind PETA folks would protest.

Abortion like child abuse has been present in society since man began, either in the garden of Eden or in the Savannah - whichever you prefer.

Does that make it right? Versions of slavery have been around for decades, yet we fight to eradicate it and it's never "acceptable" on any level.

The only thing we do know is that the overall population on earth has grown exponentially and therefore numbers of both child abuse and abortion will rise.

But there are so many other factors outside of just sheer population numbers that cause this problem.

The most notable issue is the shunning and encouraged breakdown of the traditional family structure, and the encouragement of promiscuous, sexually charged lifestyles.

Anonymous said...

To be honest, I don't know if today's promiscuous and sexually charged lifestyles are any worse then those of the Greek/Roman/Egyption etc. In fact I wonder what you consider to be the traditional view of marriage because it certainly isn't the one man one women arrangement we now have. Polygamy has been the way again for far longer and in every society but I gotta tell you I aint happy sharing my man with anyone so lets not get that traditional. Just like the family changed from polygamy to one man one women so it again now has to change to reflect 21st century knowledge/culture.

There is no doubt in my mind that the percentage of women dying from abortion is far less then they were before Roe vs Wade. It has become safer for women to do something which they feel they have to do.

So why don't you campaign to make abortion even safer or campaign so that people don't act stupid and have sex without birth control, wouldn't wish the stress of deciding to abort on my worst enemy - so why are you making a difficult decision even harder.

Christina Dunigan said...

Check the data, anon. Abortion mortality rates did most of their plumetting before legalization, due to improved health, antibiotics, and blood transfusions. The abortion lobby just came in after the fact and took credit.

And it OUGHT to be difficult to freaking KILL A BABY. This isn't something we should be in any way condoning or facilitating.

Most of the women having abortions want other options, so we're NOT helping them by facilitating abortions. The ones who CAN kill their babies without a qualm don't deserve our sympathy. So the only women abortion actually HELPS are women who can murder children and consider it some sort of triumph. Are THOSE the women we want to build society around?

Anonymous said...

I cannot possibly believe that

a) that it was safer to have an abortion before it was legal. Obviously antibiotics and transfusions have improved every aspect of health care but at least when its legal if there was a problem the women could go into hospital in public without shame or worry that she would get anyon in trouble.

b) you actually believe that a woman has an abortion without thinking about all the other options, and that she does it without deep sorrow - I've never heard of anything so demeaning in my life. Adoption is well advertised and there is no longer any shame in single motherhood - they are not living in a vacuum and they know their options.

And finally, the ones that as you put it - can think about abortion without a qualm, were probably unwanted and neglected children in the first place who have cut off from their emotions so fully that they cannot feel anything. They probably wish they were never born never mind their babies. Nobody is born evil.

I read a really good line today which went " Nobody is really pro abortion - ie its not something you want to do but if necessary its a choice that you would like to be able to have.

And so we come back to my initial question - arn't there more children looking for parents, then parents available.

Christina Dunigan said...

Anon, there is no evidence I could present to you that would get past your blinders. And I have better things to do than waste my time with somebody who thinks that killing a desperate woman's baby is way to help her.

When you decide that women deserve better, we can talk. But as long as you think that lying crying on the abortion table as some stranger scrapes your baby out in pieces is good for women, there's no point in us talking.