On February 23, 1944,
Amelia Cardito, 34-year-old mother of 4, died in a New York hospital from complications of an illegal abortion that had been performed on Valentine's day in the office of Dr. Anthony Renda. Renda, author of three books on obstetrics, may have been a smart doctor, but he was a stupid crook. He implicated himself when he called police to complain that Amelia's widower was shaking him down for funeral expenses. Renda was sentenced to 7 years in Sing-Sing for Amelia's death. Amelia's abortion was typical of pre-legalization abortions in that it was
performed by a physician.
On February 23, 1928, 26-year-old Miss
Martha Washington died in Chicago from an illegal abortion. The person or persons responsible were never identified or prosecuted.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see
The Bad Old Days of AbortionTo email this post to a friend, use the icon below.
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