Sunday, April 10, 2011

1910: Another Chicago death

On April 10, 1910, Celia M. Schultz, age 29, died in a Chicago home from an abortion.
A woman named Mary Rommell was indicted for felony murder by a grand jury. The source document does not indicate her profession, or that the case ever went to trial.
Note, please, that with ordinary public health issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with, there was likely little difference between the performance of a legal abortion and illegal practice, and the aftercare for either type of abortion was probably equally unlikely to do the woman much, if any, good. For more information about early 20th Century abortion mortality, see Abortion Deaths 1910-1919.
external image Illegals.png

For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Source: Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database

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