June 8, 1914: New Year's Party Ends in Tragedy

By the time 1913 came to a close, 18-year-old Ester Reed had already been working for several years as a cashier at Hillman's department store in Chicago. She was making $6 a week -- less than $200 a week in 2025 dollars. 

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On New Years Eve, Ester looked out the window of her home at 2949 Walnut Street, saw the festive atmosphere, and decided to go out and look for some fun. She met up with a group of young men and women who were going to a party at the Old Style Inn at the corner of California and Division.

In the traditional manner of New Years Even, Ester drank. In her drunken state, she ended up in a one-night stand with one of the young men.

Months went by and Ester's missed her periods. In April she went to her mother, Julia Reed, with her worries. Julia took her daughter to two different people to confirm their worst fears. Ester was pregnant.

Julia bought pills for her daughter to try to abort the baby.

The pills didn't have the desired effect.

Desperate to keep her husband, Fred, from finding out that Ester was pregnant and casting her off, Julia sought an abortionist. She decided on Dr. John Lewis Neumann, at 3617 Douglas Avenue.

Neuman demanded payment of $150 for an abortion, the equivalent of over $4,800 in 2025. Julia protested, and Neuman told her to sell furniture and clothes to get the money. Julia dickered him down to $50, though he complained about it. 

He started the abortion at his practice on April 25, 1014, then completed it two days later at the family's home. His efforts clearly weren't even worth the $50, much less then $150 he'd wanted, since he managed to make Ester deathly ill. He demanded an additional $25 for aftercare.

Julia didn't pay him. Instead, she took her daughter to Park Avenue Hospital, where she died of septicemia on June 8. 

The secret abortion intended to keep Esther's father from kicking her out of the house thus removed her from the family permanently. 

Neuman was arrested January 11, 1917, and though the case went to trial, the sources do not indicate the outcome.

Watch Secret Abortion Kills Teen on YouTube.

Sources:

• Death certificate
• "Doctor Accused in Case of Young Girl's Death," The Day Book, June 9, 1914
• Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database. 
• When Abortion was a Crime, Lesley Reagan, University of California Press, 1997