On November 16, 1905, 18-year-old clerk Dorothy Spuhr died in County Hospital in Chicago from an abortion likely performed on or about November 13. Midwife Julia Gibson, aka Timmons, was arrested and held by the coroner's jury. Gibson went on to perpetrate a fatal abortion on Bessie Braun the following year. Gibson, who had been at Bessie’s bedside during the declaration, was being escorted out of the hospital by police when she asked to go to the women’s dressing room in the hospital basement. She was permitted to go in while a police officer stood guard outside the door.
The officer soon heard a shot, then forced the door and found Gibson lying on the floor suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. She was admitted to the hospital for treatment and was kept both under arrest and under suicide watch. As she lay near death, Gibson confessed her guilt. She later recovered. I've been unable to determine the outcome of either case.
Sources:
- “Midwife is Held; Murder Charged,” Chicago Tribune, Apr. 8, 1906
- Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database
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