April 1, 1933: Self-Induced in New York

According to New York death records, 38-year-old homemaker Julia Cerrone Carrotore died April 1, 1933 at Kings County Hospital in New York. Her death was attributed to septicemia following a self-induced abortion.

According to public records, Julia had five children.

Self-induced abortions were actually rare.  According to research by both Planned Parenthood and author Nancy Howell-Lee, about 90% of pre-legalization abortions were performed by doctors. Howell-Lee broke down the remaining 10% and found that the bulk of them were perpetrated by somebody with medical training, such as a nurse or dentist. 

Watch "Did Eudora Find a Doctor?" on YouTube.

Watch Self-Induced in New York on YouTube.

April 1, 1934: One of Six Clustered Victims of Dr. Guy Brewer

Dr. Guy E. Brewer

Ruby Ford, a 26-year-old homemaker from Ponca City, Oklahoma, died on April 1, 1934, 11 days after an abortion committed on March 20 "at the combination bachelor dwelling and office" of Dr. Guy E. Brewer, a beloved philanthropist in the small town of Graber, Oklahoma. 

So popular was Brewer that the husband of one of his six abortion victims was fired from his job in retaliation for reporting the death to the police.

Brewer had graduated from the University of Louisville in 1906 and had been practicing medicine in Garber for 21 of the 29 years he had been a physician. He supported young men during their university studies, maintaining houses for them to live in. Those he had educated over the years rushed immediately to his defense. Though Brewer had spent many long years helping boys and young men, his impact on women's lives was evidently lightning-fast.

I believe that Ruby was the second woman to die under Brewer's dubious care. The first had been Elizabeth Shaw, age 23, who died on May 25, 1928. The other dead patients are:

• Hermoine Fowler, a 20-year-old coed, who died Jun 27, 1934
• Doris Jones, a 20-year-old mother of two, who died April 11, 1935
• Wanda Lee Gray, age 20, who died April 9, 1935
• Myrtle Helen Rose, age 21, who died December 23, 1931

During and after the entire case played out, Brewer was lavished with love and support from the boys that he had likely helped with more than just housing, tuition, and books over the years. 

Brewer entered guilty pleas and was sentenced to six four-year sentences, to run concurrently, for the six abortion deaths.

Watch Abortion Doctor: The Six Dead Patients of Guy Brewer on YouTube.

Source:

• "Murder Charges Multiply On Philanthropic Doctor," Miami (OK) Daily News-Record, May 5, 1935
• "Brewer is Faced by Third Charge," Tulsa (OK) Daily World, May 8, 1935
• "Doctor Facing A Third Count," Cushing (OK) Daily Citizen, May 8, 1935
• "Flood of Letters Offer Aid to Dr. Guy Brewer," Bristow (OK) Daily Record, May 8, 1935