April 13, 1909: Middle Death in Abortionist's Career

SUMMARY AND CONTEXT: Stella Kelly, age 28, died on April 13, 1909, one of many victims of that prolific abortionist, Dr. Louisa Achtenberg. This story highlights a seldom-addressed reality: Most pre-legalization abortions were perpetrated physicians or trained medical professionals, not the woman or some amateur. 

Mary Calderone

As then-Planned Parenthood Federation medical director Mary Calderone estimated in the July, 1960 American Journal of Public Health, "90 per cent of all illegal abortions are presently being done by physicians." Another researcher, Nancy Howell Lee, estimated in The Search for an Abortionist (1969) that 89% of illegal abortions were being done by physicians. These estimates are the result of independent research. Calderone was basing her estimates on Planned Parenthood's 1955 conference "Abortion in America," in which physicians, public health officials, and even one criminal abortionist worked together to draw as accurate picture as possible. Lee based her estimates on an extensive survey of women who had sought out abortions prior to legalization.

The Deadly Doctor Achtenberg

Louise Achtenberg was sometimes identified as a doctor and sometimes as a midwife. This was common in early 20th Century Chicago, where female doctors who specialized in obstetrics were referred to as midwives rather than as physicians.

Achtenberg had been implicated in the 1907 abortion death of Dora Swan and the January 1909 abortion death of Florence Wright before yet another young woman's misplaced trust was going to lead to a tragic end.

The Unfortunate Stella

Stella Kelly was a 28-year-old waitress who had divorced her husband, Nathan Lowry, and had resumed using her maiden name. 

On April 13, 1909, Stella died at Hahnemann Hospital in Chicago. Her death was attributed to "septicaemia following a criminal abortion performed by one Louisa Achtenberg, on March 5th, 1909." 

Achtenberg, age 59, was charged with murder by abortion by a coroner's jury. 

Undaunted Doctor

This third death was not enough to move the authorities to take any meaningful action. Achtenberg was later implicated in the 1920 abortion death of Violet McCormick and the 1924 death of Madelyn Anderson. 

I can find no record that she was ever incarcerated, which is hardly surprising, given how hospitable Chicago has typically been to the many doctors and midwives who  perpetrated abortions in the city.

Watch One of Six Dead of Louise Achtenberg on YouTube.

Context in Closing: 

The idea that legalizing abortion magically eliminated tragic deaths is false. The major decline in maternal mortality — including deaths from illegal abortion — occurred decades before Roe v. Wade (1973), driven primarily by sulfa drugs (1930s), penicillin and other antibiotics (1940s), improved blood transfusions, and advances in obstetric care. Legalization simply shifted many abortions from one set of physicians to another. In some cases it led those "back alley" physicians to move onto main street and start killing women with a carelessness they never would have dared before legalization, as exemplified by Milan Vuitch, Jesse Ketchum, and Benjamin Munson. All three had no criminal abortions deaths to their discredit but each went on to kill two patients with appalling malpractice after legalization. Legalization did not eliminate the human cost or the incentives for providers to cut corners. Claims of dramatically improved “safety” still rest on voluntary self-reporting from the facilities and physicians performing the procedures, a system with documented cases of falsified records and gaps in accountability.

*The Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database says that Stella died on April 30, but more reliable sources, the Cook County Death Index and her death certificate, indicate that she actually died on April 13.