April 28, 1973: One of Three Dead at Civil-Rights Activist's Facility

T.R. Mason Howard

Survivors of Julia Rogers, age 20, alleged that she underwent a safe and legal abortion performed by Theodore Roosevelt Mason Howard (pictured) at his Friendship Medical Center in Chicago on April 22, 1973. 

According to her obituary, Julia was a resident of Gary, Indiana, member of Shiloh Baptist Church and worked at Gary National Bank. She left behind her parents, four aunts, and two uncles among many other relatives and friends.

Her boyfriend, Raymond James, said that he had taken Julia to Friendship for the abortion and that she had suffered such severe bleeding that she was given a transfusion. This would indicate that Howard knew that he had injured her. However, he delayed admitting her to the hospital for 2 or 3 days, according to different news coverage.

Julia's death certificate states that her death April 28 at Chicago's Tabernacle Hospital was due to "bronchopneumonia and generalized peritonitis complicating extensive necrotizing endometritis and myometritis with sealed perforation." In other words, she developed pneumonia on top of peritonitis. A hole had been poked in her uterus, causing an infection that made the muscle tissue of her uterus start to rot inside her.  

To add to the tragedy, Julia's mother, Louise Rogers, hadn't even known that her daughter was pregnant. She only found out about the pregnancy and abortion when she got a call from the hospital that Julia was dying. 

Evelyn Dudley and Dorothy Brown also died after abortions at Friendship Medical Center.

A United Press International article printed in the May 1, 1973 Tipton Tribune noted that, according to Chicago assistant city health commissioner Jack Zackler, an average of 10 women a week were being admitted to Chicago Hospitals for abortion complications. This was leading city and state officials to somewhat belatedly decide that they might want to start regulating abortion facilities.

Watch One of Three Fatal Abortions at Friendship Medical Center on YouTube. 
Watch One of Three Fatal Abortions at Friendship Medical Center on Rumble

Sources:

• Death Certificate No. C612195
• "Post-Abortion Death Studied in Illinois," Tipton Tribune May 1, 1973
• "Probe death here after abortion," Chicago Tribune, May 3, 1973
• "Coroner's jury rules abortion death here was due to accident," Chicago Tribune, June 9, 1973
• "$1 Million Suit Filed In Woman's Abortion Death," Mt. Vernon Register-News, July 18, 1973
• "Suit Filed in Illinois After Abortion Death," Omaha World Herald, July 18, 1973
• "The Abortion Profiteers," Chicago Sun-Times 11-19-78
• "12 dead after abortions in state's walk-in clinics," Chicago Sunday Sun-Times, November 19, 1978