May 1, 1992: Happy Birthday, Brandon

John Roe 263 performed an abortion on "Christine" on December 20, 1991. He eyeballed the tissue himself and concluded that he'd gotten a single entire fetus and sent Christine home. 

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When Christine came for a follow-up visit on January 2, 1992, Roe did not notice that she was still pregnant, possibly with a twin that Roe had missed. 

It wasn't until Christine went to a different doctor for a kidney check-up on April 6 that she learned that she was still pregnant. She decided to keep her baby. 

Doctors detected fetal distress on May 1, so infant Brandon was delivered by C-section on May 1 at approximately 29 weeks of gestation. Brandon suffered brain damage and was expected to require around-the-clock hospital care for the rest of his life. (Maryland Health Claims Arbitration Board Claim No. HCA-93-154)

Roe had also performed an abortion on "Cheryl" on January 20, 1989 at a Maryland abortion clinic. The abortion was documented as complete even though there was no pathology report done. On March 15, Cheryl learned that she was still pregnant. She gave birth to a little girl on August 23. (Maryland Health Claims Arbitration Board Claim No. HCA-90-242)

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May 1, 1928: The Stereotypical Back Alley Doctor

An Ailing Woman

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On Saturday, April 14, 1928, Dr. T. D. Goodman was called to see a young woman named Bessie Kouns. He found her in a great deal of pain, with considerable swelling and tenderness of the lower abdomen. He treated her for several days,  but her condition was not improving so on the 17th he had her admitted to Stephenson Hospital in Ashland, Kentucky. 

There, her condition continued to deteriorate. 

On April 24, the peritonitis had caused bowel obstruction, requiring surgery. Prior to the surgery, which Bessie did not expect to survive, she made a deathbed statement to Dr. Stephenson.

A Deathbed Statement

The young laundry worker told Stephenson that at 7:00 on a Saturday evening, she had gone to 60-year-old Dr. Henry C. Dorroh's office to keep an appointment for an abortion. Dorroh had been drinking and didn't at first recognize her. She reminded him of the appointment. He cussed and told her to get on the table. He approached her with an instrument that he dropped on the floor, then picked up and used on her. Dorroh "nearly killed her", Stephenson testified that Bessie said. Stephenson's testimony was supported by Mr. Watt Prichard, who was present at the time Bessie made her declaration.

Despite the surgery, Bessie died from septic peritonitis on May 1 at the age of 29.

The Trial

When the case went to trial, Dorroh insisted that he had treated Bessie in February, but only for gonorrhea, and that the treatment might had caused an abortion had Bessie indeed been pregnant. The expert testimony was that the described treatment would indeed be appropriate for gonorrhea, but testimony was divided on whether it would cause an abortion.  

Dorroh was found guilty by a jury that included six women, but his conviction was later set aside and a new trial ordered. He was free as of the 1930 census, which indicates that he was not convicted on a second trial. 

Sources:

• 32 S.W. 2d 550. 236 Ky. 68, 32 S.W. 550 Court of Appeals of Kentucky, Dorroh v. Commonwealth)
• Death certificate
• “6 Women On Jury To Try Dr. Dorroh,” Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal, 21 May, 1929