July 15, 1989: Nobody Warned Her and She Paid With Her Life

Would Debra M. Gray have entrusted herself to Hillview Women's Medical Center if she had known what the National Abortion Federation knew? After Debra's death, 60 Minutes interviewed Barbara Radford, then-president of the National Abortion Federation. Radford admitted that the organization -- supposedly devoted to ensuring that women had access to safe abortions -- knew that Hillview was cutting corners but said nothing because, "We want to make sure that women have choices when it comes to abortion services, and if you regulate it too strictly, you then deny women access to the service." 

They knew that women like Debra weren't safe at Hillview. Yet they said nothing.

Debra's Death

Thirty-four-year-old Debra went to Hillview for an abortion on July 8, 1989. She went through their counseling procedure and underwent lab work. She returned for the actual procedure on July 12. An ultrasound was performed and she was estimated to be 16.5 weeks pregnant. Debra signed an undated consent form for the abortion and anesthesia.

The records don't indicate who initiated IV Brevitol for anesthesia, nor do they document the dosage or concentration, nor Debra's weight or the amount of fluid given. There was also no record of a physical exam or any exam to determine if Debra was an appropriate candidate for this type of anesthesia.

Gideon Kioko

The abortionist, Gideon Kioko, indicated that the nurse and other staff expected the drug to induce "twilight sleep" rather than general anesthesia. There was no anesthesiologist on duty, and no physician supervising the administration of anesthesia medication.

Kioko initiated the abortion. There was no documentation of the effect of the medication, nor of Debra's vital signs. A hospital note indicated that Debra had "responded rather rapidly to the anesthesia" and that three minutes after Kioko had started the abortion, Debra's blood was noted to be "very dark" and she was having trouble breathing. Kioko spent five minutes completing the abortion.

A code note dated July 12, 1989, by a Dr. Raymond Taylor, indicates that Debra was unresponsive, with a low blood pressure and sluggish pulse. Dr. Taylor's note indicated that after fifteen minutes of CPR and advanced cardiac life support, Debra was transported by ambulance to the hospital at Andrews Air Force Base.

When paramedics arrived, they estimated that Debra's brain had been deprived of oxygen for twelve minutes. Debra had a racing heart, then went into ventricular fibrillation. She was resuscitated, but never regained consciousness. She was pronounced dead on July 15.

The autopsy found traces of heroin in Debra's bloodstream. There was no evidence that the facility had screened Debra for possible drug use.

Oops, They Did it Again

Susanne Logan

Hillview staff also allowed Susanne Logan to suffer an eventually fatal lack of oxygen during an abortion that same year. Susanne languished in a nursing home for three years before her death.

Passing the Buck

Kioko made the following excuses to the medical board regarding the fatal abortions:

In the first two cases where Brevitol was given, I did not give it, nor did I consent to it. I was not consulted or asked about it. I did not even start intravenous fluids. The decision to administer Brevitol was made by the patient and the clinic, and during those [sic] time, I would be called in. I would be notified that "the patient is now asleep, Doctor. You may start the procedure." ....

I, therefore, had nothing to do with the Brevitol administered to these two patients. Other contract physicians were also working under similar terms, and, like me, they had nothing to do with the administration of Brevitol. I suppose that I was just unlucky at that time and happened to be there when this incident happened.

....

[Regarding Debra Gray]. I understand that [the Brevitol] was given by Dr. Barbara Lofton-Clinical Practitioner. My initial contact with the patient was the initial sizing evaluation and to determine the gestational age of the pregnancy. The next contact by me was when the patient was already asleep. As I was finishing the procedure, I called the attention to the administers [sic] of the anesthetic, that the patient's blood was getting unusually dark. At that time, in my view, adequate resuscitation efforts was [sic] immediately instituted with airway established and 911 was called. EKG and oxygen were available and were used. Dr. Taylor, a Cardiology fellow headed the resuscitation effort. It is just not true that adequate resuscitation was not done and that the equipment was not available. Incidentally, this patient had recently used Opium [sic], though the patient had denied this in her medical history.

The case of [Suzanne Logan] is similar. The patient was put to sleep, with Brevitol. I was not in the Operating Room at the time. Once again I was called in to do the procedure once the patient was deemed asleep. I was not consulted, nor did I participate in the decision to give the agent, but once again, I know there was immediate and adequate resuscitation effort. (Please refer to the letter from Dr. [sic] Barbara Lofton). The only case I directly had complete responsibility for is that of ... [Patient C].

The medical board noted that Kioko, as the physician performing the procedure, was still responsible for ensuring that the patient was being provided with appropriate care, regardless of how the clinic chose to assign tasks. He was responsible for examining his patients prior to surgery -- which he did not do. The board also noted that nobody was monitoring either woman's vital signs while Kioko was operating on them.

The board noted that "In the above cases, [Kioko] performed surgical procedures under conditions that failed to meet appropriate standards for the delivery of quality medical and surgical care. .... In the event that [Kioko] was unable to correct these conditions, the appropriate standard of care required that [he] not perform these procedures at this facility until these conditions were so corrected."

The board also noted that "Kioko demonstrated a serious lack of judgment.... Kioko assumed that his role was limited to performing technical procedures upon anesthetized patients, leaving overall management of the patients to others. Dr. Kioko's gullibility in this regard proved fatal."

While the investigation was going on, Kioko left Hillview and was hired by CYGMA Health Center, an abortion clinic in Kensington, Maryland. In November of 1990, they made him Medical Director. He kept that post until he surrendered his medical license in order to get the medical board off his back.

Safety Last

Debra's sister, Tam, who had known her sister was going to Hillview that day and had been planning on meeting her for dinner that night, told 60 Minutes, "It's sad to think that people can go in and have a safe procedure, what they think is safe, and die. The outcome was just like a back-alley abortion."

Kermit Gosnell

This is hardly the last time that NAF knew about a seedy abortion mill and kept their mouths shut. After the deaths of Semika Shaw and Karnamaya Mongar, Kermit Gosnell invited a NAF inspector to his "house of horrors" in Philadelphia. The inspector concluded that Gosnell's practice was beyond redemption. But at no point did NAF alert the authorities, tell their member clinics to stop referring to him, or -- more to the point -- tell their Delaware member clinic to stop letting him start late abortions in their facility and finish them in his.

Watch "Everybody's Fault But His" on YouTube.

---

Sources: 

• 60 Minutes Volume XXIII, #32, April 21, 1991
• "Abortion clinic licensing considered," The Star-Democrat, April 29, 1991
• "P.G. physician surrenders license," The Evening Sun, December 19, 1991
• "Doctor turns in license in probe of botched abortions," The Star-Democrat, December 20, 1991

July 14, 1921: Criminal or Self-Induced?

On July 14, 1921, 23-year-old homemaker Edna May Inman Rohner died at Illinois Masonic Hospital in Chicago, leaving behind her husband and a young son.

When I checked on Newspapers.com to see if there was any information from recently added newspapers, I found the following snippet in the July 15, 1921 Chicago Tribune:

This piece says that Edna died from a self-induced abortion. According to her death certificate, Edna died from "pyemia secondary to an abortion." However, according to the Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database, it was actually a criminal perpetrated by Dr. Otto Klemmick.

Klemmick was held by the coroner and tried, but acquitted on June 12, 1923. The source material is scanty, so it's unclear how much evidence there was against Klemick or why he was acquitted. Whether Klemmick was truly innocent, or whether he simply managed to escape punishment, Edna and her baby got no justice.

So a search for more information about Edna's tragic death just led to more confusion.

Watch Edna's Mysterious Death on YouTube.

Sources:

• Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database
• "Operation Kills Woman," Chicago Tribune, July 15, 1921
• Death certificate

July 14, 1942: Self-Induced in New York

Queens General Hospital

According to New York death records, on July 14, 1942, 41-year-old homemaker Lillian Abt Sweetman died at Queens General Hospital in New York. Her cause of death was given as "septicemia complicating an alleged self induced abortion."

According to genealogy records, Lillian left behind her husband and either two or three children.

I've been unable to determine anything else about Lillian.

Watch "Alleged Self Induced Abortion" on YouTube.

1973: Mysterious Indiana Death

“Elisa” is on the Blackmun Wall with the little information Life Dynamics was able to collect.

Elisa was Caucasian and between 20 and 24. Her memorial states that she died in Indiana in 1973 after having a legal abortion.

ADR later investigated after Indiana records before a certain year became public and found that records confirmed a woman matching Elisa’s description who lived in Vigo County, Indiana. Her exact identity is still unknown and further investigation is under way.

2017: Abortion of “nonviable” baby kills mother too

“Taylor Roe” was 33 and six weeks pregnant and in good health when she was told that her baby was not viable. It is unknown what condition her child was actually diagnosed with or what tests may have been done to reach this conclusion. Many parents report being pressured into abortion after receiving a fetal diagnosis. Had Taylor been referred to resources for neonatal palliative care (or possibly a second opinion), she might still be alive.

Instead, she underwent a chemical abortion with vaginally administered misoprostol. This medication is supposed to be administered inside the cheek because if it's administered vaginally it can trigger rapid-onset fatal toxic shock syndrome. That's exactly what happened to Taylor.

Grok AI illustration

After the abortion, Taylor bled heavily for four days and suffered from abdominal pain, which became worse over the course of the week. She was in so much pain that she had to go to the emergency room. The ER gave her medicine and sent her home, but she became even worse and returned to the ER with nausea, vomiting and a fever of 101.6 F.

This time, ER staff noted that Taylor was now tachycardic, with her heart racing at 142 beats per minute. She had severely abnormal results on her blood work. A CT scan detected free fluid in her pelvic cavity and multiple pleural effusions. 

Taylor underwent a D&C and then was admitted to the ICU in an attempt to save her life. Despite the best efforts of the hospital, Taylor continued to decline. Her heart was racing at 160 to 170 beats per minute. Her blood pressure and urine output steadily declined. She was given more antibiotics and fluids to try to head off the infection.

Her condition worsened. She had to be intubated because she could not maintain an open airway.

Plans were made for an emergency hysterectomy, but she went into cardiac arrest and died before the surgery could be carried out.

The autopsy showed the extent of the damage Taylor suffered. The results showed “a large volume of cloudy serosanguineous fluid, fibropurulent exudates, and mesenteric and pelvic lymphadenopathy, demonstrating infection and peritonitis, along with a hemorrhagic and necrotic uterus, right ovary, and right fallopian tube.” Tissue cultures were positive for clostridium sordellii. Her organs were too severely damaged for her to survive.

Like too many others, Taylor died of Toxic Shock Syndrome from her legal chemical abortion. Her baby may have had no way to survive, but there was no reason for both of them to die.

Alyona Dixon, Holly Patterson, Oriane Shevin, Amber Thurman, Chanelle Bryant, Vivian Tran, “Wanda Roe,” “Mandy Roe,” “Alina Roe,” “Bridget Roe,” “Chelsea Roe,” “Sadie Roe,” "Toni Roe", "Tina Roe", "Dove Roe", “Carmen Roe,” “Belle Roe,” “Corrie Roe,” “Sabrina Roe,” "Jayden Roe," and more women in the United States were also killed by post-abortion pill sepsis.

Source: "A Classic Case of Toxic Shock Syndrome Due to a Not So Classic Organism," Clostridium sordellii," Proceedings of UCLA Health, Volume 22, 2018

July 13, 1926: Dismembered and Dumped

  A Ghastly Discovery

Vittorio Gianini

On July 13, 1926, state hospital laborer Vittorio Gianini, walking to work along Walk Hill Street in the Mattapan district on the outskirts of Boston, spotted something unnerving. 

The road passed between New Calvary Cemetery and Mount Hope Cemetery. Against the wall of New Calvary Cemetery were two cardboard boxes and a burlap bag.

Mr. Jenney notified a nearby patrolman, who lifted the lid of one of the boxes and spotted what appeared to be human remains. He called for other police officers to help him guard the scene while they waited for the medical examiner.

Parts of the woman's body were wrapped in Boston newspapers dated June 27. The vital organs had been wrapped in a cotton chemise, then placed under the head in the larger box. 

Police believed that the remains had been dumped next to the cemetery by someone who had planned to toss them into a grave that had been dug in anticipation of a burial, cover them with some dirt, and allow the scheduled burial to hide all traces of the victim.

Identity a Mystery

Investigators described the young woman as "attractive and apparently refined." 

Dr. Leary, the Boston medical examiner, said that the she was approximately 22 to 25 years of age, 5'6" tall, weighing 120 pounds, with bobbed black hair parted on the left and combed smooth, and dark brown eyes. Her eyebrows were carefully penciled. She had never needed dental work, and had a slight overbite. Her nails were very well-tended but not professionally manicured or pedicured. 

The young woman's legs were still wearing Nile green stockings which had been pulled up over the tops of the severed limbs. The young woman's cotton night dress, with embroidery on the right shoulder and a pink ribbon running through the neckline, was still on her torso.

She had evidently been dismembered shortly after her death, Leary said. The dismemberment was expertly done, Leary said, indicating that the killer might be a skilled surgeon. Leary estimated that the young woman had been dead from 48 to 72 hours at the time of autopsy.

 The medical examiner's office photographed the body and had a "microphotographer" alter the picture to try to recreate what the young woman had looked like when alive. The photo was published in newspapers

Around 23 families or other loved ones of missing women contacted the morgue in the first hours after the body was found. A procedure was established to prevent morbid gawking. Dr. Leary would ask the name, age, and description of their missing loved one. This was often sufficient to rule out a missing woman. One woman, for example, was told that the body was not that of her daughter, Eileen LeGrace, because Eileen had dental fillings while the woman in the morgue had completely health teeth. 

If the description matched the body, the family would first be shown the photograph, which was usually enough to rule out the missing loved one as the "Mattapan Victim."

Two employees of the State Child Welfare Division came to the morgue with a photograph of Edith Greene, who had been a ward of the state. They had come forward after seeing the photo of the dead woman in the newspaper. However, they were uncertain as to the identity after viewing the body because, they said, Edith did not have an overbite or particular large central front teeth like those of the victim.

Other Clues Pursued

The boxes were dusted for fingerprints. The ropes used to tie them provided clues, since they had been tied using distinctive knots. A salesman at a store reported a man had purchased 50 feet of clothesline the morning of Monday the 12th, the day before the body was discovered. He was confident that he would be able to positively identify the purchaser. 

William Reagan

William Reagan, superintendent of the Natick Box Company, went to the medical examiner's office to examine the boxes the body had been found in. He identified one of them, the smaller, 13 x 9.5 x 8 inch, as having been produced at his factory. It was their "green mahogany" box, manufactured exclusively for a Boston company, Collins & Fairbanks, for fur neckpieces. While this narrowed down the place the box was obtained, this did not much narrow down the specific box since Natick produced 3,000 a year. Nevertheless, police went to the Boston firm to request a list of customers who had purchased furs packaged in the green mahogany box.

Leary also did not at first release a definitive cause of death. He said that "blood poisoning" was likely and indicted that, as the New York Times said, "evidence pointed to illegal surgery."

"The only indication as to the identity of the murderer came from young men who saw a well-dressed, middle-aged man nervously driving an automobile in the vicinity" the previous night.

Possible Sightings

People came forward who thought they had seen the young woman or the person who had dumped her body.

A watchman at Grand Trunk Railroad station said that he had seen a woman matching the woman's description at the station about two weeks earlier. She was quarrelling with a man who appeared to be in his mid-30s and slapped his face. The argument was about plans for an abortion. About five minutes later they seemed to have calmed down, asked about the departure times for trains into Boston then getting into a taxi and leaving together.

A brakeman at the station said that the watchman had called his attention to the woman that day. He said he had seen her as a passenger a week before the quarrel, getting off the train at Berlin, New Hampshire. 

The Victim Identified

By July 15, the young woman had been positively identified as 20-year-old Edith Louise Greene, the young ward of the state who had previously been ruled out as the victim. Information that the state officials hadn't known when they first went to the morgue led the medical examiner to take a closer look.

Edith had been raised as a ward of the state, along with her two siblings, at the behest of their mother after the death of their father. 

Edith went to work at the home of Mrs. Arthur J. Buckley, taking care of her two children. The children, Mrs. Buckley said, were delighted with Edith, and she, herself, was fond of the girl. After working with the family for eleven months, Edith left to take a job at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital on April 26, 1926 in order to earn more money so she could marry her sweetheart. She was employed in the pathology department in a training position.

Edith she became friends with another worker at the hospital, Betty Landry. 

Edith left her lodgings at the hospital the night of June 23, never to return.

Edith's Time at the Rooming House

Edith was next tracked to lodgings she took with Mrs. John R. MacDonald at 39 Stanley Street, Meetinghouse Hill in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston on June 26. Mrs. MacDonald became quickly very fond of her young lodger. "She seemed so refined and honest and good that no one could help caring for her."

Mrs. MacDonald said that Edith and the young woman's lover sat down together on July 3 and had a conversation about Edith's pregnancy. Mrs. MacDonald said that she encouraged the young couple to consult with a pastor and get married. Edith and her boyfriend expressed concern about the expenses of a young family, Mrs. MacDonald said, but she assured them that they would be able to manage.

The couple left, Mrs. MacDonald said, and returned with a marriage license, which they showed her much to her delight.

A few days later Edith slipped away, leaving her key on her dresser. 

"I missed her very much," Mrs. MacDonald said. "You see, she seemed so well trained and quiet and ready to do anything one asked her. I did everything to make her comfortable and she appreciated even the smallest favor. She was so thoughtful about pulling up my chair for me or doing little deeds of kindness."

When she read about the body found by the cemetery and saw the photo of the dead girl, she convinced herself that it wasn't Edith. She became uneasy when the State Ward Department phoned her about Edith's whereabouts, and totally distraught when she learned the sad truth.

Edith's Final Movements

She was next tracked to lodgings at 233 Warren Street in Roxbury, where she took a room on July 8. She told Mrs. Ida Engel, who kept the lodging house, that she had just been hospitalized and was going to "loaf for a week." Mrs. Engle was surprised that Edith selected Room 7A, which was a large room. Edith explained that she was expecting a friend to come to visit and wanted to have plenty of space.

Edith had arrived at Mrs. Engel's house at around 6:30 in the evening and stayed just long enough to secure the room without leaving any belongings there.  At about 9:00 that evening she returned with a young man and two suitcases. Edith struck Mrs. Engle as very refined and likely to be a desirable lodger.

Edith and the young man, whom she addressed as "Gene," merely dropped off the luggage and left. Edith never returned.

The young man, however, did return on Monday, July 12. He was accompanied by a young woman who matched the description of Betty Landry, Edith's friend from the State Psychiatric Hospital. The pair said that Edith was resting in the country and had sent them for her belongings. They didn't have Edith's room key, which Mrs. Engle took as a sign that they didn't have permission from Edith to take the bags, so she refused to let the couple take them.

Betty Had Been the Key

Betty Landry

The state officials responsible for Edith had not given up on tracking their young ward down just because they didn't think she was the woman in the morgue. They went back to the hospital asking questions. Of all of Edith's co-workers, Betty Landry clearly had been the one in her confidence. It was through information from Betty that officials had been able to trace Edith to the two boarding houses. 

They then took Betty to the medical examiner's office. She knew of a pigmented mark on Edith's back that the medical examiner had missed, likely due to post-mortem discoloration of the skin. A microscopic examination of the skin found the mark.

The state officials also brought Edith's dental records. Tiny fillings had been placed in the backs of Edith's upper third molars in 1914. Using dental mirrors and strong lighting, the medical examiner spotted the fillings that had originally been missed.

Betty and the state workers had also brought two pairs of Edith's shoes -- a pair of shoes too big for her that she habitually wore around the house and a pair of dress shoes that fitted her properly. The shoes were tried on the feet of the corpse and, as expected, the dress shoes fitted properly but the house shoes were too big.

The Young Man

James Vincent Ford

Police began a search for the 21-year-old man, James Vincent Ford, the "sweetheart" responsible for Edith's pregnancy.

Police went to the home of James's brother, William J. Ford, in South Boston and took him, James, and their father to the morgue for questioning. Ford's mother, who had a history of heart ailments, collapsed when the police took her son into custody. The sad woman had lost a daughter of her own to death only a week earlier.

Ford told police that he had loved Edith and planned to marry her until she told him something that scared him off. At that point he decided that an abortion was the answer. A man named Thomas Tierney gave him the connection to Dr. Thomas Walsh. Ford paid $150 (c. $2,500 in 2022)  for the fatal surgery, dropping Edith off for the abortion on Friday, July 9. 

Ford said he went back to Walsh's home on Saturday night. Edith was lying on a cot and told him she was feeling well. Walsh assured the young man that everything was fine.

Arrow denotes Walsh's office

The next day, Ford said, Walsh called to say that Edith had died. Ford said that he fainted upon hearing the news. Ford said that Walsh had asked for his help in disposing of Edith's body, but that he had refused. 

Ford said he hadn't known that Edith's body had been dismembered until he read the story in the newspaper and saw the photograph of the dead woman.

Ford told police, "I wish now, of course, that I had married her. I did wrong. I know it. I didn't think anything like this would happen. I will now try to make what amends I can by telling the whole truth about it. It does not matter how much I have to suffer now."

Ford also said that he wanted to "give Edith a decent burial" to make amends for arranging the lethal abortion. How earnest he was in his desire to "make amends" is dubious, since in his confession he indicated that though he believed he was the father of the aborted baby, Edith had been involved with other men. He also, of course, didn't come forward right away but let his sweetheart be cut up and tossed by the roadside in a pair of cardboard boxes and a burlap bag.

Ford ultimately pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to procure an illegal operation and testified against Dr. Walsh.

Catching the Abortionist

Dr. Thomas E. Walsh

Dr. Thomas Walsh was already known to the police. He had been indicted for abortion in 1920. In May of 1923 he was held as a suspicious person in connection with an abortion case. In September of that year, based on a complaint filed by the medical board, he was arrested for practicing medicine without a license and fined $200.

Police raided 48-year-old Walsh's office shortly after midnight. There was no sign of the disgraced doctor. However, they found one of Edith's organs in a garbage pail behind Walsh's apartment. 

Murder warrants were issued for both Walsh and his 28-year-old wife, Marion. 

The pair eventually surrendered themselves. Walsh was charged as a primary and his wife as an accessory before the fact, with their bail being set at $15,000 and $2,000 respectively.  Mrs. Walsh posted bail first so that she could care for her ailing mother. Dr. Walsh then made bail.

The search for culprits in Edith's death also netted a thoroughly intoxicated Dr. John Leo Hanson, who admitted to having been in Boston when Edith vanished, but who denied having any part in her death or dismemberment. Hanson had been arrested while trying to get New York license plates for his car. They found a bag of surgical instruments in his room. Police believed that he had helped Walsh dismember and dispose of Edith's body. They sought an unnamed man whom they said had driven the car.

The judge directed the jury to find Mrs. Walsh not guilty of the two charges she faced: conspiracy to procure an illegal operation and accessory before the fact in an illegal operation. Walsh's defense hinged on the testimony of witnesses who said that they were present at Walsh's home the night of July 11 for "a family party" and saw no unfamiliar woman on the premises. Walsh's attorney also argued that Edith's baby might have been aborted by some means other than surgical, and that Dr. Walsh would not have been capable of dismembering Edith's body.

Walsh, an Irish immigrant who had come to the US in 1888, was found guilty of the abortion and having performed the abortion with an instrument, which carried a total maximum sentence of nine years. For some reason he was not charged with Edith's death; had he been convicted of that crime he would have faced 20 years.

When sentencing day came around, there was no sign of Walsh. Those who had paid his bail had to forfeit their money.  Rumor was that Walsh had vanished only because he was trying to get one last Christmas as a free man before being sentenced. 

He was eventually recaptured and incarcerated.

Watch "Dismembered and Dumped" on YouTube.

Sources: 

• "Boston Police Face Baffling Murder Today," The North Adams (MA) Transcript, July 13, 1926
• "Mutilated Body of Woman Found Near Cemetery," The Berkshire Evening Eagle, July 13, 1926
• "Description of Box Mystery Victim," The Boston Globe, July 14, 1926
• "Man Purchased Rope in Roxbury Store Monday," The Boston Globe, July 14, 1926
• "Police Fail to Identify Body of Murdered Girl," The North Adams (MA) Transcript, July 14, 1926
• "Two Men Say Slain Girl Seen in Portland Within 3 Weeks," The Boston Globe, July 14, 1926
• "One Murder Box Identified," The Boston Glove, July 14, 1926
• "Mrs. Ford Seriously Ill Over Charges Against Son," The Boston Globe, July 15, 1926
• "Showed Mrs. MacDonald Their Marriage Blank," The Boston Globe, July 15, 1926
• "Took Hospital Position to Earn Cash for Wedding," The Boston Globe, The Boston Globe, July 15, 1926
• "Take James Ford in Death Mystery," The Boston Globe, July 15, 1926
• "Warrant Out for Hub Dr.; Murder is Charged," Greenfield (MA) Daily Recorder, July 15, 1926
• "Boston Physician Is Under Arrest," The North Adams (MA) Transcript, July 17, 1926
• "Dr. Walsh and Wife Arraigned," The Boston Globe, July 19, 1926
• "Extradition of Doctor To Boston is Possible," North Adams (MA) Transcript July 20, 1926
• "Mrs. Walsh Not Guilty in Edith Greene Case," The Boston Globe, December 6, 1926
• "Dr. Walsh's Fate up to Jury Today," The Boston Globe, December7, 1926
• "Dr. Walsh Will Be Sentenced Thursday," The Boston Globe, December 11, 1926
• "Comb State for Dr. Thomas Walsh," The Boston Globe, December 17, 1926
• 1930 Federal Census

July 12, 1978: Choked on Vomit While Under Abortion Anesthesia

Grok AI illustration

In July of 1978, Twenty-seven-year-old Gail Mazo went to Mt. Sinai in New York for an abortion, because she had ulcerative colitis.

While she was under general anesthesia for the abortion, Gail began to vomit, and breathed the vomit into her lungs.

The material in her lungs caused complications that killed Gail. She died on July 12, 1978.

Gail's survivors filed suit against the anesthesiologist for failure to recognize that Gail was a high-risk patient and to treat her accordingly. The family and the doctor eventually settled out of court for $800,000.

---

Source: New York County (NY) Supreme Court Case No. 8517-80

July 12, 1925: Life of the Mother?

  From the records of the Cook County Coroner's office:

1926 July 6 -- Lowy, Mrs. Lottie - Age 37 -- Died from a criminal abortion at 301 W. North Ave., office of a midwife, Lucy Hagenow, who was held by the coroner on 7/17/25. 11A Dist. Sept. 1950 No Bill.

Dr. Louise "Lucy" Hagenow

July 6 is evidently the date of the crime, because all other sources give the date of death as July 12.

According to Illinois death records, Lottie's full name was Charlotte Lottie Cagney Lowy, an immigrant from England. She was married to Simon Lowy. Genealogy records indicate that she and Simon had two children, ages 11 and 12, at the time of her death.

News records give her husband's name as Siegfried. He was an immigrant from Hungary, so it's likely that he Anglicized his name, which was a common practice at the time.

Siegfried/Simon was arrested just hours after Lottie's funeral. "Though he had allowed the act which caused his arrest, he said, believing it would save his wife's life, he was arrested on a charge of being an accessory to an illegal operation...." Lottie, he told the papers, had been in ill health for several years. 

Lottie became seriously ill after the abortion. She was admitted to St. Anthony Hospital, then transferred to Cook County Hospital where she died.

Prior to her death Lottie "told police officers .. how she had been attacked several months ago by Phillip Dispensa, an Italian, whom Mr. Lowy had hired to work around his yard." This seems to indicate that both Lottie and her husband might have attributed the pregnancy to a rape that had gone unreported. This fact, rather than Lottie's health, might have been the real reason for the abortion, since it would have been legal for a doctor to admit Lottie to a hospital and preform an abortion under the best possible conditions had her life really been endangered.

Lottie was 12th of the 18 victims attributed to Dr. Lucy Hagenow, who was reportedly 85 years old at the time of the fatal abortion. Women's deaths attributed to Hagenow are:

1. Louise Derchow (1st San Francisco death, 1887)
2. Annie Dorries (1888)
3. Abbia Richards (1888)
4. Emma Depp (1888)
5. Minnie Dearing (1st Chicago death, 1891)
6. Sophia Kuhn (1892)
7. Emily Anderson (1892)
8. Hannah Carlson (1896)
9. Marie Hecht (1899)
10. Mary Putnam (1905)
11. Lola Madison (1906)
12. Annie Horvatich (1907)
13. Lottie Lowy (1925)
14. Nina Pierce (1925)
15. Jean Cohen (1925)
16. Bridget Masterson (1925)
17. Elizabeth Welter (1925)
18. Mary Moorehead (1926)

Sources:

• Cook County Coroner's office
• "Husband Jailed the Day of His Wife's Funeral," (Chicago) Liberty Bell, July 17, 1925
• Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database

July 12, 1970: Safe, Legal, and Fatal in New York

Pearl Schwier, age 42, was 20 weeks pregnant when she sought a safe, legal abortion at St. Luke's hospital in New York City.

She was brought into the operating room on July 6, 1970 for a hysterotomy abortion, which is simply a C-section in which the intention is to allow the baby to die rather than to deliver him or her alive. It was performed under general anesthesia.

About 45 minutes into the procedure, Pearl had a reaction to the anesthesia and went into a coma. She died on July 12 without ever having regained consciousness.

Other beneficiaries of the early legalization of abortion-on-demand in New York include:

• Carmen Rodriguez, July, 1970, salt solution intended to kill the fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
• Barbara Riley, July, 1970, sickle-cell crisis triggered by abortion recommended by doctor due to her sickle cell disease
• "Amanda" Roe, September, 1970, sent back to her home in Indiana with an untreated hole poked in her uterus
• Maria Ortega, October, 1970, fetus shoved through her uterus into her pelvic cavity then left there
• "Kimberly" Roe, December, 1970, cardiac arrest during abortion
• "Amy" Roe, January, 1971, massive pulmonary embolism
• "Andrea" Roe, January, 1971, overwhelming infection
• "Sandra" Roe, April, 1971, committed suicide due to post-abortion remorse
• "Anita" Roe, May, 1971, bled to death in her home during process of outpatient saline abortion
• Margaret Smith, June 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
• "Annie" Roe, June, 1971, cardiac arrest during anesthesia
• "Audrey" Roe, July, 1971, cardiac arrest during abortion
• "Vicki" Roe, August, 1971, post-abortion infection
• "April" Roe, August, 1971, injected with saline for outpatient abortion, went into shock and died
• "Barbara" Roe, September, 1971, cardiac arrest after saline injection for abortion
• "Tammy" Roe, October, 1971, massive post-abortion infection
• Carole Schaner, October, 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
• "Beth" Roe, December, 1971, saline injection meant to kill fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
• "Roseanne" Roe, February, 1971, vomiting with seizures causing pneumonia after saline abortion
• "Connie" Roe, March, 1972, cardiac arrest during abortion
• "Julie" Roe, April, 1972, holes torn in her uterus and bowel
• "Roxanne," May, 1972, convulsions and death at start of abortion
• "Robin" Roe, May, 1972, lingering abortion complications
• Pamela Modugno, May, 1972, air in her bloodstream

Watch The Empty Promise of Safety on YouTube.

Sources:

• "Abortions Prove Fatal To Three N.Y. Women," The Troy (NY) Record, July 22, 1970
• "Maternal Mortality Associated With Legal Abortion in New York State: July 1, 1970 - June 30, 1972; Berger, Tietze, Pakter, Katz, Obstetrics and Gynecology, 43:3, March 1974, 320

July 12, 2002: Chicago Planned Parenthood Death

Irene Stevenson underwent an abortion at a Chicago Planned Parenthood in 2002. She developed an infection and died on July 12. Her widower, Maurice, sued Planned Parenthood, Dr. Lloyd Gregg, Dr. Murray Pelta, and Michael Reese Hospital for malpractice, but the case was dismissed by stipulation in 2006. 

I'm not certain what roles Dr. Gregg and Dr. Pelta played in Irene's death, but Pelta is an abortionist with a lot of cases noted on AbortionDocs.

Commenting on the lack of public records on abortion deaths, Maurice told the Chicago Tribune, "It's outrageous. These procedures, complications and deaths should be public record."

When the Chicago Tribune was investigating the lack of records, Carole Brite, then president of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, could not confirm if they had reported Irene's death, since the records were in storage, but did say that Planned Parenthood had reported a patient's 2008 death. 

My research arm, Keely, found a wrongful death lawsuit against planned Parenthood: Estate of Bonnie Hunt vs. Planned Parenthood. Bonnie died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago at the age of 44 on August 5, 2008. 

The other Planned Parenthood deaths I have in my records are:

• Elise Kalat in 1987
• Diana Lopez and Irene Stevenson in 2002
• Holly Patterson and Vivian Tran in 2003
• Edrica Goode in 2007
• Roselle Owens in 2009
• "Ella" around 2010
• Tonya Reaves in 2012
• Cree Erwin-Shephard in 2016
• Alyona Dixon, "Lucy," and "Luanne" in 2022
• Lexie Arguello in 2025

Watch One More Planned Parenthood Grave on YouTube.

Sources:

• Cook County Circuit Court Case Information Summary for Case Number 2002-L-015845
• "State abortion record full of gaps," Chicago Tribune, June 16, 2011

July 11, 1931: Self-Induced Abortion Proves Fatal

Tina May Lynaugh was born in Victory, Vermont on October 7, 1909. She grew up in a large family, with younger siblings born in 1912, 1913, 1916, and 1918. Her final sister was born in 1926, when Tina was 16 years old.

Tina married Dexter Grant in 1928 at the age of 18. The couple had two children.

Tina was described as having a happy, sunny disposition, brightening every gathering.

All that came to an end on July 11, 1931, when Tina died at Brightlook Hospital at the age of 21. 

For some unknown reason, Tina had decided to try a self-induced abortion which caused fatal septicemia.

Watch Young Mother's Self-Induced Abortion Death on YouTube.

Sources: Death record and obituary

July 11, 1975: Death at the "Lime 5" Clinic

Grok AI illustration

Beverly Ann Moore, age 15, dies on July 11, 1975 after an abortion performed by Dr. Tuckey Hayes at Chattanooga Women's Clinic -- the "Lime 5" clinic.

Hayes assured Beverly's parents that she would be "all right" just fifteen minutes before she died.

The facility had been open for only three months at the time of Beverly's death, a move lauded in a puff piece in the Kingsport (TN) Times-News on April 20, 1975. "The all-inclusive fee of $150 is aimed at providing quality medical service to women in all income brackets."

Chattanooga Women's Clinic was written up for continued deficiencies even after Beverly's death. Noted flaws included (with dates of citation):

• "Wrist, knee or foot controls not provided on lavatories used by physicians and nurses" (3-8-79)
• No system for referring patients to other health care providers (3-8-79)
• No emergency transfer arrangements (3-8-79)
• Lack of written job descriptions (3-8-79, 10-10-89)
• Lack of documentation of staff qualifications (10-10-89)
• Inoperable emergency lighting (3-8-79, 3-12-87, 3-17-87, 4-5-93)
• Re-use of disposable curettes (3-12-87)
• Medications out-of-date (5-22-85, 3-12-87, 3-17-87, 10-10-89, 4-6-92)
• Outdated IV solution (10-10-89)
• Medications improperly stored (3-8-79, 3-12-87, 3-17-87, 6-18-87)
• Unwrapped speculums stored in examining table drawer (6-18-87)
• Used disposable curettes stored on shelf with clean supplies (6-18-87)
• Blood in procedure table (10-10-89)
• Dirty floor and equipment in lab (10-10-89)
• Out of date sterile instruments in autoclave area (6-18-87)
• "Sterile instruments in treatment room observed to have stains" (4-6-92)
• Patient records lacking documentation of required testing for sexually transmitted diseases (10-10-89)

A young woman would later sue the clinic over the dehumanizing treatment she has received there during an 8-week abortion in February of 1992. She was stripped of her name and told to answer to "Lime 5." Her pre-abortion "counseling" took place in a room with 20 other patients. She was not given copies of any of the papers she signed. Staff were not available to answer her questions. When she was on the table, the doctor came in to perform her abortion with his shirt unbuttoned. He used repeated profanity, appeared to be fondling the nurse, and told the patient that he believed "Nothing is better in life than sex and money." The young woman was injured. When she sued the clinic, she tried to use a pseudonym, but the clinic successfully moved that the young woman they wouldn't even call by her real name had to use that name in public if she wanted to sue them. (Hamilton County (TN) Circuit Court Docket No. 92CV-1999)

Watch "Death in the 'Lime 5' Clinic" on YouTube.

Sources: Kevin Sherlock Death Log; Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Center Survey Form 3-12-87; Statement of Deficiencies and Plan of Correction 3-8-79, 5-22-85, 3-17-87, 6-18-87, 4-24-90, 4-16-91, 4-6-92, 4-5-93; Licensing Board Docket No. 17.17-D-89-1104A

July 10, 1998: Fatal Abortion in Texas Hospital

Dr. Lillian Jones

Virginia Wolfe, age 33, went to Methodist Women's and Children's Hospital on July 6, 1998, to have an abortion performed by Dr. Lillian Jones.

Jones performed a suction abortion. During the procedure, she punctured Virginia's uterus and bladder.

Virginia suffered massive hemorrhage, losing so much blood that her heart stopped.

Doctors repaired her bladder and removed her uterus, but Virginia's brain had already been damaged by the lack of oxygen.

Virginia was pronounced dead on July 10, 1998. According to public records, she left behind her husband of less than a year and her stepchild. 

Watch "Death in the Heart of Texas" on YouTube.

Sources: Bexar County Forensic Science Center Autopsy Report, Case # 98-1003

July 10, 1934: Boyfriend off the hook. So who killed Marian Mills?

Marian Mills

It was the summer of 1934. Marian Mills, age 20, had just completed her degree at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. She was planning to return for post-graduate studies in the fall. Marian was a popular woman at the university. She had been chosen Engineers' Beauty Queen in 1932. 

In 1934, Marian Mills, a beauty queen, was the 20-year-old "campus sweetheart" of Neal Myers. Marian was the daughter of engineering professor M. Elbert Mills. Myers, a 21-year-old pharmacy student, was the son of Dr. P. B. Myers of Denver. 

On July 10, Marian died in the Norman, Oklahoma home of 39-year-old Mrs. Hazel Brown, the cook for Myers' fraternity house and "the only person of mature age in the house during the 24 tragic hours preceding the girl's death."

Hazel Brown Describes Arranging the Abortion

According to a signed statement she gave to the police, Brown had been a cook at the Delta Upsilon house for about eight years. Prior to that she had been a practical nurse in Oklahoma City. She got to know Neal Myers well during the previous two years because he had worked in the fraternity house kitchen to earn his board. She said that she considered him "a close friend."

In March of 1934, Brown said, Myers approached her and said, "Brownie, I am in trouble." He explained that he had gotten a girl pregnant and wanted to know about medicines that would work to cause an abortion. Brown reported that she'd told Myers that she had experience with abortion medication and they usually work. She reported that she told Myers everything she knew about abortifacients.

Hazel Brown

"He left then," Brown went on, "and came back to me in a few days and asked me to call a doctor who was a member of the D. U. fraternity and see what could be done." She called the doctor in question, who referred her to a doctor whose name is redacted in the newspaper.

Myers went to Oklahoma City to see this doctor, who had quoted a $75 fee for the abortion, which is a little over $1,750 in 2024 dollars. Myers said that when he told the doctor that he didn't have that much money, the doctor told him that then he'd have to marry the girl.

Brown said that the next she saw Myers was on June 6, when he said that he was nearly crazy over the situation. Brown said that she suggested that Myers go to his father with his problem but he said, "I can't." He then said he had heard of a doctor at Chickasha who might be cheaper.

Myers returned to speak to Brown on June 9, saying that he had gone to see the Chickasha doctor, who recommended quinine and castor oil. Myers was to give the girl -- finally identified to Brown as Marian -- these "medicines" as a preliminary step. Myers and the doctor had a discussion about where Marian and Myers should stay overnight for the procedure. Brown consented to let the couple use her house since it would only be an overnight stay. 

Starting the "Medicines"

Neal Myers

Hazel Brown said that she got home at about 8 pm on June 9 to find Myers and Marian in her living room. "I sat down there in the living room and talked to hem about an hour. We talked about her taking the capsules and I assured her it wouldn't hurt her, but that it would do the work. When I reassured her she said that she felt better about it then."

They then moved to the back porch and continued discussing the situation. Marian reported having taken three of the capsules before Brown had gotten home and continued to take them roughly every two hours. 

Brown took a bath and put on her robe and let Marian know that she could bathe next. "She got out a bottle with medicine [castor oil] and I prepared some orange juice for her to take it in. She poured all of the contents of the bottle and put it into a glass. After Marian had her bath I gave her a night gown to sleep in." Neal left to go take a bath at his own place and didn't return until after the two women had gone to bed. He didn't go to bed himself but instead paced the house, smoking cigarettes.

It Doesn't Seem to be Working

Hazel Brown's House, where Marian died

Six o'clock the next morning finds Myers asleep in his clothes on the couch. Brown tries to leave for work without waking the young people, but Marian awakens and tells Brown that she feels okay. Myers woke as well the the couple were distressed that the abortion drugs weren't working. 

Brown left for work at the fraternity house, about six blocks from her home, and returned a little after 10 am. Marian was still in bed, still distressed that the abortion capsules hadn't done their job. She told Brown that she had only a small window of time for the abortion in order to avoid raising suspicions. Myers, who sat playing solitaire while the women talked, asked, "Brownie, do you think it's going to work? It's got to. We're both crazy."

Brown went back to work. At around noon Myers called and asked her to send them some lunch. "I sent chipped beef, French fried potatoes, navy beans, squash, head lettuce, tomatoes, chocolate pudding, whipped cream, and graham crackers."

It was close to 2:00 when Brown again returned home to find Myers sitting in a chair, smoking, and Marian lying on the bed. Marian reported that though she felt weak, the drugs still weren't having their desired effect. 

Brown again left for work, just as her son 16-year-old son Richard was coming home. She wasn't at work long before Richard called saying, "Mother, come home right away." He wouldn't tell her why.

Returning to Find Tragedy

Brown hurried home to find a Dr. E. F. Stephens there. Dr. Stephens said said he'd gotten an emergency call that a girl had fainted and had arrived to find her dead. The man who had placed the call -- Neal Myers -- had taken his suitcase and vanished..

What Else Came to Light

Marian's parents had been kept in the dark about their daughter's pregnancy and plans. Mrs. Mills had dropped Marian off at the Norman bus station at 4 pm on Monday believing that she was going to a house party in Tulsa. 

Richard Brown, along with his 14-year-old brother, Charles, said that Myers had introduced Marian to them as his wife. The boys had been under the impression that the young couple's decision to spend the night had been a spontaneous one. 

Richard said that shortly after his mother left for work, Myers sent him to the store to buy chewing gum. When Richard returned, he said, "Neal told me he had called a doctor and for me not to go into the bedroom but to show the doctor in there when he arrived. Neal went out the back door, saying he was going to the infirmary for a doctor."

Myers left his El Reno home on Sunday morning, saying that he was going to see about a job in Oklahoma City and then would go to the Delta Upsilon fraternity house in Normal to straighten his room. He didn't come home and the police couldn't find him for questioning. His father issued a public plea for Neil to turn himself in so that his parents could help him.

Myers was charged with murder in Marian's death, and could have faced life in prison if convicted. 

Why was the young man arrested? Dr. Roy Emanuel testified that Myers had consulted him about a possible pregnancy. Emanuel said that Myers had only asked for advise, not for an abortion. Emanuel said that he'd recommended a test to verify the suspected pregnancy, and had also told the young man to consult with his father.

"Two or three weeks later he came back ... bringing the report, which showed the girl was not pregnant." Myers had Marian with him, and she said that she wanted an examination, because she didn't think the test was accurate. He did examine her and while he could not definitively say, he didn't think she was pregnant. The couple returned again the Thursday before Marian's death, and this time his examination verified that the girl was pregnant. Again, Emanuel said, he referred the couple to Myers' father.

Mrs. Brown, for her part, said that Myers had loved Marian and had wanted to marry her. He was opposed to the idea of an abortion. Marian, on the other hand, insisted that her parents would never accept Myers. Brown said that Marian had taken "a harmless drug" and that this was the only attempt that she personally knew of to abort the baby.

But evidently Marian had found an abortionist, or had done something herself more drastic than just take mild abortifacients, because doctors who examined her said that some sort of instruments had been used in the abortion that had caused her death.

Myers was supported by Brown, his father, and his fraternity friends during the trial. There were tears of joy in the courtroom when he was acquitted.

Marian's father "maintained a strict silence." And I've found no mention at all of any further investigation into the death of his daughter.

See more photos here.

Sources:

• 

  Marian Mills

  "Father Issues Plea to His Son to Give Up in Case," Oklahoma News, July 11, 1934
• "Body of Girl is Discovered in Apartment," The Orange (TX) News, July 11, 1934
• "Here's Complete Statement of Mrs. Hazel Brown," Oklahoma News, July 11, 1934