Thursday, February 26, 2026

February 26, 1929: Precursor to Carnage

Poor qualilty profile shot of a middle-aged white man with eyeglasses.
Dr. J. W. Eisiminger

Marie Epperson, a 19-year-old telephone operator for Bell Telephone, died February 26, 1929 after an abortion in Oklahoma City. 

Two physicians were suspected: Richard Thacker and John W. Eisiminger. There wasn't even news coverage of the case and everything seemed to just blow over. 

Three years later all hell broke lose.

The spring of 1932 brought a sudden string of criminal abortion deaths to Oklahoma City, attributed to Thacker and Eisiminger either singly or as a pair:

A little bit more attention from the authorities after Marie's death could have prevented the deaths of as many as nine other women.

Watch Fatal Foot-Dragging on YouTube.
Watch Precursor to Carnage on YouTube.
Watch Precursor to Carnage on Rumble.
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February 26, 1943: Woman's Death Gets One Sentence of News Coverage

Dr. Henry Gross, age 56, had a reputable medical practice at 843 Belmont Avenue in Chicago in the 1940s. However, after a Dr. Ira Willits died, Gross purchased the dead man's office and set up an abortion practice there under Willits's name.

On January 28, 1943, 22-year-old Lavern Perez died in her Chicago home. Gross was convicted in her death but won a new trial.

Buried in the coverage of Lavern's death is a mention of the February 26, 1943 abortion death of 20-year-old waitress Dorothy Weber.

After Gross was granted a new trial, he and both the women vanish from the records except for death notices for Gross. He died on September 30, 1945 near Milwaukee.

Sources:

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Wednesday, February 25, 2026

February 25, 1980: Troubled Doctor and Trash-Bag Aftercare

 At around 9 a.m. on February 22, 1980, 26-year-old Betty Jane Damato's sister, Mary Zellers, dropped her off at Abortion Clinic of Denver where Dr. James Franklin was to perform a safe, legal abortion.

Grok AI illustration
That afternoon, Mary called the clinic and talked to her sister, who said that she'd had complications during the abortion. Mary went to pick Betty up and found her pale, weak, and in pain, clutching her stomach.

When she helped Betty get out of the car at her apartment, Mary notice a blood stain on the seat where Betty had been sitting. She decided to take Betty to spend the night with her at the Zellers home.

The morning of February 25, Betty was taken by ambulance to the emergency room at Porter Memorial Hospital, where she was found to have gone into total cardio-respiratory arrest. She was pronounced dead shortly after arriving. 

An autopsy revealed that Betty had died from massive infection originating from "a partially truncated and macerated fetus." Franklin had removed little more than the arms. 

According to Betty's family, Franklin knew that he had not removed all of the fetus. He instead had given Betty a trash bag, and instructions to collect whatever she expelled in the bag and bring it to him.

Franklin, an osteopath, told a grand jury that he did not perform the fatal abortion. He claimed that he had examined Betty, found the decomposing foot and ankle of the fetus protruding, and sent her to the hospital. However, when Betty was examined at the hospital, the fetus was protruding head first, making it impossible for Franklin to have observed its ankle since, as an expert witness testified, it's impossible for a dead fetus to turn around in the vagina and emerge head first.

A jury convicted him of manslaughter in Betty's death on October 19, 1981, and he was sentenced to prison for three years. 

Franklin already had a history of malpractice including causing an 11-year-old boy to be left paralyzed after a botched appendectomy and a man who died while hospitalized under Franklin's care. Those cases took place in New Mexico, where Franklin had been director of a hospital that went out of business. He was recruited by the Kiowa County Hospital in Eads, Colorado, after the doctor they'd hired turned out to be on the run after being caught practicing without a license in Kansas.

Watch Trash Bag Aftercare on YouTube.

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February 25, 1916: Bride Dies at the Hands of Doctor Husband

Helen Marie Turner

Helen Marie Turner, 25-year-old daughter of Circuit Judge Chester Myers Turner and Emma (Follett) Turner of Cambridge, Illinois, married Wesley Hospital intern Dr. Lester Lemuel Long on December 21, 1915. 

Helen was a 1912 graduate of Knox College with a degree in arts and sciences. Her studies were supplemented with travel abroad. Her yearbook identifies her as "The hope and pride of the Pi Phis." She had been vice president of her sophomore class,  winner of first prize in the D.A.R. essay contest and had president of the Knox chapter of Pi Beta Phi. She worked for two years teaching English in a public high school school in Cambridge. 

Lester was a 1915 graduate of Northwestern Medical College.

The couple moved into an apartment at 6123 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago so Lester could continue his medical studies at the hospital. 

But it wasn't long before Helen was showing a premature baby bump. Neighbors were starting to gossip. The newlyweds decided that the impending baby had to be headed off before it brought too much shame on the pair.

Lester made three attempts to abort the baby. It's not clear if he succeeded in his efforts, but one thing is clear: he caused his bride to fall ill and lapse into delirium.

On Thursday, February 24, Lester summoned Dr. Mark T. Goldstine to help him save his wife. To avoid being blamed for the criminal activity, Goldstine insisted that both Helen and Lester sign documents admitting to what they had done before bringing him into the case.

On the 25th, Goldstein and a colleague, Dr. P. Nusbaum, notified the coroner that they were going to the Long home to treat a woman suffering abortion complications. As they struggled to save the young woman, the bridegroom wandered through the home, sometimes staggering into the bedroom, clutching Goldstine's arm and asking, "Is there a chance? Is there just a little chance?"

Goldstine would just shake his head.

Finally, at 9:00 on the evening of February 26, Goldstine called the Woodlawn police station. "Mrs. Long is dead," he said. "Her husband is waiting for you."

Detective Sergeant Patrick Higgins arrived at the apartment to find Lester Long slumped in a chair in the kitchen. He had tracked blood from the bedroom into the kitchen as he had tried to prepare food for Helen. The young man was so woebegone that it took the sergeant five minutes to bring himself to arrest him. Lester sobbed and cried out questions about Helen as he was walked out of the apartment building into the police car. It hadn't sunk in that his wife was dead.

At the police statement, Lester gave a full statement. News coverage painted a pathetic picture of the young man, distraught at his wife's death, pacing his cell, tearing at his hair, weeping and crying out, "Can she live? Can she live?" 

Lester was held by the Coroner and indicted by a Grand Jury on March 15, but the case never went to trial.

As for Helen's father, he placed no blame. He sent a telegram to Lester's father, a physician in Toulon, Illinois just saying, "Come to Chicago at once. Lester is in trouble."

He then visited his son-in-law in the jail, reaching through the bars to grasp his shoulders and say, "I have nothing but sympathy for you, Lester. You and she thought it was for the best. We all make mistakes. This was a very sad one for both of us."

Sources:

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February 25, 1916: Just One Victim of Dr. Lillian Hobbs

 SUMARY: Alda Christopherson, age 21, died on February 25, 1916 after an abortion perpetrated by Dr. Lillilan Hobbs in Chicago.

LillianHobbs.jpgDr. Lillian Hobbs (pictured) was convicted of murder in the 1916 abortion death of 21-year-old Alda Christopherson. The testimony of John K. McDonald, who was granted immunity in exchange, was crucial in the case. He was the father of Alda's aborted baby.

Depending on whose testimony you believe, the whole sordid story began either on February 21, or six weeks earlier.

All the testimony agreed that Alda's lover, John McDonald, had visited Hobbs' Chicago office on Monday, February 21, asking if Alda had been there. Testimony agreed that Hobbs denied having seen Alda, even though the girl had indeed been there. Testimony agreed that McDonald had made arrangements for an abortion for Alda, after first inquiring if the procedure would be safe. He had been planning to marry the girl, and although the pregnancy was "an inconvenience" he wasn't willing to pursue an abortion if it would endanger Alda. All the testimony agreed that Hobbs had assured McDonald that as long as Alda followed instructions, an abortion would be perfectly safe.

It was there that the agreement ended.

Hobbs and Allies Blame Alda

Hobbs, along with her son, William Heyward, and her nurse, Ada Kanter, testified that upon her arrival on the 21st, Alda was very ill, walking slowly and as if in great pain. They all also testified that Alda had spoken of taking dope and trying to self-abort with a buttonhook, and that Hobbs had advised Alda to go to a hospital.

When Alda had demurred, Hobbs testified that she'd instructed Alda to go home, take some quinine and a hot bath, and return the next day.

A five-and-dime clerk, Lillian Thompson, testified that Alda had come to the store at about 10 a.m. on the 21st to buy sanitary napkins. Thompson testified that when she'd asked Alda what her trouble was -- because Alda seemed to be very ill and in great pain -- Alda ha pointed to a buttonhook on the counter and said she'd used a buttonhook and a crochet hook on herself and was going to see a doctor about it. However, Thompson's employer testified that the clerk's "reputation for truth and veracity was bad." (I would add as a side note that a buttonhook would be a bizarre thing to have sitting on a pharmacy counter.)

The Day of the Scheduled Abortion

Whatever Alda's condition on the 21st -- and whatever Hobbs' reason for concealing from McDonald that his lover was supposedly deathly ill and in need of hospitalization when he'd arrived on Tuesday, the 22nd, to arrange an abortion -- McDonald met Alda at about 1:30 that afternoon and brought her to Hobbs' office.

McDonald testified that Alda had been in good health when he'd brought her for the abortion, and that though both he and Alda had been worried, Hobbs had reassured the couple that the girl would be fine as long as she followed instructions.

Here, again, the testimony all agrees: The couple arrived shortly before 2 p.m., entering through the first floor reception area. Alda was sent by the front way down to the basement, while Hobbs herself went down the back way.

Hobbs testified that during the time she'd been in the basement with Alda, she'd merely examined her to determine how much damage the girl had done with the buttonhook. She said she'd found some oozing blood and signs of great inflammation. She said that she swabbed Alda with antiseptic on a bit of gauze, using small dressing forceps.

Hobbs' daughter-in-law and husband, George, both testified that Alda seemed very sick and miserable. Mr. Hobbs said that Alda was moaning and crying. The daughter-in-law said that Alda was pale and walking slowly, as if in great pain, and asked Hobbs to see how much damage the buttonhook had done.

The daughter-in-law also testified that Hobbs called her in to the exam room. Alda was hysterical, weeping and crying aloud, "Oh, my! If I hadn't used the buttonhook I would not have to be here!" (Again, this seems to be an odd assertion. Alda would have been at Hobbs' practice to obtain an abortion, regardless of whether or not she had tried to self-induce earlier.)

All testimony agreed that Hobbs had returned within about 15 minutes to the reception area to speak with McDonald, and that the result of the consultation was McDonald giving her $50.

McDonald said that Hobbs had come to get her fee for the abortion. Hobbs said she'd collected money to admit Alda to the hospital. She said she phoned American Theatrical Hospital and arranged to admit her sick patient. Nobody testified about whether or not American Theatrical Hospital ever got a call from Hobbs to admit a patient.

Later That Evening

Everybody aggreed that McDonald and Alda left Hobbs' office, with Hobbs insisting that Alda was wretchedly ill, and McDonald testifying that she seemed fine.

McDonald sent Alda by streetcar to the home of Mrs. G.E. Holmes, where Alda was the live-in housekeeper. Later that evening he went to pick her up for a date. He testified that she seemed well. Her sister, Kitty, noted that Alda seemed to be in good health when McDonald picked her up, as well as later when Kitty joined the couple at the picture show. Their other sister, Nellie, also testified that Alda seemed to be in good health late on the 22nd.

The Ensuing Days

But at about 2:30 on the morning of Wednesday, the 23rd, Alda took ill, with vomiting, cramps, and chills. She improved somewhat over the course of the day, but kept to her bed. Hobbs claimed that McDonald came to her practice at about 2 p.m that day to tell her that Alda was well, prompting her to cancel plans to admit the girl to the hospital.

On Thursday, February 24, somebody summoned Dr. Barnsbach at around 9 a.m. He found Alda collapsed, and, based on what little information he'd been given, he diagnosed ptomaine poisoning and had her removed to Lakeside Hospital. As she was being taken from the house, Hobbs arrived and inquired after the girl. When told that Alda was being taken to the hospital for ptomaine poisoning, she did not mention anything to the attending physician about any abortion, or abortion infection -- a grave omission, regardless of whether she or Alda had performed the abortion in question, and showing little regard for her patient's well-being.

It was Alda's sister Kitty who told told physicians at the hospital the true cause of Alda's sickness. She had learned the truth when she'd called McDonald to tell him of Alda's collapse.

Dr. A. R. Johnson performed surgery on Alda. He found her abdomen full of blood and blood clots, an enlarged uterus consistent with 2 to 2 1/2 months of pregnancy, and placental tissue protruding through a large hole in the top of her uterus. He cleaned up the mess in Alda's abdominal cavity and sutured the hole in her uterus. Johnson later testified that a buttonhook can not have done that much damage. The hole, Johnson insisted, must have been made by a much larger instrument, capable of being spread open. This would be consistent with, say, surgical forceps.

Despite Dr. Johnson's efforts, and no thanks to Dr. Hobbs, Alda died on the 25th.


Post-Mortem and Aftermath

During the post-mortem, Alda's uterus was removed and preserved, to be presented as evidence in the trial. Three other doctors, called as expert witnesses, had examined the uterus after Alda's death and said that a buttonhook could possibly have caused the damage, and estimated that the way the edges of the hole were soughing, the injury had to have occurred prior to Alda's visit to Hobbs' practice to have caused such extensive infection.

The jury evidently decided that Hobbs' story didn't hold together well, for they voted to convict her of murder in Alda's death. Hobbs was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Between the death and the trial, Hobbs had been indicted for the abortion death of Ellen Matson. Ellen died in early November of 1917.

A Successful Appeal

Hobbs made a first appeal of the Christopherson conviction in 1920 but her conviction was upheld. Hobbs tried again in 1921, when she appealed on multiple grounds including the fairly feeble one that only on court documents, she was referred to once as "Lillian Hobbs otherwise Lillian Seymour", but elsewhere on court documents only as "the said Lillian Hobbs". (Hobbs used her maiden name in her medical practice; she was married to an attorney named E. M. Seymour.) She also protested that it was inappropriate to bring up the death of Ellen Matson as evidence of her practice as a criminal abortionist, since Ellen died nearly two years after Alda's death and thus her abortion wasn't evidence of prior criminal behavior. She also protested that it would have been sufficient to show evidence that she had performed an abortion Ellen, that introducing the reality of Ellen's death was prejudicial.

The appeal succeeded. The conviction was overturned and a new trial ordered. However, Hobbs' conviction and sentencing for Ellen Matson's death rendered this rather a moot point.

Hobbs was also implicated, but never tried, for the 1917 abortion death of Ruth Lemaire.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2026

1974-1975: Cerebral Embolism Suspected in Death

“Twila” underwent a legal first-trimester abortion in either 1974 or 1975. Her death was counted by the CDC as a death from legal abortion.

Twila was at greater risk than most women because of an unspecified congenital heart disease. This may have played a role in the reasoning behind the abortion as well as surgical sterilization by laparotomy. She may have mistakenly believed that the abortion would save her life instead of ending it.

At 11 weeks pregnant, Twila underwent the surgical abortion in a hospital under general anesthesia. She did not survive.

Despite Twila’s lifelong cardiac condition, it was not any pre-existing disease that killed her. She died of a suspected cerebral embolism. This horrifying injury occurred when air, amniotic fluid, blood clots, particles of placenta or even tiny shreds of her dead child’s body entered her bloodstream and blocked an artery to the head, depriving her brain of blood and oxygen.

Fam Plan Persp. 1981 Jan—Feb

Comparative Risk of Death in hospitals and nonhospital facilities

Comparative Risk of Death < 12 weeks

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Monday, February 23, 2026

February 23, 1928: Another Unidentified Chicago Perp

On February 22, 1928, 26-year-old waitress Martha S. Deidrich Watson, a Wisconsin native, was dropped off at West End Hospital in Chicago by a man who immediately left without giving his name. 

Madeline was taken into the hospital and observed to be delirious and in critical condition. She died the following day, February 23, leaving behind a four-year-old son. Her death was determined to have been caused infection from a criminal abortion.

Martha had lived in Sheboygan, moved to Milwaukee around 1927, and then at some undetermined point went to Chicago. She had been married to her child's father, John Watson, about six years earlier but at some point the couple divorced and he disappeared from the area.

The person or persons responsible were never identified or prosecuted.

Sources:

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February 23, 1906: A Possibly Legal Abortion

Profile shot of a scowling elderly white man with glasses and thick, white hair cut short
Dr. George Fosberg

On February 23, 1906, 26-year-old Bessie Orme died at her home in Chicago. Dr. George Fosberg said that he had performed an abortion on her in an attempt to save her life. He had then tried to insist that she be taken to a hospital, but when the family refused, he withdrew from the case.


I've been unable to learn what objection, if any, the family had made. Bessie's mother-in-law, Charity Orme, testified at the inquest and said that she'd traveled from her home in Kokomo, Indiana, to care for Bessie while she was ill. She was the one who had given the authorities Fosberg's name when they investigated.

Dr. Frank J. Otis took over Bessie's care and was the attending physician at the time of her death. He testified, "I was summoned the day of her death. An examination showed that she was suffering from inflammation of the abdominal organs, and that an operation had been performed. I notified the health department, and when I was asked the contributory causes of death I told of the operation."

A coroner's jury was unable to determine whether or not Fosberg had been attempting to save Bessie's life when he performed the procedure, so the verdict was issued as open. This left Fosberg free in 1916 to be implicated in the abortion death of Pauline Hill. For reasons I've been unable to determine, that case never went to trial either.

Fosberg lost his license to practice medicine after being convicted of bank fraud. After his release from prison he opened a boarding house, where he perpetrated a fatal abortion on Geraldine Schuyler in 1944.

Watch Fosberg's Mistake on YouTube.

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Sunday, February 22, 2026

February 22, 1983: "Medically-Indicated" Abortion Kills Teen

Barbara Hoppert was a sixteen-year-old high school sophomore when she checked into Loma Linda University Hospital for an abortion. Barbara was in the second trimester of her pregnancy. She was having the abortion on the recommendation of her physician, because of a congenital heart condition. The abortion was performed on February 22, 1983. During the procedure, Barbara's heart stopped. Physicians were unable to revive her, and she was pronounced dead on the operating table.

The following comment was posted on this blog:

Grok AI illustration
It's been almost 24 years since I was at the Loma Linda Hospital and was roomed with Barbara Hoppert, but not year goes by when Feb 22nd rolls around and I don't think of her. She died that day during her abortion procedure. I just now put her name into google and found your article on her. It was barely 4 sentences and seemed as cold as her death. She was once alive and had such a sad end and dramatic story. It still brings me to tears today thinking about her last night alive... how she was treated by her own family and the staff at the hospital. We watched Square Pegs that night on tv. And she told me about the boy who had impregnated her... She left early the next morning and I wished her good luck... An hour later a woman came to the room, later I found out that was her "real" mother whom Barbara thought was her sister. She missed seeing Barbara that one last time.... Barbara's story is very tragic. I am so very sad that she was so alone her last night alive. I was her only comfort and I was a complete stranger. Don't know how comforting I was other than I cried with her and listened.... Knowing the pain she was in.... She remains in my prayers. Just thought you should know she was more than just part of your cause.

Thanks to the woman who came forward to share this memory of Barbara.

Barbara's was not the only tragic death caused by doctors who recommended (or excused) abortion as a life-saving or health-preserving option for the mother:

  • Allegra Roseberry was pushed into an abortion in order to obtain experimental cancer treatment.
  • Anjelica Duarte sought an abortion on the advice of her physician, and ended up dying under the care of a quack.
  • Christin Gilbert died after an abortion supposedly justified on grounds of maternal health.
  • Erika Peterson died in when her doctors obtained her husband's permission to perform a "therapeutic" abortion.
  • "Molly" Roe died in when her doctors made the dubious decision to perform a saline abortion to improve her chances of surviving a lupus crisis.
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February 22, 1929: First Victim of Roswell Dentist

Milton A. Grissom, whose age was given as 58, was a dentist in Roswell, New Mexico. 

On February 22, 1929, he admitted 34-year-old widow Mary Parsell to St. Mary's Hospital. He reported that she had been at his home practice for three days and was suffering from pneumonia.

Mary, who hailed from the area of Dexter, NM, died shortly afterward.

The coroner's jury looked at the evidence and pretty quickly dismissed the pneumonia claim. Mary, they concluded, had bled to death from a criminal abortion.

Mary's family told the authorities they'd been unable to find a valuable diamond ring that had belonged to her. Grissom said he hadn't seen it. Mrs. Hattie Sommers-Hill, Grissom's office assistant, said she'd seen the ring on Mary's finger. Police patted Grissom down and found the ring in his clothing.

Grissom was held in Chaves county jail, pending bond set at $20,000. He faced charges for second-degree murder, which carried a possible sentence of 3 - 99 years.

Grissom appealed his conviction, challenging the New Mexico abortion law. While free on appeal he performed a fatal abortion on Lillian Morris.

Watch Dentist's First dead Patient on YouTube.
Watch Dentist's First dead Patient on Rumble.
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Saturday, February 21, 2026

February 21, 1929: A Dying Declaration

Grok AI illustration
On February 21, 1929, 26-year-old Virginia Clark died in Kentucky of complications of a botched, illegal abortion perpetrated in Georgia. 

G. W. Wilbanks and W. A. N. Jones were charged with murder in her death. Wilbanks was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and the following information comes from the Westlaw commentary on his appeal.

Virginia was treated prior to her death by a Dr. McArthur, who testified as to her dying declaration. He said that Virginia told him that when she learned that she was pregnant, she told the man responsible that "something would have to done about it." He made arrangements for an abortion to be performed by a doctor. The paramour brought the doctor to Virginia, and he used medicine and instruments on her. The procedure was so painful that Virginia asked him to stop, so the doctor administered chloroform. According to Dr. McArthur, Virginia told him that this abortion "was what had butchered her up and was killing her."

Virginia didn't tell her mother, Mrs. Goodwyne, about the abortion. Mrs. Goodwyne testified, "She (Virginia Clark) said that she went to the theatre [in Atlanta] or something, and it seemed like there was something broke, and she said she thought she wouldn't be able to get back to the hotel, but she did."

Wilbanks tried to get his conviction overturned on the grounds of the difference between what Virginia told her mother, and what she told Dr. McArthur as she lay dying.

Watch A Dying Declaration on YouTube.

Source: 41 Ga.App. 268, 152 S.E. 619 Court of Appeals of Georgia, Division No. 1. Wilbanks v. State No. 20148 .March 5, 1930
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February 21, 1951: Kidney Experiment Fails to Save Abortion Victim

Homemaker Lois Irvine, age 31, was in critical condition in Frankford Hospital in Philadelphia in February of 1951. Her kidneys had begun to fail due to sepsis so doctors tried an experiment. They  removed a kidney from the body of a 30-year-old truck driver who had been killed an hour earlier in a traffic crash. They placed the kidney on a clay filter inside a glass jar where it was bathed in a salt solution and kept at body temperature. They then flushed Lois's blood through it. In spite of this effort, Lois died on February 21. Doctors believe that the effort failed because too long a time had passed between the man's death and the removal of the kidney.

Lois left three children motherless.

Helen Castor, age 30, was arrested and charged with perpetrating an abortion that had caused Lois's decline and eventual death. She was released on $2,500 bail. The police also investigated Lois's husband, Richard; Mrs. Castor's husband, Vernon; and a woman named Dorothy Jaskolski.  The fatal abortion had been performed in Lois's home on February 3.

As an aside, it seems that the doctors did not get consent from the truck driver's family before removing his kidney, but his grandmother, who had adopted him after his mother's death, said, "Legally they had no right to do it, but if he was dead then I think it was alright."

Watch The Kidney in the Jar on YouTube.

Source:
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Friday, February 20, 2026

February 20, 1988: Deliberate Overdose Kills Patient

When 23-year-old Stacy Ruckman had just gotten a new job when she went to Scott Barrett for a safe and legal abortion on February 20, 1988. Unfortunately, she didn't know how he anesthetized his patients at his unlicensed clinic: Central Health Center for Women in Springfield, Missouri.

Barrett began the 13-14 week abortion at around 5 p.m. During the abortion, Stacy stopped breathing, Barrett and his staff were unable to revive her. 

Another source had Stacy on the table for half an hour without mishap, but collapsing when she got off the table at 6 p.m. This story is less than credible, since abortions don't usually taken an entire hour.

Staff called an ambulance, but the medics found Stacy in full cradio-respiratory arrest, with unresponsive pupils. The resuscitation attempts made by paramedics included suctioning "copious amounts of blood" from Stacy's airway, inserting an endotracheal tube, administering medications and oxygen, putting in an IV, and using a defibrillator.

They transferred Stacy to the emergency room, where she had a racing pulse and fixed, dilated pupils. She was unable to breathe on her own. The hospital transfused her with packed red blood cells and gave her additional IV fluids, but her EEG "revealed findings consistent with brain death" 

Stacy's parents, who hadn't even known she'd been pregnant, rushed to the hospital to find that they daughter they'd loved so well was gone. They agreed with the doctors to remove life support, and Stacy was pronounced dead at 11:34 p.m.

That night when we walked out of the hospital I just felt like I left part of me in there. Part of me was dead,'' Stacy's mother Judith said. You carry a child for nine months and something like that happens, you feel like you lost part of yourself, part of your body. And you're never going to get it back.''

Scott Barrett's clinic

Stacy's father requested an autopsy, which found toxic concentrations of Lidocaine in Stacy's blood. Her serum level, as tested in blood drawn 2 hour after the abortion, was 8.1 ug/ml, or more than five times the therapeutic level of 1.5 ug/ml. An expert who testified later estimated that, based on how fast the body metabolizes Lidocaine, the amount in her system at the time of the abortion could have been as high as 16 ug/ml, over ten times the therapeutic dose.

In order to rule out other causes of death, the coroner examined ten times the normal number of specimens, looking for signs of an amniotic fluid embolism. He could find no such evidence. He also found no evidence of "any naturally occurring disease process which could account for Ms. Ruckman's death." What he did find was "history of a grand mal seizure and cardiac arrest after a 'therapeutic' abortion at 13.8 weeks gestation." Stacy also had suffered cerebral and pulmonary edema (swelling of the brain and lungs), pulmonary hemorrhage (excessive bleeding in the lungs), clotted and unclotted blood in her mouth and nose, around 55 cc of bloody fluid surrounding her lungs, and another 200 cc's of bloody fluid in her pelvic cavity.

Stacy's parents sued. An anesthesiologist was asked under oath to give any and all possible medically valid reasons for administering that high a dose of Lidocaine; he repeatedly answered that he could think of none. The only reason he could think of -- not a medically valid one -- was to speed up the abortion. Barrett's nurse testified that he typically did 35-40 abortions per day, at $300 each.

Dr. Scott Barrett

She, and other staff, also testified that Barrett routinely gave patients massive dosed of Lidocaine in order to render them unconscious.

The court found that Barrett altered or falsified Stacy's records in attempt to cover his culpability. The Medical board likewise implicated Barrett in Stacy's death. They also found fault with him regarding other matters:

  • Barrett perforated the uterus of patient S.G., causing hemorrhage. He was inadequately prepared to treat her and delayed transfer to a hospital.
  • Barret performed an incomplete abortion on patient S.C., causing an infection.
  • Barrett lacked hospital admitting privileges.
  • Barrett routinely administered lidocaine improperly and without means available to treat any adverse reactions.
  • Barrett pre-signed prescription forms for controlled substances and left them around his office where staff would have access to them.
A jury awarded Stacy's parents $25.3 million for the wrongful death of their daughter -- $330,000 in actual damages, and $25 million in aggravated damages. However, Barrett carried no insurance and was not represented at all during the trial; he himself failed to show up. He had insisted to the media that the case was only being pursued as a way of putting abortion clinics out of business.

In spite of the medical board investigation and the fact that the clinic was unlicensed, Barrett continued to perform up to 40 abortions a day.  The Springfield News Leader also noted that local hospitals were failing to report to the authorities when they were treating Barrett's patients for complications. He also continued to perform abortions in the suburban St. Louis clinic he operated in partnership with Dr. Bolivar Escobedo. 

The paper also noted that Barrett had left one woman saddled with $3,000 in medical bills to treat an incomplete abortion he had performed on her, and had sliced another woman's uterus in half during an abortion. Doctors who spoke to the Springfield Leader expressed frustration with the state's failure to shut Barrett down, saying that they were tired of dealing with patients whose abortions he'd botched and then left without any arrangements for aftercare. One doctor said he'd treated a woman who had bled for two months following an abortion by Barrett but when she would call the clinic they'd tell her the bleeding was normal.

Stacy's mother, Judith, told the paper that at least ten people had spoken to her after the malpractice case, telling of their own experiences. One stopped her in a grocery store to talk. Three years after Stacy's death her parents were still fighting to get Barrett's license revoked.

Watch Fatal Shortcut on YouTube.
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February 20, 1947: A Puerto Rican Woman in New York

As I searched through New York death records I found the February 20, 1947 death of 40-year-old Carmen Palacio Gerena. 

Carmen was a Black woman who had been born in Puerto Rico in 1906 to Jose and Maria Palacio. She worked at a dress factory and lived with her husband, Salvatore, on West 103rd Street in Manhattan.

Carmen died of paralytic ileus, septic peritonitis, following septic endometritis and pelvic abscess from an criminal abortion in Harlem Hospital.

Carmen's sister, Margarita, was her executor. I've been unable to determine anything else about Carmen.

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February 20, 1927: Midwives Implicated in Chicago

On February 20, 1927, 23-year-old Angenita Hargarten died in her Chicago home from an abortion performed there that day. 

Midwives Anna Trezek and Frances Raz were held by the coroner, Trezek as the principal and Raz as her accomplice.

Source: Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database

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February 20, 1917: Travel Plans Lead to Fatal Abortion

Ada Williams, about 27 years old, was living in Denver in early 1916 when she got a letter from her mother in Nebraska. Nearly 50, Ada's mother was going to give birth soon and feared that she might die in childbirth, so she asked Ada to come to her.

Dr. Noble O. Hamilton

Ada, pregnant herself, decided to have an abortion before she left in order to facilitate the journey. With her husband, Thomas, she went to Dr. Noble O. Hamilton on Sunday, February 13, asking about proceeding with the abortion Ada had already discussed with him. Hamilton told her to return the following day, and told Thomas to bring $25, which was how much he charged for delivering a baby and seemed to be a fair amount to charge for aborting one.

Ada returned as instructed at about 9:40 in the morning. Hamilton later admitted that he examined Ada, including a vaginal exam, and inserted a medicated tampon, but denied that he had performed any abortion.

On Tuesday morning, Thomas stopped by Hamilton's office on the way to work and paid $10 toward the abortion. After Thomas had gone, Ada got up and went to visit a friend, who later reported that she seemed ill.

Wednesday came and Ada stayed in bed, where she labored and delivered a dead three-month fetus. She sent for Hamilton, who wrapped the dead baby in paper and burned it in the stove. He gave aftercare instructions and left.

On Thursday, Ada was showing signs of going septic. Hamilton diagnosed her as having typhoid fever. The next day he brought in a Dr. Gundrum to consult about the typhoid diagnosis but said nothing about the abortion, not even to claim that Ada had miscarried.

Dr. Monson came to check on Ada on Friday and found her in grave condition. Hamilton still tried to keep the abortion a secret but Monson managed to ferret out the information from Ada somehow. He admitted Ada to a hospital, where she died of sepsis the evening of Sunday, February 20.

When convicted and sentenced to ten to eleven years, Hamilton swore his innocence. The verdict in the Ada Williams case was upheld on appeal.

Sources:

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