1929 & 1974: A "Back Alley Butcher" and an Icon of "Choice"

On June 20, 1929, 28-year-old Jennie Kuba died at Chicago hospital from an abortion performed there that day by midwife Mary Zwieniczak.Zwienczak was arrested July 13. The coroner also recommended the arrest of Dr. Joseph Mienczak, who assisted Zwieniczak, as an accessory.

I don't have enough information about Jennie's death to know if it involved the same degree of quackery exhibited by prochoice hero Milan Vuitch (pictured) over a half-century later. On June 15, 1974, seventeen-year-old Wilma Harris of West Virginia went to Vuitch's Laurel Clinic for a safe and abortion. Five days later, she was dead. Although the abortion was done at around 2:00 PM, Vuitch didn't transfer Wilma to a properly equipped hospital until after midnight. Wilma's family sued, claiming that Vuitch and his staff had allowed Wilma to lapse into a coma and lie unattended for 12 hours before transferring her to the hospital. The suit also claimed that Vuitch and his staff falsified records to cover their tracks.  The family won a judgment on December 23, 1976, but the settlement was sealed by court order. Georgianna English also died after an abortion perpetrated by Vuitch.

Vuitch isn't the only abortionist who kept his nose clean as a criminal abortionist, only to kill two patients after legalization. Jesse Ketchum managed to kill Margaret Smith and Carole Schaner in a four-month period after New York put out a welcome mat for carpetbagging abortionists in 1970. Benjamin Munson of South Dakota killed Linda Padfield and Yvonne Mesteth.