Dismally Fruitful Research

Rena Armstrong

Using a new trick I learned by watching "Long Lost Family," I found out the name of the girl I'd dubbed "Eudora." She had died on February 28, 1930 after an abortion by Dr. Charles C. Keester in Wichita, Kansas. Her name was Rena Armstrong.

I went looking for additional information using Rena's name on a newspaper database and learned that she was far from the only abortion death attributed to Keester. The others were:

• Mrs. Virgil Rector, late November or early December, 1921
• Hattie Myers, age 19, March 7, 1922
• Hazel Hadicke, age 19, December 16, 1923
• Loren Franklin, age 19, August, 1924
• "Bonnie," age 18, August, 1924

Keester had managed to avoid prosecution for one of those deaths because the woman had named him as her abortionist upon admission to the hospital rather than when clearly on her deathbed. I don't have as much information about the other deaths. 

I had wanted for so long to believe that quack abortionists had been easy to catch and imprison in the pre-legalization days. Clearly, when legal protection is again extended to the youngest among us we will need to have mechanisms for identifying and successfully prosecuting abortionists.

Here is my original entry on Rena's death:

On Monday, January 6, 1930, "Mike" brought 17-year-old "Eudroa" from Wellinton, Kansas, to Wichita to seek an abortion at the hands of Dr. Charles C. Keester. They knew his name and looked him up in the phone book to find him. The couple told Keester that the girl was pregnant and wanted "an operation to get rid of the condition." Keester put her in some sort of reclining exam chair and examined her, then used instruments on her as Mike stood at her head and observed. Keester then helped Eudora from the chair and sent the couple to a hotel half a block away, where Keester kept his patients -- much the same way late-term abortion doctors currently keep their patients in motels. Mike paid $40 in cash and took Eudora to the hotel, where they registered as a married couple. On the 9th, Mike tried to contact Keester because Eudora was unwell, much as Jennifer Marbelli's family had been unable to reach LeRoy Carhart when she was ailing after her abortion. Mike wasn't able to reach Keester until January 10, when he went to the hotel, examined Eudora, and used some instruments to treat her. On Saturday, Eudora seemed better. On Sunday at about 2:30, Keester visited the hotel and said that Eudora was well enough to go home. Mike took Eudora to his mother's home in Wellington, telling her about the abortion. On Monday night, Eudora took ill. Mike told Eudora's sister what had happened, and the family summoned Dr. McGrew, who examined Eudora and recommended that she be taken to a hospital. She was admitted the next morning, January 14. She was suffering peritonitis. Dr. Van Deventer was summoned on January 23, and he and McGrew examined Eudora. They found her in grave shape, and summoned Dr. Snyder. Snyder performed surgery on January 31, with Dr. McGrew assisting with anesthesia, to try to save Eudora's life. McGrew testified later that Eudora's abdomen had been full of abscesses. Eudora's condition continued to deteriorate. On February 4, she was given a blood transfusion. On the evening of Feb 5 or 6, she asked everybody but her stepmother to leave the room. She said, "Mother, I am going to die. What Dr. Keester did to me is going to kill me." She then told of the trip to Wichita and the abortion. On February 12 Eudora became irrational, but she continued to linger until her death on February 28. Keester was convicted of manslaughter in Eudora's death, and his appeal was denied.