Retroactively Safe and Legal
"Sophia,"
age 19, traveled from Youngstown, Ohio, to Duquesne, near
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 27, 1969 to have an abortion performed by a Dr.
Benjamin King. Sophia was a 19-year-old freshman at Ohio State
University. She had gotten King's contact information from her boyfriend, who
was also 19 years old. King put out word about his services on college
campuses in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Sophia's
boyfriend accompanied her to King's office. They made a down payment toward the $300 fee for the
abortion. The young couple returned to Youngstown, where Sophia was admitted to South Side Hospital on December 29. She died the following day. King had perforated her cervix, causing both infection and hemorrhage.
Police had Sophia's boyfriend contact King, saying he had the rest of the money. When King came to collect, he was arrested. Though convicted and sentenced to prison, King's attorney won his freedom by citing the Roe vs. Wade decision striking down the abortion law.
A Possible Lay Abortionist in Chicago
On December 30, 1924, 21-year-old Agnes Nazar, an immigrant from Persia (modern-day Iran), died at Chicago's St. Joseph's Hospital from an abortion performed earlier that day. On January 6, 1925, Rogie Hatal was held by the coroner as the guilty abortionist. Hatal's profession is not listed. Mike Nazar, her husband, was arrested as an accessory, as was Sarah
Babian. Hatal was indicted for felony murder on February 15, 1925. Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like
antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future. For more about
abortion in this era, see Abortion in the 1920s.
Friday, December 30, 2016
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Planned Parenthood Medical Abortion and a Midwife in Chicago
Death Drugs from Planned Parenthood, 2003
Hoa Thuy "Vivian" Tran, like Holly Patterson, got abortion drugs at a Planned Parenthood. Vivian,a 22-year-old teaching student from Fountain Valley, California age 22, followed the medical abortion protocol on December 23, 2003 after getting the drugs at the Costa Mesa, California Planned Parenthood.
On December 29, 2003, Vivian was vacationing with friends at a Las Vegas hotel and fell ill. She was rushed to a local hospital, where staff tried for 40 minutes to revive her, to no avail.
The autopsy showed that Vivian had died of sepsis caused by Clostridium sordelli bacteria in her uterus. Clostridium sordellii is a rare bacterium that can cause sudden severe toxic shock syndrome in previously healthy people.
Vivian‘s husband is suing the drug company, Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernadino Counties, and The Population Council Inc., in Orange County Superior Court. VIvian's death left him to raise their 5-year-old daughter alone.
Other women identified as having died of infection deaths after RU-486 deaths in the Los Angeles area: Chanelle Bryant, and Oriane Shevin. Chanelle got her abortion drugs at a Planned Parenthood, and Oriane and Vivian got theirs from National Abortion Federation members.
A Midwife's Work in Chicago, 1907
On December 29, 1907, 19-year-old Marcie Mayer died in St. Elizabeth's hospital in Chicago from complications of a criminal abortion. Mary Bing, a midwife, was arrested, tried, and sentenced to Joliet. A man named John Mansfield was also held by the coroner's jury, but acquitted by the judge. Marcie's abortion was atypical in that it was not performed by a physician.
Hoa Thuy "Vivian" Tran, like Holly Patterson, got abortion drugs at a Planned Parenthood. Vivian,a 22-year-old teaching student from Fountain Valley, California age 22, followed the medical abortion protocol on December 23, 2003 after getting the drugs at the Costa Mesa, California Planned Parenthood.
On December 29, 2003, Vivian was vacationing with friends at a Las Vegas hotel and fell ill. She was rushed to a local hospital, where staff tried for 40 minutes to revive her, to no avail.
The autopsy showed that Vivian had died of sepsis caused by Clostridium sordelli bacteria in her uterus. Clostridium sordellii is a rare bacterium that can cause sudden severe toxic shock syndrome in previously healthy people.
Vivian‘s husband is suing the drug company, Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernadino Counties, and The Population Council Inc., in Orange County Superior Court. VIvian's death left him to raise their 5-year-old daughter alone.
Other women identified as having died of infection deaths after RU-486 deaths in the Los Angeles area: Chanelle Bryant, and Oriane Shevin. Chanelle got her abortion drugs at a Planned Parenthood, and Oriane and Vivian got theirs from National Abortion Federation members.
A Midwife's Work in Chicago, 1907
On December 29, 1907, 19-year-old Marcie Mayer died in St. Elizabeth's hospital in Chicago from complications of a criminal abortion. Mary Bing, a midwife, was arrested, tried, and sentenced to Joliet. A man named John Mansfield was also held by the coroner's jury, but acquitted by the judge. Marcie's abortion was atypical in that it was not performed by a physician.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Mystery Abortionist in Chicago, 1921
On December 28, 1921, 30-year-old housekeeper Belle Keehn died at the Chicago Lying-In Hospital from lung abscesses and septicemia caused by an abortion perpetrated by an unknown doctor on or about November 27.
Documents are unclear as to how it was determined that the perpetrator was a doctor. The hospital was a reputable facility, not a seedy abortionarium, so Belle would have received superior care as doctors tried to save her life.
Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future. For more about abortion in this era, see Abortion in the 1920s.
Documents are unclear as to how it was determined that the perpetrator was a doctor. The hospital was a reputable facility, not a seedy abortionarium, so Belle would have received superior care as doctors tried to save her life.
Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future. For more about abortion in this era, see Abortion in the 1920s.
Monday, December 26, 2016
A 1915 Abortion Death I Just Learned About
I stumbled across information about the following abortion death while looking for additional information on the death of Rose Kulamer.
In August of 1915, Dr. J. A. Williams of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania was summoned to the Pittsburgh home of 41-year-old midwife Marie Treylt to provide care for a sick woman.
Upon assessing the woman, 27-year-old Margaret McCreary of Hickory, Pennsylvania, Williams admitted her to Ohio Valley Hospital. Margaret died there on August 21. Four nurses at the hospital told police that Williams had indeed admitted Margaret, telling them to give her medication if she was in pain but providing no other care. No other doctor treated Margaret, the nurses said.
Police sought out Treytl, and found her nearly smothering in a hiding
place between two mattresses in the home of someone identified in news
coverage only as A. Mentzer. Treytl told police that Margaret had some
to her house on August 17, seeking shelter. The midwife insisted that
she had not perpetrated an abortion, but that Margaret had taken ill and
she had summoned Dr. Williams to care for her.
Treylt's 17-year-old daughter, Adeline,told police that she wasn't home when Margaret had come to the house. Police, however, believed that she had guilty knowledge. Witness Bessie Hays told police that Adeline had come to her house asking her to tell police that Margaret had been staying at the Hays home. Bessie ordered Adeline out of her house.
The Treylt family servant, 18-year-old Marie Mentzer,told police that Margaret had actually come to the house on August 14. I have been unable to determine if the servant was a relative of the A. Mentzer in whose home the elder Treylt had been found.
All four parties were brought before the coroner. The doctor and the two younger women were released on bail, but Mrs. Treylt, already awaiting a grand jury action in another abortion case, was held without bail.
Mrs. Treylt would go on to be implicated in the 1918 abortion death of Rose Kulamer
Sources:
In August of 1915, Dr. J. A. Williams of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania was summoned to the Pittsburgh home of 41-year-old midwife Marie Treylt to provide care for a sick woman.
Upon assessing the woman, 27-year-old Margaret McCreary of Hickory, Pennsylvania, Williams admitted her to Ohio Valley Hospital. Margaret died there on August 21. Four nurses at the hospital told police that Williams had indeed admitted Margaret, telling them to give her medication if she was in pain but providing no other care. No other doctor treated Margaret, the nurses said.
Treylt's 17-year-old daughter, Adeline,told police that she wasn't home when Margaret had come to the house. Police, however, believed that she had guilty knowledge. Witness Bessie Hays told police that Adeline had come to her house asking her to tell police that Margaret had been staying at the Hays home. Bessie ordered Adeline out of her house.
The Treylt family servant, 18-year-old Marie Mentzer,told police that Margaret had actually come to the house on August 14. I have been unable to determine if the servant was a relative of the A. Mentzer in whose home the elder Treylt had been found.
All four parties were brought before the coroner. The doctor and the two younger women were released on bail, but Mrs. Treylt, already awaiting a grand jury action in another abortion case, was held without bail.
Mrs. Treylt would go on to be implicated in the 1918 abortion death of Rose Kulamer
Sources:
- "Three Women and Doctor Held for Death of Girl," Pittsburgh Press, Aug. 23, 1915
- "Four Arrested As Result of Girl's Death," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Aug. 23, 1915
- "Coroner Holds Four After Woman's Death," Pittsburgh Daily Post, Aug. 24, 1915
- "Mrs. Treytl is in Jail," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Aug. 24, 1915
Second Deaths Each for a Doctor and a Midwife
A Doctor's Second Dead Patient, 1932
In late December of 1932, 20-year-old schoolteacher Myrtle Gardner of Four Oaks, North Carolina checked into a Raleigh motel room with her brother-in-law, George D. Clifton. The two presented themselves as a married couple.The following day, the two went to the home of Mrs. Carrie C. Forsythe, where they were to meet 45-year-old Dr. Mike Roberson, of Durham, for an abortion.
After the abortion, Mrytle took ill. Clifton took her to a hospital, where she was admitted under the name Mrs. George Clifton. She died from septic infection caused by an incomplete abortion on the evening of December 26. Dr. P. G. Fox reported her death to the police after Mrytle gave a deathbed statement at the hospital to him, another doctor, and a nurse.
Mrs. Forsythe, age 63 and described as "a gray-haired, middle-aged Raleigh woman," was also charged with murder in Myrtle's death. She was convicted and sentenced to 2 to 3 years for counseling and procuring the abortion. She collapsed and had to be carried to her cell after hearing the sentence. She spent the night "in a highly hysterical condition. Mrs. Forsythe had been charged previously as an accessory to abortion. Clifton was charged as an accessory in Myrtle's death as well.
Roberson was originally charged with first degree murder for Myrtle's death, but the charge was reduced to second-degree murder. Roberson's wife provided his alibi, saying that he was at home sick the night Myrtle's abortion was perpetrated. His defense also asserted that the prosecution had not proved that Myrtle had actually been pregnant.
Roberson pleaded nolo contendere and was given a 3 to five year prison sentence. The medical board revoked his license, but successfully convinced the court to suspend his prison sentence with the stipulation that he never practice medicine again, both on the grounds that he'd no longer be a danger if he stopped doing abortions and on the grounds that he was suffering a heart ailment and thus would not fare well in prison.
This was Roberson's fourth arrest on abortion charges. He had been convicted in the 1928 abortion death of Irma Robinson, but won a new trial on appeal.
A Midwife's Second Dead Patient, 1918
Rose Kulamer's husband, John, said that on Saturday, November 30, 1918, she'd told him that she'd been to see “a woman in the West End Pgh.” who had used “a rubber tube” to cause an abortion. She was taken to Columbia Hospital in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania by ambulance on Monday, December 2.
According to Dr. Sidney A. Chalfant, 33-year-old Rose denied an abortion on admission, but later admitted that she and a friend had gone to a woman on Pittsburgh's South Side for an abortion. Her uterus was enlarged to three months, her cervix was dilated to admit two fingers, and a large piece of cotton, that had evidently been present “for some time,” was in her vagina.
Rose was taken to the operating room, where the dead three- to four-month fetus was removed and her cervix was packed with gauze. The next day surgery was performed to remove the placenta.
Over the next four to five days, Rose's temperature fell to normal, but then it started to rise again. Rose reported pain in her lower left leg from old inflamed varicose veins. Her temperature rose and stayed elevated for about two weeks, then fell and remained normal for about five days.
On Christmas morning, Rose seemed fine, but around midnight on Christmas night Chalfant was called in because Rose's condition had taken a sudden downturn. He arrived to find that she had vomited and been incontinent in both her bowels and bladder. She was unconscious, with a weak, irregular pulse. Chalfant diagnosed a pulmonary embolism and remained with Rose for about an hour, during which she seemed to be improving. But the next time Chalfant checked on her, she was showing signs of brain damage from an embolism. She held on until about 1 p.m. December 26. She left five children motherless.
Dr. Charles
Schildecker performed the autopsy in the hospital morgue. Rose, 5'6” and
175 pounds, showed no external marks of injury. However, her fallopian
tubes and ovaries were enlarged and gangrenous, especially on the left.
The lining of her uterus was inflamed, gangrenous, and decomposed. Her
pelvic veins were filled with septic thrombi. All of her pelvic tissues
were highly inflamed, showing signs of recent pregnancy. Schildecker
determined that the cause of death had been septicemia from an abortion.
The coroner's jury recommended that the person responsible, the
mysterious woman on the South Side, be identified and arrested.
Police identified the mystery woman as midwife Marie Treytl. At the time of Rose's death, another of Treytl's patients was in critical condition herself as a result of an abortion. Treytl had also been implicated in the 1915 abortion death of Margaret McCreary.
Treytl had previously been implicated in the 1915 abortion death of Margaret McCreary.
In late December of 1932, 20-year-old schoolteacher Myrtle Gardner of Four Oaks, North Carolina checked into a Raleigh motel room with her brother-in-law, George D. Clifton. The two presented themselves as a married couple.The following day, the two went to the home of Mrs. Carrie C. Forsythe, where they were to meet 45-year-old Dr. Mike Roberson, of Durham, for an abortion.
After the abortion, Mrytle took ill. Clifton took her to a hospital, where she was admitted under the name Mrs. George Clifton. She died from septic infection caused by an incomplete abortion on the evening of December 26. Dr. P. G. Fox reported her death to the police after Mrytle gave a deathbed statement at the hospital to him, another doctor, and a nurse.
Mrs. Forsythe, age 63 and described as "a gray-haired, middle-aged Raleigh woman," was also charged with murder in Myrtle's death. She was convicted and sentenced to 2 to 3 years for counseling and procuring the abortion. She collapsed and had to be carried to her cell after hearing the sentence. She spent the night "in a highly hysterical condition. Mrs. Forsythe had been charged previously as an accessory to abortion. Clifton was charged as an accessory in Myrtle's death as well.
Roberson was originally charged with first degree murder for Myrtle's death, but the charge was reduced to second-degree murder. Roberson's wife provided his alibi, saying that he was at home sick the night Myrtle's abortion was perpetrated. His defense also asserted that the prosecution had not proved that Myrtle had actually been pregnant.
Roberson pleaded nolo contendere and was given a 3 to five year prison sentence. The medical board revoked his license, but successfully convinced the court to suspend his prison sentence with the stipulation that he never practice medicine again, both on the grounds that he'd no longer be a danger if he stopped doing abortions and on the grounds that he was suffering a heart ailment and thus would not fare well in prison.
This was Roberson's fourth arrest on abortion charges. He had been convicted in the 1928 abortion death of Irma Robinson, but won a new trial on appeal.
A Midwife's Second Dead Patient, 1918
Rose Kulamer's husband, John, said that on Saturday, November 30, 1918, she'd told him that she'd been to see “a woman in the West End Pgh.” who had used “a rubber tube” to cause an abortion. She was taken to Columbia Hospital in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania by ambulance on Monday, December 2.
According to Dr. Sidney A. Chalfant, 33-year-old Rose denied an abortion on admission, but later admitted that she and a friend had gone to a woman on Pittsburgh's South Side for an abortion. Her uterus was enlarged to three months, her cervix was dilated to admit two fingers, and a large piece of cotton, that had evidently been present “for some time,” was in her vagina.
Rose was taken to the operating room, where the dead three- to four-month fetus was removed and her cervix was packed with gauze. The next day surgery was performed to remove the placenta.
Over the next four to five days, Rose's temperature fell to normal, but then it started to rise again. Rose reported pain in her lower left leg from old inflamed varicose veins. Her temperature rose and stayed elevated for about two weeks, then fell and remained normal for about five days.
On Christmas morning, Rose seemed fine, but around midnight on Christmas night Chalfant was called in because Rose's condition had taken a sudden downturn. He arrived to find that she had vomited and been incontinent in both her bowels and bladder. She was unconscious, with a weak, irregular pulse. Chalfant diagnosed a pulmonary embolism and remained with Rose for about an hour, during which she seemed to be improving. But the next time Chalfant checked on her, she was showing signs of brain damage from an embolism. She held on until about 1 p.m. December 26. She left five children motherless.
Police identified the mystery woman as midwife Marie Treytl. At the time of Rose's death, another of Treytl's patients was in critical condition herself as a result of an abortion. Treytl had also been implicated in the 1915 abortion death of Margaret McCreary.
Treytl had previously been implicated in the 1915 abortion death of Margaret McCreary.
Friday, December 23, 2016
From Doctors in New York to a Lover in Michigan
Safe and Legal in New York, 1970
"Kimberly" is one of the women Life Dynamics identifies on their "Blackmun Wall" as having been killed by a safe and legal abortion. Kimberly was 25 years old and 18 weeks pregnant when she underwent a safe, legal abortion under the new law, in New York City on December 23, 1970. During the abortion, she went into cardiac arrest and died, leaving behind two children.
The 1970 liberalization of abortion had made New York an abortion mecca until the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling that abortionists could legally set up shop in any state of the union. In addition to "Kimberly," these are the women I know of who had the dubious benefit of dying from the newfangled safe-and-legal kind of abortion in pre-Roe New York:
One of a String of Dr. Brewer's Dead, Oklahoma, 1931
On June 7, 1935, Dr. Guy E. Brewer pleaded guilty to six counts of manslaughter
for the deaths of six women who died from complications of abortions he
had perpetrated. He was sentenced to serve six consecutive four-year
terms. He spent his incarceration working in the prison hospital. One of those young women was Myrtle Rose, age 21, of Ponca City, Oklahoma, on December 23, 1931. The other women include Hermoine Fowler, Ruby Ford, Doris Jones, Elizabeth Shaw, and Wanda Lee Gray.
Brewer was sentenced to six four-year sentences, to run concurrently, for six abortion deaths. The likely reason that he got such a light sentence was his extreme popularity for his benevolence in putting local young men through college. So beloved was Brewer that one victim's husband was fired in retaliation for reporting his wife's death to the police.
Body Dumped by New York Physician, 1934
On Christmas day of 1934, the nude body of a young woman was found under a pile of leaves in a thicket near a highway south of New York City. Eventually the date of death was determined to be December 23.
Laura and Joseph
Devine, whose 19-year-old daughter, Loretta Wilson, had been missing
since December 19, contacted authorities and were able to positively
identify the body. An autopsy revealed that she had bled to death from
complications of an abortion
Loretta had left home at noon on the 19th, telling the landlady that she was going to see a doctor. Her husband of two years, William, knew better. Though initially he'd denied even knowing that Loretta had been pregnant, he later said he'd paid Dr. John H. Becker Jr., age 52, $55 for the abortion. He added that his wife's friend, Kay Dinger, had been present when the transaction took place.
Becker admitted to having been paid $2 for examining Loretta on December 17, but denied perpetrating the abortion. He said that she was supposed to return on the 18th but failed to show up. However, his assertion that he'd not seen Loretta after the 17th was challenged by a witness who picked Becker out of a lineup of seven men as the one he'd seen standing by a car near the area where Loretta's body was found.
Becker was found guilty and sentenced to between 18 months and three years in Sing-Sing.
Fatal Mystery Abortion in Chicago, 1909
"Sadie," identified in the source document as "Mrs. D," was 39 years old in November of 1909 when she either had a miscarriage or an illegal abortion. Five weeks later, on December 21, she was admitted to Cook County Hospital. She was vomiting and obviously very ill. Her pulse was 108, her respirations 28, her temperature 100 degrees.
The next day her temperature had fallen to 97.6, and her pulse and respirations had increased to 132 and 30, respectively. For reasons the document doesn't provide, she endured slightly over two hours of surgery during which surgeons removed both of her Fallopian tubes, drained her pelvic cavity, then curetted her uterus and packed it with alcohol gauze. The surgery sent her into shock and she died 14 hours later, either on December 22 or December 23.
Dead at her Lover's Hands, 1885
Harry McDowell began calling at the home of Dr. Truman Sawdy of Howard City, about 40 miles north of Grand Rapids, Michigan, to visit Dr. Sawdy's 21-year-old daughter, Sylvia. McDowell usually came on Sundays and in the evening, and also corresponded with Sylvia.
On December 10, 1885, Sylvia went to Grand Rapids by train, ostensibly to visit McDowell's mother. Dr. Sawdy heard nothing more from or about his daughter until the morning of Christmas Eve, when McDowell's father came to him, saying that he'd gotten a telegram or telephone call from his son. The senior McDowell said that Harry had told him that Sylvia was very sick and wanted her mother, Cornelia, to go to her.
Dr. Sawdy read the next day in the newspaper that his daughter was dead.
It came out in the trial that in November, Sylvia had consulted with Drs. Bodle, Hake, and Bradish, indicating that she was pregnant. Evidence indicated that McDowell had performed an abortion on Sylvia on December 23, and that she died that day. McDowell was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years.
"Kimberly" is one of the women Life Dynamics identifies on their "Blackmun Wall" as having been killed by a safe and legal abortion. Kimberly was 25 years old and 18 weeks pregnant when she underwent a safe, legal abortion under the new law, in New York City on December 23, 1970. During the abortion, she went into cardiac arrest and died, leaving behind two children.
The 1970 liberalization of abortion had made New York an abortion mecca until the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling that abortionists could legally set up shop in any state of the union. In addition to "Kimberly," these are the women I know of who had the dubious benefit of dying from the newfangled safe-and-legal kind of abortion in pre-Roe New York:
- 1970: Pearl Schwier, Carmen Rodriguez, Barbara Riley, "Amanda" Roe, and Maria Ortega
- 1971: "Amy" Roe, "Andrea" Roe, "Sandra" Roe, "Anita" Roe, Margaret Smith, "Annie" Roe, "Audrey" Roe, "Vicki" Roe, "April" Roe, "Barbara" Roe, "Tammy" Roe, Carole Schaner, and "Beth" Roe
- 1972: "Roseann" Roe, "Connie" Roe, "Julie" Roe, "Robin" Roe, "Roxanne" Roe, and "Danielle" Roe
One of a String of Dr. Brewer's Dead, Oklahoma, 1931
 |
| Dr. Guy E. Brewer |
Brewer was sentenced to six four-year sentences, to run concurrently, for six abortion deaths. The likely reason that he got such a light sentence was his extreme popularity for his benevolence in putting local young men through college. So beloved was Brewer that one victim's husband was fired in retaliation for reporting his wife's death to the police.
Body Dumped by New York Physician, 1934
On Christmas day of 1934, the nude body of a young woman was found under a pile of leaves in a thicket near a highway south of New York City. Eventually the date of death was determined to be December 23.
 |
| Loretta Wilson |
Loretta had left home at noon on the 19th, telling the landlady that she was going to see a doctor. Her husband of two years, William, knew better. Though initially he'd denied even knowing that Loretta had been pregnant, he later said he'd paid Dr. John H. Becker Jr., age 52, $55 for the abortion. He added that his wife's friend, Kay Dinger, had been present when the transaction took place.
Becker admitted to having been paid $2 for examining Loretta on December 17, but denied perpetrating the abortion. He said that she was supposed to return on the 18th but failed to show up. However, his assertion that he'd not seen Loretta after the 17th was challenged by a witness who picked Becker out of a lineup of seven men as the one he'd seen standing by a car near the area where Loretta's body was found.
Becker was found guilty and sentenced to between 18 months and three years in Sing-Sing.
Fatal Mystery Abortion in Chicago, 1909
"Sadie," identified in the source document as "Mrs. D," was 39 years old in November of 1909 when she either had a miscarriage or an illegal abortion. Five weeks later, on December 21, she was admitted to Cook County Hospital. She was vomiting and obviously very ill. Her pulse was 108, her respirations 28, her temperature 100 degrees.
The next day her temperature had fallen to 97.6, and her pulse and respirations had increased to 132 and 30, respectively. For reasons the document doesn't provide, she endured slightly over two hours of surgery during which surgeons removed both of her Fallopian tubes, drained her pelvic cavity, then curetted her uterus and packed it with alcohol gauze. The surgery sent her into shock and she died 14 hours later, either on December 22 or December 23.
Dead at her Lover's Hands, 1885
Harry McDowell began calling at the home of Dr. Truman Sawdy of Howard City, about 40 miles north of Grand Rapids, Michigan, to visit Dr. Sawdy's 21-year-old daughter, Sylvia. McDowell usually came on Sundays and in the evening, and also corresponded with Sylvia.
On December 10, 1885, Sylvia went to Grand Rapids by train, ostensibly to visit McDowell's mother. Dr. Sawdy heard nothing more from or about his daughter until the morning of Christmas Eve, when McDowell's father came to him, saying that he'd gotten a telegram or telephone call from his son. The senior McDowell said that Harry had told him that Sylvia was very sick and wanted her mother, Cornelia, to go to her.
Dr. Sawdy read the next day in the newspaper that his daughter was dead.
It came out in the trial that in November, Sylvia had consulted with Drs. Bodle, Hake, and Bradish, indicating that she was pregnant. Evidence indicated that McDowell had performed an abortion on Sylvia on December 23, and that she died that day. McDowell was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years.
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
From Screwed-up Anesthesia in 1997 to Unspecified Complications in 1915
Careless in Maryland, 1997
Dr. Earl McLeod was disciplined by the Maryland medical board over the death
of an abortion patient on December 21, 1997. A now-defunct group called
WAKE-UP identified her by name -- Jennifer M. Halner -- but do not
indicate where they learned her identity. The Social Security Death
Index does indeed show a Jennifer M. Halner, 27 years old, died in
Maryland on December 21, 1997, which does tend to confirm their
identification.
On December 20, 1997, the 27-year-old woman went to Potomac Family Planning for a safe, legal abortion, to be performed by D&C. She was 6 weeks pregnant. She had no significant medical or surgical history, but had undergone a prior abortion performed by McLeod in 1995, under general anesthesia, with no complications.
McLeod's anesthesiologist, identified in records only as Dr. K., started an IV, and the woman was hooked up to a cardiac monitor, blood pressure monitor, and pulse oximeter. Dr. K administered Versed (for sedation and memory impairment), Sublimaze (a short-acting narcotic used for short-duration pain control), Propofol (a sedative for anesthesia), with Lidocaine, a local anesthetic.
Jennifer breathed on her own during the entire five minutes of the abortion. She was transferred to recovery at 10:10 a.m., still unconscious but breathing on her own. Her blood pressure was charted as 112/60 (normal), but her pulse was 103 (very rapid). A nurse identified only as Nurse W put an oxygen mask on the patient, but she was taken off the cardiac monitor and pulse oximeter when she was moved to recovery.
After Jennifer's vital signs were documented, another nurse, identified as Nurse H, took the blood pressure cuff off of her and put it on another patient.
Meanwhile, McLeod was in a second procedure room, doing an abortion on another patient.
At around 10:20 a.m., Nurse W noticed that Jennifer was still unresponsive. She told a nursing assistant to get Zoloft (an antidepressant) from the anesthesiologist, who was still in the second procedure room with McLeod. As the assistant was leaving, Nurse W change the request to one for Zofran (an antiemetic). Then Nurse W went into the procedure room herself to get the Zofran.
Dr. K gave the Zofran to Nurse W without evaluating the patient. There was no record that Jennifer had suffered any nausea or vomiting to warrant the drug in question. At about 10:25, Nurse W administered Zofran to Jennifer through her IV. Not surprisingly, administering an antiemetic did nothing to revive her.
Nurse W returned to the procedure room and asked Kr. K for Romazicon, a more appropriate drug, since it is used to reverse the effects of drugs used for anesthesia. Dr. K again provided the drug to Nurse W without examining the patient.
Nurse H went to take Jennifer's blood pressure, and she realized she couldn't find a pulse, and that the patient's pupils were dilated. She fetched Dr. K to assess his patient immediately. He found her unresponsive, with a blood pressure an alarmingly low 60/40. He stared a second IV and began to perform CPR, using a pediatric-sized bag-valve mask. Nurse H took over ventilating Jennifer, continuing to use the pediatric-sized bag-valve mask. This device would be unable to pump sufficient air into the lungs of a normal-sized adult.
Meanwhile, McLeod performed two other procedures before finally entering the recovery room and finding his staff performing inadequate CPR on his patient. He administered additional IV medications, and said that Jennifer was hooked up to an EKG monitor even though there was no documentation whatsoever of her cardiac rhythm. She was also not hooked up to a pulse oximeter that would tell the staff how much oxygen was in her blood. A pulse oximeter is standard monitoring for post-surgical patients and for patients needing emergency care; failure to use it on this patient was inexplicable. Also, despite the presence of two doctors, two nurses, and at least one nurses' assistant, nobody documented respiration, lung sounds, or any neurological evaluation, all standard for treating an unresponsive patient.
Dr. K told somebody to administer Epinephrine, Ephedrine, and Lidocaine -- all appropriate drugs for treating a patient in cardiac arrest.
Finally, at around 10:42 a.m., McLeod told somebody to call 911 -- something that should have been done as soon as she was found to be unresponsive. Paramedics arrived and found Jennifer in cardiac arrest. The anesthesiologist could not tell them anything about the patient's heart electrical activity, which he should have been noting on the EKG. They noted the use of a pediatric bag-valve mask, and the fact that nobody had put a breathing tube into the patient to ensure that air was being pumped into her lungs and not her stomach.
The medics immediately began appropriate resuscitation, intubating Jennifer, ventilating her with an adult-sized bag=valve mask, hooking her up to a cardiac monitor, defibrillating her, and administering appropriate drugs.
The medics transported Jennifer to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, arriving at 11:09 a.m. The ER physician noted that the patient's pupils were fixed and dilated. After aggressive resuscitative efforts by ER staff, Jennifer's heart was restored to a stable rhythm, and she was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. But despite their best efforts, she died at 4:15 a.m. on December 21.
The appalled paramedics reported McLeod to the medical board, which faulted him with failure to provide adequate and readily-available post-operative monitoring equipment, and failure to provide adequate emergency supplies. The board also required him to get his staff properly certified in CPR.
McLeod also ran the Hillcrest abortion mill in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where Kelly Morse had died in 1996 after being inadequately resuscitated. Kelly's husband filed suit, noting, "No respiration rate was recorded, no pulse was checked and no blood pressure was measured. No EKG was applied. No cardiac monitoring was conducted. No pulse oximeter was applied. No intubation or emergency tracheotomy was performed." Evidently McLeod chose not to learn from Kelly's death the lessons that would have saved this Maryland patient's life.
The First Known FPA Death, 1970
Denise J. Holmes, a 24-year-old Australian woman living in Texas, decided to undergo a safe and legal abortion at Avalon Hospital in Los Angeles, California, on her way home for Christmas of 1970. Denise checked into Avalon Hospital (an abortion facility owned by Edward Campbell Allred) on December 21. Denise suffered an amniotic fluid embolism that carried pieces of fetal bone marrow into her lungs. She was pronounced dead by Edward Allred at Avalon at 5pm.
Denise is the first confirmed abortion death at an Allred facility, before the National Abortion Federationwas founded, with Allred's Family Planning Associates Medical Group as a member.
Other women known to have died after abortion at Allred's facilities include:
I suspect that the reason the deaths appear in clusters is because those are years that researchers checked for lawsuits, rather than that these are all the women and girls who died at Allred facilities. Anybody with the time and resources to do so could probably uncover other deaths Allred and his staff have managed to sweep under the carpet.
Two Early 20th Century Chicago Deaths
On December 11, 1926, fifteen-year-old Emily Mueller underwent a criminal abortion somewhere in Chicago. She died on December 21. Midwife Magdelane Stegeman, maiden name Motzny, was booked on December 28. The coroner initially cleared Stegeman. She was nevertheless indicted for felony murder by the Grand Jury on February 15, 1927. Stegeman was later implicated in the 1941 abortion death of Rose Smith.
On December 21, 1915, 34-year-old Mrs. Anna Hunt died at Chicago's Rhodes Avenue Hospital from complications of an abortion perpetrated that day by an unknown person.
Note, please, that with overall public health issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with, there was likely little difference between the performance of a legal abortion and illegal practice, and the aftercare for either type of abortion was probably equally unlikely to do the woman much, if any, good. In fact, during the first two thirds of the 20th Century, while abortion was still illegal, there was a massive drop in maternal mortality, including mortality from abortion. Most researches attribute this plunge to improvements in public health and hygiene, the development of blood transfusion techniques, and the introduction of antibiotics. Learn more here.
 |
| Earl McLeod |
On December 20, 1997, the 27-year-old woman went to Potomac Family Planning for a safe, legal abortion, to be performed by D&C. She was 6 weeks pregnant. She had no significant medical or surgical history, but had undergone a prior abortion performed by McLeod in 1995, under general anesthesia, with no complications.
McLeod's anesthesiologist, identified in records only as Dr. K., started an IV, and the woman was hooked up to a cardiac monitor, blood pressure monitor, and pulse oximeter. Dr. K administered Versed (for sedation and memory impairment), Sublimaze (a short-acting narcotic used for short-duration pain control), Propofol (a sedative for anesthesia), with Lidocaine, a local anesthetic.
Jennifer breathed on her own during the entire five minutes of the abortion. She was transferred to recovery at 10:10 a.m., still unconscious but breathing on her own. Her blood pressure was charted as 112/60 (normal), but her pulse was 103 (very rapid). A nurse identified only as Nurse W put an oxygen mask on the patient, but she was taken off the cardiac monitor and pulse oximeter when she was moved to recovery.
After Jennifer's vital signs were documented, another nurse, identified as Nurse H, took the blood pressure cuff off of her and put it on another patient.
Meanwhile, McLeod was in a second procedure room, doing an abortion on another patient.
At around 10:20 a.m., Nurse W noticed that Jennifer was still unresponsive. She told a nursing assistant to get Zoloft (an antidepressant) from the anesthesiologist, who was still in the second procedure room with McLeod. As the assistant was leaving, Nurse W change the request to one for Zofran (an antiemetic). Then Nurse W went into the procedure room herself to get the Zofran.
Dr. K gave the Zofran to Nurse W without evaluating the patient. There was no record that Jennifer had suffered any nausea or vomiting to warrant the drug in question. At about 10:25, Nurse W administered Zofran to Jennifer through her IV. Not surprisingly, administering an antiemetic did nothing to revive her.
Nurse W returned to the procedure room and asked Kr. K for Romazicon, a more appropriate drug, since it is used to reverse the effects of drugs used for anesthesia. Dr. K again provided the drug to Nurse W without examining the patient.
Nurse H went to take Jennifer's blood pressure, and she realized she couldn't find a pulse, and that the patient's pupils were dilated. She fetched Dr. K to assess his patient immediately. He found her unresponsive, with a blood pressure an alarmingly low 60/40. He stared a second IV and began to perform CPR, using a pediatric-sized bag-valve mask. Nurse H took over ventilating Jennifer, continuing to use the pediatric-sized bag-valve mask. This device would be unable to pump sufficient air into the lungs of a normal-sized adult.
Meanwhile, McLeod performed two other procedures before finally entering the recovery room and finding his staff performing inadequate CPR on his patient. He administered additional IV medications, and said that Jennifer was hooked up to an EKG monitor even though there was no documentation whatsoever of her cardiac rhythm. She was also not hooked up to a pulse oximeter that would tell the staff how much oxygen was in her blood. A pulse oximeter is standard monitoring for post-surgical patients and for patients needing emergency care; failure to use it on this patient was inexplicable. Also, despite the presence of two doctors, two nurses, and at least one nurses' assistant, nobody documented respiration, lung sounds, or any neurological evaluation, all standard for treating an unresponsive patient.
Dr. K told somebody to administer Epinephrine, Ephedrine, and Lidocaine -- all appropriate drugs for treating a patient in cardiac arrest.
Finally, at around 10:42 a.m., McLeod told somebody to call 911 -- something that should have been done as soon as she was found to be unresponsive. Paramedics arrived and found Jennifer in cardiac arrest. The anesthesiologist could not tell them anything about the patient's heart electrical activity, which he should have been noting on the EKG. They noted the use of a pediatric bag-valve mask, and the fact that nobody had put a breathing tube into the patient to ensure that air was being pumped into her lungs and not her stomach.
The medics immediately began appropriate resuscitation, intubating Jennifer, ventilating her with an adult-sized bag=valve mask, hooking her up to a cardiac monitor, defibrillating her, and administering appropriate drugs.
The medics transported Jennifer to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, arriving at 11:09 a.m. The ER physician noted that the patient's pupils were fixed and dilated. After aggressive resuscitative efforts by ER staff, Jennifer's heart was restored to a stable rhythm, and she was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. But despite their best efforts, she died at 4:15 a.m. on December 21.
The appalled paramedics reported McLeod to the medical board, which faulted him with failure to provide adequate and readily-available post-operative monitoring equipment, and failure to provide adequate emergency supplies. The board also required him to get his staff properly certified in CPR.
McLeod also ran the Hillcrest abortion mill in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where Kelly Morse had died in 1996 after being inadequately resuscitated. Kelly's husband filed suit, noting, "No respiration rate was recorded, no pulse was checked and no blood pressure was measured. No EKG was applied. No cardiac monitoring was conducted. No pulse oximeter was applied. No intubation or emergency tracheotomy was performed." Evidently McLeod chose not to learn from Kelly's death the lessons that would have saved this Maryland patient's life.
The First Known FPA Death, 1970
Denise J. Holmes, a 24-year-old Australian woman living in Texas, decided to undergo a safe and legal abortion at Avalon Hospital in Los Angeles, California, on her way home for Christmas of 1970. Denise checked into Avalon Hospital (an abortion facility owned by Edward Campbell Allred) on December 21. Denise suffered an amniotic fluid embolism that carried pieces of fetal bone marrow into her lungs. She was pronounced dead by Edward Allred at Avalon at 5pm.
Denise is the first confirmed abortion death at an Allred facility, before the National Abortion Federationwas founded, with Allred's Family Planning Associates Medical Group as a member.
- Patricia Chacon, age 16, 1984
- Mary Pena, age 43, 1984
- Josefina Garcia, age 37, 1985
- Lanice Dorsey, age 17, 1986
- Joyce Ortenzio, age 32, 1988
- Tami Suematsu, age 19, 1988
- Deanna Bell, age 13, 1992
- Susan Levy, age 30, 1992
- Christina Mora, age 18, 1994
- Ta Tanisha Wesson, age 24, 1995
- Nakia Jorden, 1998
- Maria Leho, 1999
- Kimberly Neil, 2000
- Maria Rodriguez, age 22, 2000
- Chanelle Bryant, age 22, 2004
I suspect that the reason the deaths appear in clusters is because those are years that researchers checked for lawsuits, rather than that these are all the women and girls who died at Allred facilities. Anybody with the time and resources to do so could probably uncover other deaths Allred and his staff have managed to sweep under the carpet.
Two Early 20th Century Chicago Deaths
On December 11, 1926, fifteen-year-old Emily Mueller underwent a criminal abortion somewhere in Chicago. She died on December 21. Midwife Magdelane Stegeman, maiden name Motzny, was booked on December 28. The coroner initially cleared Stegeman. She was nevertheless indicted for felony murder by the Grand Jury on February 15, 1927. Stegeman was later implicated in the 1941 abortion death of Rose Smith.
On December 21, 1915, 34-year-old Mrs. Anna Hunt died at Chicago's Rhodes Avenue Hospital from complications of an abortion perpetrated that day by an unknown person.
Note, please, that with overall public health issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with, there was likely little difference between the performance of a legal abortion and illegal practice, and the aftercare for either type of abortion was probably equally unlikely to do the woman much, if any, good. In fact, during the first two thirds of the 20th Century, while abortion was still illegal, there was a massive drop in maternal mortality, including mortality from abortion. Most researches attribute this plunge to improvements in public health and hygiene, the development of blood transfusion techniques, and the introduction of antibiotics. Learn more here.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
A Midwife's Work in 1920s Chicago
On December 13, 1926, 23-year-old Chicago native Mary Paradowski underwent a criminal abortion. She died on December 20 at Chicago Hospital. On January 15, 1927, midwife Josephine Petrova was indicted for felony murder in Mary's death. Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future. For more about abortion in this era, see Abortion in the 1920s. For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Friday, December 16, 2016
Strings of Abortion Deaths, Legal and Illegal
1998: A Lingering Death
Venus Ortiz died in a nursing from lingering abortion
complications at age 29 on December 16, 1998. The abortion had been
performed five years earlier by Dr. Leiber at Eastern Women's Center, a National Abortion Federation clinic in
New York, NY. Her family asserted that there was negligence in administering anesthesia
to Venus, and failure to establish an airway. Brevital, fentanyl, and
midazolam were administered in dosages and manners contrary to standards
of practice, causing Venus to suffer a synergistic reaction. Eastern's staff failed to promptly diagnose and attend to
cardio-pulmonary arrest. Eastern's notes of 5:35 PM indicate "2:35 PM
end of surgery ... we noticed patient's ashen color and the pulse
oximeter tracing and digital readout were gone from the monitor."
Emergency medical services were called. However, the damage
had already been done. Venus was left in permanent need of respirator,
with profound brain damage. Two other patients, Dawn Ravenelle and Dawn Mack, also died of complications of abortions done at Eastern Women's Center.
Other women who suffered severe brain injuries and died years later from those abortion complications include
1984: One of Sixteen Deaths at a Reputable Chain of Clinics
On December 15, 1984, Mary Pena, a 43-year-old mother of five, underwent a safe and legal abortion at San Vincente Hospital in Los Angeles. Mary had thought that she was 3 months pregnant, but doctors discovered she was at 22 weeks. During the procedure, performed by Ruben Marmet, Mary sustained two
cervical lacerations, and because she was bleeding heavily, a
hysterectomy was performed in an effort to save her life. Hospital owner Dr. Edward Allred and another physician, Sohn Soon, were
assisting Marmet with the emergency surgery. They were unable to locate a
severed artery so they packed Mary's abdomen with sponges and closed
the incision. Mary continued to bleed, so the surgical team called in another doctor
who tried to repair the damaged artery, but to no avail. Mary died on
the table in the early morning hours of December 16. The Investigator's Report states, "Dr. Allred cleared the case with
Coroner and body was released to the family picked mortuary ... and
services held. When the death certificate was taken to Kern County
Health Department they refused to accept it and called the case to Los
Angeles Coroner. ... Mortuary in Bakersfield will bring body to this
office for autopsy on morning of 12-20-84."
Only then was cause of death attributed to exsanguination due to cervical laceration due to therapeutic abortion. The cervix showed two lacerations - a small one that had been sutured and a large unsutured one extending through the full ring of the cervix. Once a cause for the fatal hemorrhage was determined, the death certificate was accepted, and Mary was laid to rest again.
San Vicente had been purchased by National Abortion Federation member Familiy Practice Associates Medical Groupshortly before Mary's death.
1981: Safe and Legal in a New York Hospital
Barbara Auerbach was 38 years old when she went to a New York hospital for a safe, legal abortion and tubal ligation, performed December 11, 1981. Two days later, she was discharged. On December 16, Barbara was vomiting and suffering from back pain and inability to void her bladder. She was admitted to Princeton Medical Center in Princeton, New Jersey. Doctors there tried in vain to save her life, but she died within three hours of being admitted. The autopsy showed that Barbara had an obstruction of her small bowel, which caused massive infection throughout her body.
1925: Another Victim of the Infamous Dr. Lucy Hagenow
On December 16, 1925, 22-year-old Irish immigrant factory worker Bridget Masterson died in her Chicago home from a botched abortion. Police were able to question Bridget prior to her death, but she refused to implicate anybody. John O'Malley, a boarder and the father of Bridget's baby, committed suicide by gas after learning of Bridget's death. The Chicago Tribune printed the text of the suicide note he left which implicated notorious abortionist Dr. Lucy Hagenow. Hagenow, who had already been implicated of the abortion deaths of Louise Derchow, Annie Dorris, Abbia Richards, and Emma Dep in San Francisco, would go on to be linked to over a dozen Chicago abortion deaths:
1923: One of Five Dead Patients of a Chicago Physician
On December 7, 1923, 19-year-old Hazel Hadicke of Arkansas City, Kansas, checked into a Wichita hotel. She remained in the room almost constantly and died under the care of Dr. Charles C. Keester on December 16. He attributed her death to heart disease. Abortion was certainly suspected, since Keester had already been implicated in the abortion death of Hattie Myers, age 19, in 1922. Other abortion deaths attributed to Keester are Loren Franklin, age 19, August, 1924; "Bonnie," age 18, August, 1924; and Rena Armstrong, age 17, February, 1930.
1874: A Brooklyn Midwife's Fatal Work
Christina Seifred, aged around 34, died on December 16, 1874 from complications of an abortion perpetrated by Brooklyn midwife-abortionist Johanna White. Christine had been unfaithful to her husband when he was away in Europe, and when he returned and learned of the pregnancy, he left her. Police arranged a sting and arrested White.
Venus Ortiz died in a nursing from lingering abortion
complications at age 29 on December 16, 1998. The abortion had been
performed five years earlier by Dr. Leiber at Eastern Women's Center, a National Abortion Federation clinic in
New York, NY. Her family asserted that there was negligence in administering anesthesia
to Venus, and failure to establish an airway. Brevital, fentanyl, and
midazolam were administered in dosages and manners contrary to standards
of practice, causing Venus to suffer a synergistic reaction. Eastern's staff failed to promptly diagnose and attend to
cardio-pulmonary arrest. Eastern's notes of 5:35 PM indicate "2:35 PM
end of surgery ... we noticed patient's ashen color and the pulse
oximeter tracing and digital readout were gone from the monitor."
Emergency medical services were called. However, the damage
had already been done. Venus was left in permanent need of respirator,
with profound brain damage. Two other patients, Dawn Ravenelle and Dawn Mack, also died of complications of abortions done at Eastern Women's Center.Other women who suffered severe brain injuries and died years later from those abortion complications include
- Suzanne Logan, who languished, mute and paralyzed, for three years until her death on in December of, 1992
- Shelby Moran, who was cared for in a nursing home for over 20 years until her death in September of 1999
- "Gabriella Alonso," who spent six years in a coma until her death in the summer of 2002
- Christi Stile, who spent nearly 22 years in a vegetative state until her death in March of 2015
1984: One of Sixteen Deaths at a Reputable Chain of Clinics
On December 15, 1984, Mary Pena, a 43-year-old mother of five, underwent a safe and legal abortion at San Vincente Hospital in Los Angeles. Mary had thought that she was 3 months pregnant, but doctors discovered she was at 22 weeks. During the procedure, performed by Ruben Marmet, Mary sustained two
cervical lacerations, and because she was bleeding heavily, a
hysterectomy was performed in an effort to save her life. Hospital owner Dr. Edward Allred and another physician, Sohn Soon, were
assisting Marmet with the emergency surgery. They were unable to locate a
severed artery so they packed Mary's abdomen with sponges and closed
the incision. Mary continued to bleed, so the surgical team called in another doctor
who tried to repair the damaged artery, but to no avail. Mary died on
the table in the early morning hours of December 16. The Investigator's Report states, "Dr. Allred cleared the case with
Coroner and body was released to the family picked mortuary ... and
services held. When the death certificate was taken to Kern County
Health Department they refused to accept it and called the case to Los
Angeles Coroner. ... Mortuary in Bakersfield will bring body to this
office for autopsy on morning of 12-20-84."Only then was cause of death attributed to exsanguination due to cervical laceration due to therapeutic abortion. The cervix showed two lacerations - a small one that had been sutured and a large unsutured one extending through the full ring of the cervix. Once a cause for the fatal hemorrhage was determined, the death certificate was accepted, and Mary was laid to rest again.
San Vicente had been purchased by National Abortion Federation member Familiy Practice Associates Medical Groupshortly before Mary's death.
1981: Safe and Legal in a New York Hospital
Barbara Auerbach was 38 years old when she went to a New York hospital for a safe, legal abortion and tubal ligation, performed December 11, 1981. Two days later, she was discharged. On December 16, Barbara was vomiting and suffering from back pain and inability to void her bladder. She was admitted to Princeton Medical Center in Princeton, New Jersey. Doctors there tried in vain to save her life, but she died within three hours of being admitted. The autopsy showed that Barbara had an obstruction of her small bowel, which caused massive infection throughout her body.
1925: Another Victim of the Infamous Dr. Lucy Hagenow
On December 16, 1925, 22-year-old Irish immigrant factory worker Bridget Masterson died in her Chicago home from a botched abortion. Police were able to question Bridget prior to her death, but she refused to implicate anybody. John O'Malley, a boarder and the father of Bridget's baby, committed suicide by gas after learning of Bridget's death. The Chicago Tribune printed the text of the suicide note he left which implicated notorious abortionist Dr. Lucy Hagenow. Hagenow, who had already been implicated of the abortion deaths of Louise Derchow, Annie Dorris, Abbia Richards, and Emma Dep in San Francisco, would go on to be linked to over a dozen Chicago abortion deaths:
 |
| Dr. Lucy Hagenow |
- 1891: Minnie Deering
- 1892: Sophia Kuhn and Emily Anderson
- 1896: Hannah Carlson
- 1899: Marie Hecht
- 1905: May Putnam
- 1906: Lola Madison
- 1907: Annie Horvatich
- 1925: Lottie Lowy, Nina H. Pierce, Jean Cohen, and Elizabeth Welter
- 1926: Mary Moorehead
1923: One of Five Dead Patients of a Chicago Physician
On December 7, 1923, 19-year-old Hazel Hadicke of Arkansas City, Kansas, checked into a Wichita hotel. She remained in the room almost constantly and died under the care of Dr. Charles C. Keester on December 16. He attributed her death to heart disease. Abortion was certainly suspected, since Keester had already been implicated in the abortion death of Hattie Myers, age 19, in 1922. Other abortion deaths attributed to Keester are Loren Franklin, age 19, August, 1924; "Bonnie," age 18, August, 1924; and Rena Armstrong, age 17, February, 1930.
1874: A Brooklyn Midwife's Fatal Work
Christina Seifred, aged around 34, died on December 16, 1874 from complications of an abortion perpetrated by Brooklyn midwife-abortionist Johanna White. Christine had been unfaithful to her husband when he was away in Europe, and when he returned and learned of the pregnancy, he left her. Police arranged a sting and arrested White.
Thursday, December 01, 2016
Criminal Practice vs. Safe and Legal
There are two deaths from the Cemetery of Choice that took place on this date. I know little about the first, an illegal abortion death, but have an abundance of information about the woman who died on this date from a safe, legal abortion.
The Bad Old Days
On December 1, 1928, 23-year-old Esther Wahlstrom died in Chicago from complications of a criminal abortion. Dr. Lou E. Davis (pictured) was held by the coroner for murder by abortion on December 12. She was indicted for felony murder on December 15. Davis was also implicated in the abortion deaths of Anna Adler , Mary Whitney, Anna Borndal, Irene Kirschner, and Gertrude Gaesswitz.Fast forward over sixty years to the enlightened days of safe, legal abortion.
Safe and Legal
Susanne Logan died a long, lingering death after she went to Maryland's Hillview abortion clinic for an abortion on September 9, 1989. Her abortion was performed by Gideon Kioko. She was 13 weeks pregnant. There was no record of how much intravenous Brevital was administered to Susanne, or who administered the drug. There was also no record of any examination to determine of this drug was appropriate for Suzanne.
Susanne was already unconscious on the table when Kioko and his nurse entered the procedure room. Kioko was being assisted by an unlicensed nurse, who noted that Susanne's lips were turning blue. She told Kioko, who continued with the abortion procedure. There is no record that anybody monitored her vital signs or administered oxygen during the procedure. Only after the abortion was finished did anybody do anything to address Suzanne's respiratory arrest.Eventually somebody summoned emergency medical services (EMS). The EMS personnel reported that the Hillview employees seemed "very confused and did not seem to know what they were doing." EMS staff also noted that Hillview staff had put an oxygen mask on Suzanne upside-down, so that she wasn't getting any oxygen.
Susanne was cyanotic (she had turned blue from lack of oxygen), her pupils were dilated. She was limp, and had no pulse and was not breathing. EMS workers managed to perform CPR and get Suzanne's heart and lungs working again, and transported her to a hospital.
Susanne remained comatose and was transferred to a nursing home. Four months after the abortion, she regained consciousness, but was paralyzed and unable to speak. She had no memory of the abortion, but was able to eventually recall having gone to the clinic.
Local prolifers visited Susanne, and bought her a device that allowed her to communicate. She was interviewed by 60 Minutes, and asked what she wanted. She replied, "To go home."
Susanne filed suit against Kioko and the clinic. In November of 1992, she finally won her suit, and was awarded $2.6 million and $10,000 a month for life, to cover her expenses. Sadly, Susanne died on December 1, before she had a chance to fulfill her wish of seeing her father again.
Debra Gray also died after an abortion at Hillview under circumstances almost identical to the chain of events that fatally injured Susanne.
A Blind Eye
The TV show 60 Minutes learned that abortion-rights organizations had long known hos seedy Hillview was. They interviewed Barbara Radford, then-president of the National Abortion Federation, she defended the head-in-the-sand attitude the organization took toward safety issues by saying, "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." When they asked pro-choice Maryland State Senator Mary Boergers why nothing was being done to address dangerous abortion clinics. Boergers said, "There's only so much of a willingness to try to push a group like the pro-choice movement to do what I think is the responsible thing to do because they then treat you as if you're the enemy."The political goal of "access" trumped the bodies and lives of women like Susanne and Debra. Is the abortion lobby devoted to women's access to safe abortions, or abortionists' access to vulnerable women?
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