May 19, 1932: One of Six Deaths Blamed on Dr. Lou E. Davis

Irene Kirschner, age 24, died on May 19, 1932 at West Suburban Hospital in Chicago. Before her death, she named Dr. Lou E. Davis as the abortionist who had fatally injured her.

When police went to arrest Davis for Irene's death, they found another abortion-injured woman at her house on Logan Boulevard, but no sign of Davis.

According to Illinois death records, Irene was a Chicago native, born to Austrian immigrants John and Bernice Briske Kirschner. She worked as a housekeeper. Her high school yearbook noted that she focused on commercial studies and was active in swimming and the dramatic club. Her nickname was Babs.

For reasons that I haven't been able to yet determined, the coroner's jury cleared Davis, though she was a well-known abortionist.

 

Dr. Lou E. Davis

Davis was also implicated in five other Chicago abortion deaths:  Anna Adler in 1913, Mary Whitney in 1924, Anna Borndal and Esther V. Wahlstrom in 1928, and Gertrude Gaesswitz in 1934.

Watch "How Many Women Did Dr. Davis Kill?" on YouTube.

Sources:

• "Seek Physician in Girl's Death; Find New Victim," Chicago Daily Tribune, May 25, 1932
• "Woman Doctor Exonerated in Death of Girl Patient," Chicago Tribune, June 23, 1932