December 14, 1911: Doctor Implicated in Deathbed Statement

On December 14, 1911, 34-year-old mother-of-four Ella Kettler died at German American Hospital in Chicago from an abortion that Dr. Robert H. Foster had perpetrated at his practice on December 2.  

Ella, a homemaker, had named Foster as her abortionist in a deathbed statement. 

Foster was held by the Coroner's Jury and indicted on December 19, but the case never went to trial. 

Foster appeared to be a bit of a troublesome husband as well as a troublesome abortionist, since just months later his 18-year-old wife, Lillian, sought legal protection from him under allegations that he was drinking heavily and threatening to kill her. 

Watch Implicates Doctor on Deathbed on YouTube.

Sources:

• Untitled entry, The Day Book, December 15, 1911
• "'Girls, Don't Elope,' Mrs. Foster's Advice," The Inter-Ocean, February 21, 1912
• "Doctor Has Another Chance,"  The Inter-Ocean, February 24, 1912