On Saturday, April 14, 1928, Dr. T. D. Goodman was called to see a young woman named Bessie Kouns. He found her in a great deal of pain, with considerable swelling and tenderness of the lower abdomen. He treated her for several days, but her condition was not improving so on the 17th he had her admitted to Stephenson Hospital in Ashland, Kentucky.
There, her condition continued to deteriorate.
On April 24, the peritonitis had caused bowel obstruction, requiring surgery. Prior to the surgery, which Bessie did not expect to survive, she made a deathbed statement to Dr. Stephenson.
The young laundry worker told Stephenson that at 7:00 on a Saturday evening, she had gone to 60-year-old Dr. Henry C. Dorroh's office to keep an appointment for an abortion. Dorroh had been drinking and didn't at first recognize her. She reminded him of the appointment. He cussed and told her to get on the table. He approached her with an instrument that he dropped on the floor, then picked up and used on her. He "nearly killed her", Stephenson testified that Bessie said. Stephenson's testimony was supported by Mr. Watt Prichard, who was present at the time Bessie made her declaration.
Despite the surgery, Bessie died from septic peritonitis on May 1 at the age of 29.
When the case went to trial, Dorroh insisted that he had treated Bessie in February, but only for gonorrhea, and that the treatment might had caused an abortion had Bessie indeed been pregnant. The expert testimony was that the described treatment would indeed be appropriate for gonorrhea, but testimony was divided on whether it would cause an abortion.
Dorroh was found guilty by a jury that included six women, but his conviction was later set aside and a new trial ordered.
Sources:
- 32 S.W. 2d 550. 236 Ky. 68, 32 S.W. 550 Court of Appeals of Kentucky, Dorroh v. Commonwealth)
- Death certificate
- “6 Women On Jury To Try Dr. Dorroh,” Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal, 21 May, 1929
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