Alphia Robinson, age 18, had been living with a man named Amos
Kimberly for about two years in Iowa Township, Iowa. On January 5, 1876,
she went up to her room "in a cheerful manner, and in apparent good
health," but a few moments later her mother went up and found her dead.
The coroner declared that she had died from an abortion attempted by Dr.
J. F. Houser of West Branch, Iowa.
On January 5, 1912, 19-year-old Lottie Roeder, who was still in school,
died at St. Elizabeth's hospital from infection caused by an abortion
perpetrated on January 5 by a nurse/midwife referred to as "Mrs.
Theodore Larson." Larson was held by the Coroner's Jury on January 12 and indicted, but the case never went to trial.
On January 5, 1930, bookkeeper Sonia Ragins, age 26, died from an
illegal abortion performed at an unknown location by an unknown person.
On January 6 the coroner recommended identification and arrest of the
guilty party.
Tuesday, January 05, 2016
Monday, January 04, 2016
Illegal in Pre-Roe Chicago and Post-Roe Miami
Chicago, 1887: Third Amateur Abortion Proves Fatal
Bertie Hammaremiller, age 19, had lived with her mother on Langdon Street in Chicago.
She already had one child to 19-year-old Fred C. Dethloff. On January 4, 1887 Bertie died from a botched abortion. Dethloff, who admitted that this was the third time he'd helped Bertie to abort two other pregnancies with medications in the three years they'd been together, was put on trial for his life.
Chicago, 1921 and 1924: Two Perpetrators, Professions Unknown
On January 4, 1921, 21-year-old Jennie Chubb died in her Chicago home from complications of an abortion performed that day. The coroner identified Veronica Rypcznski as the person responsible for Jennie's death. Veronica's profession is not mentioned in the source. Three years later, on January 4, 1924, Elizabeth Strobel died in Chicago's Columbus Hospital from complications of an illegal abortion performed that day. Mrs. Anna Wenzig, whose profession is not given, was arrested January 15 for Elizabeth'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.
Miami, 1983: Apparently Legal, Technically Illegal
On January 4, 1983, Albert Payne got a phone call from a family friend, Debbie Manning, who worked at the emergency room at a Miami hospital. Debbie gave Albert some shocking news: His 33-year-old wife, Shirley, mother of their three children ages 3 to 12, was dead. She had bled to death from an abortion.
"No way my wife is pregnant," Albert had responded. He called the day care center. Shirley had never showed up to pick up the children.
Shirley had undergone what she expected to be a safe and legal abortion at Woman's Care Center in Miami. She was 16-18 weeks pregnant. Shirley suffered a perforated uterus. When paramedics arrived on the scene, they reportedly found Shirley lying on a couch, bleeding heavily. She arrived at the hospital in critical condition due to delay of transfer. An emergency hysterectomy was performed to try to save Shirley's life, but she bled to death in surgery.
Ruth Montero, Myrta Baptiste, Maura Morales, and Shirley Payne all died from abortions at the clinic, owned by Hipolito Barreiro. Trained in Argentina and West Africa, but not licensed in U.S. Barreiro evidently perpetrated Shirley's fatal abortion without documenting this fact on her clinic records.
Bertie Hammaremiller, age 19, had lived with her mother on Langdon Street in Chicago.
She already had one child to 19-year-old Fred C. Dethloff. On January 4, 1887 Bertie died from a botched abortion. Dethloff, who admitted that this was the third time he'd helped Bertie to abort two other pregnancies with medications in the three years they'd been together, was put on trial for his life.
Chicago, 1921 and 1924: Two Perpetrators, Professions Unknown
On January 4, 1921, 21-year-old Jennie Chubb died in her Chicago home from complications of an abortion performed that day. The coroner identified Veronica Rypcznski as the person responsible for Jennie's death. Veronica's profession is not mentioned in the source. Three years later, on January 4, 1924, Elizabeth Strobel died in Chicago's Columbus Hospital from complications of an illegal abortion performed that day. Mrs. Anna Wenzig, whose profession is not given, was arrested January 15 for Elizabeth'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.
Miami, 1983: Apparently Legal, Technically Illegal
On January 4, 1983, Albert Payne got a phone call from a family friend, Debbie Manning, who worked at the emergency room at a Miami hospital. Debbie gave Albert some shocking news: His 33-year-old wife, Shirley, mother of their three children ages 3 to 12, was dead. She had bled to death from an abortion.
"No way my wife is pregnant," Albert had responded. He called the day care center. Shirley had never showed up to pick up the children.
Shirley had undergone what she expected to be a safe and legal abortion at Woman's Care Center in Miami. She was 16-18 weeks pregnant. Shirley suffered a perforated uterus. When paramedics arrived on the scene, they reportedly found Shirley lying on a couch, bleeding heavily. She arrived at the hospital in critical condition due to delay of transfer. An emergency hysterectomy was performed to try to save Shirley's life, but she bled to death in surgery.
Ruth Montero, Myrta Baptiste, Maura Morales, and Shirley Payne all died from abortions at the clinic, owned by Hipolito Barreiro. Trained in Argentina and West Africa, but not licensed in U.S. Barreiro evidently perpetrated Shirley's fatal abortion without documenting this fact on her clinic records.
Sunday, January 03, 2016
19th Century Tragic Error; 20th Century Tragic Complication
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| Oil of Cedar |
Loretta Morton was 16 years old when she underwent a legal abortion in December of 1983. She was sent home with birth control pills. On January 3, 1984, Loretta was at home, and having trouble breathing. Her mother called for an ambulance. The ambulance crew assessed Loretta, decided she was stable, and left. They were called back ten minutes later because Loretta had lost consciousness. The crew rushed Loretta to a hospital, but attempts to resuscitate her were in vain. Within an hour of having lost consciousness, she was dead. An autopsy showed that she had died from a pulmonary embolism from the abortion.
Saturday, January 02, 2016
A Hundred-Year Span of Abortion Deaths
St. Louis, 1878
A St. Louis grand jury indicted Charles P. Emerich in the 1878 abortion death of 19-year-old Maggie Gibbons. Maggie was living at Emerich's home. He owned the laundry where Maggie work and was the father of Maggie's baby. When she told him she was pregnant in December of 1877, Emerich went to Dr. Thomas F. Smith, who provided abortifacient powders which failed to produce the desired effect. It is unclear whether Smith perpetrated the fatal abortion on Maggie or if he just provided the instruments. The abortion in question was performed on December 30.
Maggie took sick afterward and was relocated to her mother's house. Dr. W. D. Hinckley was called in to care for her. It was then that Maggie's mother learned about the abortion, though Maggie refused to name the father. Dr. Hinckley called in Dr. J. O'Reilly for a second opinion. Both doctors agreed that she was suffering from a servere case of peritonitis and that there was no hope for her. Maggie languished, finally dying on January 2 of 1878. Emerich was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter in Maggie's death, and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Chicago, 1918
Margaret Crowe, age 25, died from Dr. Anna Sorenson's dubious care at Chicago's Norwegian Deaconess Hospital, purportedly on January 2, 1918. Sorenson had already managed to kill Emelia Gorman on August 10, 1917, and Margaret Linstrom on November 12 of that year. Sorenson's fatal spree was put to an end with her death in prison on November 17, 1917 while awaiting her trials. I've been unable to determine if Margaret languished for so long that she outlived her abortionist, or if the Homicide in Chicago Database is mistaken about the date of her death. Since the database is incorrect about the date that Sorenson died, giving it as January 2, 1918 rather than November 17, 1917, this is likely.
New York, 1970
"Amy" was 35 years old when she had a legal abortion somewhere in the state of New York on December 24, 1970, taking advantage of the state's new law granting outpatient abortion-on-demand up to 24 weeks of gestation. Amy was 14 weeks pregnant. During the abortion, Amy suffered from a massive pulmonary embolism. Efforts to save her life finally failed, and she died on January 2, 1971, leaving behind two children.
Though Amy was the first woman identified as an abortion victim in 1971 as states experimented with legalization, she wasn't the last. Other women to die from purportedly safe legal abortions that year include Cassandra Bleavins, Janet Forster, Doris Grant, Betty Hines, "Annie" Roe, "Andrea" Roe, "Anita" Roe, "April" Roe, "Audrey" Roe, "Barbara" Roe, Beth" Roe, "Monica" Roe, "Roseann" Roe, "Sandra" Roe, "Tammy" Roe, "Vicki" Roe, LaSandra Russ, Carole Schaner, Margaret Smith, and Kathryn Strong.
Chicago, 1978
On December 28, 1977, 26-year-old leather shop owner Sherry Emry went to Water Tower Reproductive Center in Chicago for a safe and legal abortion. Arnold Bickham,(pictured below) who owned the facility, did not have his staff do pathology exams on abortion tissues; instead they threw them away.
After her abortion, Sherry returned to her home in Hammond, Indiana. She was in pain on New Years Eve. She consulted with the clinic instruction sheet and concluded that her pain was normal. By January 1, Sherry was quite ill and unable to arise from her bed. Her worried friends urged her to seek medical care, but Sherry thought that she just had the flu, so she kept to her bed. She slept fitfully, with chills and sweating. When her friends came to check on her the morning of January 2, they found her dead in her bed and called the police.
Sherry's fetus had been implanted in her fallopian tube, which ruptured. She bled to death. The coroner blamed Sherry's death on the fact that Water Tower threw fetal remains away without a pathology analysis. However, the police found that Sherry had a receipt from Water Tower indicating a $50 discount. They hypothesized that staff might have noted the lack of a fetus in the aspirator, concluded that Sherry hadn't been pregnant, and given her a partial refund.
A CDC report about Sherry's death says, "At this clinic the physicians did not routinely examine the products of conception except through the wall of the transparent suction tubing as tissue was aspirated.... The tissue was neither weighed nor examined.... The aspirated material from all patients was collected together in a single bottle." "Autopsy revealed 4,000 ml of blood in the peritoneal cavity and a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.... fetal size was consistent with a 10 weeks gestation."
When Sherry's survivors filed suit against Bickham, he refused to turn over her medical records, first saying that they were privileged, then by claiming that they were his personal property and that Sherry's family had no right to them. Bickham was held in contempt of court for his refusal to cooperate with the courts in the matter.
Sherry wasn't the only woman to die after abortion in a Bickham facility. Sylvia Moore, age 18, died after Bickham shoved her out the door of his clinic New Years Eve of 1986.
A St. Louis grand jury indicted Charles P. Emerich in the 1878 abortion death of 19-year-old Maggie Gibbons. Maggie was living at Emerich's home. He owned the laundry where Maggie work and was the father of Maggie's baby. When she told him she was pregnant in December of 1877, Emerich went to Dr. Thomas F. Smith, who provided abortifacient powders which failed to produce the desired effect. It is unclear whether Smith perpetrated the fatal abortion on Maggie or if he just provided the instruments. The abortion in question was performed on December 30.
Maggie took sick afterward and was relocated to her mother's house. Dr. W. D. Hinckley was called in to care for her. It was then that Maggie's mother learned about the abortion, though Maggie refused to name the father. Dr. Hinckley called in Dr. J. O'Reilly for a second opinion. Both doctors agreed that she was suffering from a servere case of peritonitis and that there was no hope for her. Maggie languished, finally dying on January 2 of 1878. Emerich was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter in Maggie's death, and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Chicago, 1918
Margaret Crowe, age 25, died from Dr. Anna Sorenson's dubious care at Chicago's Norwegian Deaconess Hospital, purportedly on January 2, 1918. Sorenson had already managed to kill Emelia Gorman on August 10, 1917, and Margaret Linstrom on November 12 of that year. Sorenson's fatal spree was put to an end with her death in prison on November 17, 1917 while awaiting her trials. I've been unable to determine if Margaret languished for so long that she outlived her abortionist, or if the Homicide in Chicago Database is mistaken about the date of her death. Since the database is incorrect about the date that Sorenson died, giving it as January 2, 1918 rather than November 17, 1917, this is likely.
New York, 1970
"Amy" was 35 years old when she had a legal abortion somewhere in the state of New York on December 24, 1970, taking advantage of the state's new law granting outpatient abortion-on-demand up to 24 weeks of gestation. Amy was 14 weeks pregnant. During the abortion, Amy suffered from a massive pulmonary embolism. Efforts to save her life finally failed, and she died on January 2, 1971, leaving behind two children.
Though Amy was the first woman identified as an abortion victim in 1971 as states experimented with legalization, she wasn't the last. Other women to die from purportedly safe legal abortions that year include Cassandra Bleavins, Janet Forster, Doris Grant, Betty Hines, "Annie" Roe, "Andrea" Roe, "Anita" Roe, "April" Roe, "Audrey" Roe, "Barbara" Roe, Beth" Roe, "Monica" Roe, "Roseann" Roe, "Sandra" Roe, "Tammy" Roe, "Vicki" Roe, LaSandra Russ, Carole Schaner, Margaret Smith, and Kathryn Strong.
Chicago, 1978
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| Sherry Emry |
After her abortion, Sherry returned to her home in Hammond, Indiana. She was in pain on New Years Eve. She consulted with the clinic instruction sheet and concluded that her pain was normal. By January 1, Sherry was quite ill and unable to arise from her bed. Her worried friends urged her to seek medical care, but Sherry thought that she just had the flu, so she kept to her bed. She slept fitfully, with chills and sweating. When her friends came to check on her the morning of January 2, they found her dead in her bed and called the police.
Sherry's fetus had been implanted in her fallopian tube, which ruptured. She bled to death. The coroner blamed Sherry's death on the fact that Water Tower threw fetal remains away without a pathology analysis. However, the police found that Sherry had a receipt from Water Tower indicating a $50 discount. They hypothesized that staff might have noted the lack of a fetus in the aspirator, concluded that Sherry hadn't been pregnant, and given her a partial refund.
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| Arnold Bickham |
When Sherry's survivors filed suit against Bickham, he refused to turn over her medical records, first saying that they were privileged, then by claiming that they were his personal property and that Sherry's family had no right to them. Bickham was held in contempt of court for his refusal to cooperate with the courts in the matter.
Sherry wasn't the only woman to die after abortion in a Bickham facility. Sylvia Moore, age 18, died after Bickham shoved her out the door of his clinic New Years Eve of 1986.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
New Years Eve in Chicago, 1917 and 1986
Chicago, 1917
On December 31, 1917, 40-year-old homemaker Victoria Chmileuski died in her Chicago home from an abortion perpetrated by Wilhemena Benn, whose profession is given only as "abortion provider," though she was actually a licensed midwife. Benn was acquitted on March 7, 1918. Benn had been previously charged but later acquitted in the June, 1916 abortion death of Rosie Kawera, and implicated the March 2, 1906 abortion death of Otilia Winker. I don't know the outcome of the Winker case.
Chicago, 1986
Eighteen-year-old Sylvia Moore underwent a safe and legal abortion at the hands of Arnold Bickham
on December 31, 1986 at his Urgent Medical Care Clinic in Chicago. She
was in the second trimester of her pregnancy, but Bickham used a suction
technique suitable for a first-trimester pregnancy. After
the abortion, 48-year-old Bickham gave Sylvia repeated injections of
Demerol because she was reporting severe abdominal cramps.
According to Sylvia's mother, Sylvia was bleeding, weak, and unable to walk. When Sylvia tried to get to her feet and collapsed, Bickham called her "lazy," put her in a wheelchair, and physically ejected her from his Chicago clinic. Sylvia's mother took her to a nearby hospital, where staff tried in vain to save Sylvia, who had arrived with no pulse and no blood pressure. An emergency hysterectomy was done to remove her lacerated uterus, which still had a plastic instrument embedded in a 6.5 cm laceration. Sylvia also had a 2.2 cm laceration of her vagina. Despite the surgery, she bled to death.
Bickham claimed that he "didn't think there was anything wrong" with Sylvia, and said that he'd merely been helping her with the wheelchair. He blamed Sylvia's death on the hospital, saying, "They were successful in repairing the damage done in the abortion, but in doing that, they perforated an artery causing there to be blood loss in the chest cavity. That was something she was not able to survive."
The autopsy report, however, noted the chest tube incision but noted "lungs are well expanded and the pleural cavities are free of fluid and adhesions." An attorney with the Department of Professional Regulation said, "This patient should never have been allowed to leave Bickham's clinic with her mother."
The postmortum report said: "The circumstances of injury, review of the Medical records, the findings at autopsy examination, and subsequent investigation of the circumstances of the case provide evidence of gross negligence and abandonment on the part of the original treating physician. In consideration of the above, the manner of death is determined to be Homicide." However, no charges were pressed against Bickham.
The suit filed by Sylvia's survivors noted that Bickahm had failed to perform an ultrasound, and failed to have adequate staff or equipment. The specimen of abortion tissue sent from clinic contained segments of placental tissue, umbilical cord, and fetal intestinal parts and liver.
Sylvia left one child motherless.
Bickham's license was revoked by Illinois in October of 1988 due to Sylvia's death. He was arrested in September of 1989 for practicing medicine without license, and sentenced to 30 months probation and 2,600 hours of community service in lieu of 6 months jail, in addition to a $10,000 fine.
On December 31, 1917, 40-year-old homemaker Victoria Chmileuski died in her Chicago home from an abortion perpetrated by Wilhemena Benn, whose profession is given only as "abortion provider," though she was actually a licensed midwife. Benn was acquitted on March 7, 1918. Benn had been previously charged but later acquitted in the June, 1916 abortion death of Rosie Kawera, and implicated the March 2, 1906 abortion death of Otilia Winker. I don't know the outcome of the Winker case.
Chicago, 1986
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| Arnold Bickham |
According to Sylvia's mother, Sylvia was bleeding, weak, and unable to walk. When Sylvia tried to get to her feet and collapsed, Bickham called her "lazy," put her in a wheelchair, and physically ejected her from his Chicago clinic. Sylvia's mother took her to a nearby hospital, where staff tried in vain to save Sylvia, who had arrived with no pulse and no blood pressure. An emergency hysterectomy was done to remove her lacerated uterus, which still had a plastic instrument embedded in a 6.5 cm laceration. Sylvia also had a 2.2 cm laceration of her vagina. Despite the surgery, she bled to death.
Bickham claimed that he "didn't think there was anything wrong" with Sylvia, and said that he'd merely been helping her with the wheelchair. He blamed Sylvia's death on the hospital, saying, "They were successful in repairing the damage done in the abortion, but in doing that, they perforated an artery causing there to be blood loss in the chest cavity. That was something she was not able to survive."
The autopsy report, however, noted the chest tube incision but noted "lungs are well expanded and the pleural cavities are free of fluid and adhesions." An attorney with the Department of Professional Regulation said, "This patient should never have been allowed to leave Bickham's clinic with her mother."
The postmortum report said: "The circumstances of injury, review of the Medical records, the findings at autopsy examination, and subsequent investigation of the circumstances of the case provide evidence of gross negligence and abandonment on the part of the original treating physician. In consideration of the above, the manner of death is determined to be Homicide." However, no charges were pressed against Bickham.
The suit filed by Sylvia's survivors noted that Bickahm had failed to perform an ultrasound, and failed to have adequate staff or equipment. The specimen of abortion tissue sent from clinic contained segments of placental tissue, umbilical cord, and fetal intestinal parts and liver.
Sylvia left one child motherless.
Bickham's license was revoked by Illinois in October of 1988 due to Sylvia's death. He was arrested in September of 1989 for practicing medicine without license, and sentenced to 30 months probation and 2,600 hours of community service in lieu of 6 months jail, in addition to a $10,000 fine.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Chicago Death from 1924
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.
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.
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.
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.
Death From Abortion-Rights Book Verified, Added to Cemetery of Choice
My original source for this story was the "Detective Jack" chapter of Patricia G. Miller's book, The Worst of Times.
Miller doesn't substantiate the story in any way, nor does she provide
any source other than the man identified as "Detective Jack". Detective
Jack does not give the woman's name, so I will call her "Sophia". I had her story on the Cemetery of Choice, but did not have her name on the lists because until this month I had been unable to verify the story.
The Original Story
On December 27, 1967, Sophia traveled from Youngstown, Ohio, to Duquesne, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to have an abortion performed by a Dr. Benjamin King. Sophia was a 19-year-old freshman at Ohio State University. She got 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 paid him $300 for the abortion. The young couple returned to Youngstown, where Sophia was promptly hospitalized. She died the next day. King had perforated her uterus, according to "Dr. Clay" in Miller's book. Detective Jack said that when they went to arrest King, "we nearly had a riot on our hands." Unsavory people had turned up on large numbers to protect him.
Though King was a reputable physician, he drifted into illegal activities. In addition to his arrests for abortion (He had injured two women prior to the fatal abortion on Sophia.), he was arrested in 1968 for failure to report a gunshot wound and in 1970 for selling narcotics.
According to Dr. Clay, King was eventually sent to prison for Sophia's death.
Confirmation
I was able to confirm and add to "Detective Jack's" story as archived newspapers became available online. King was in his 40s at the time of the abortion and his arrest. The location of his practice was alternatively given as McKeesport, Homestead, and Aliquippa, all in the vicinity of Pittsburgh. King had a history of being an abortionist, and was awaiting trial for another case in which the woman had survived at the time of Sophia's fatal abortion.
The young man who had accompanied Sophia for the abortion told police that he had called King on December 29 to say that she was very ill. Sophia died on December 30 at South Side Hospital in Youngstown.
The young man had been unable to pay King the entire $300 fee at the time of the abortion. After speaking to Police, he arranged to meet the doctor to hand over the rest of the money, whereupon the police quickly arrested King.
King was indeed sentenced to prison for Sophia's death, as well as for the non-fatal abortion the year before Sophia's death. His wife, Regina, had also been convicted as an accessory before the fact in that abortion, having collected the woman's $250 fee.
While awaiting trial for Sophia's death, King and three of his relatives (his brother, stepson, and stepson's wife) were arrested in Brooklyn on charges relating to $15,000 worth of narcotics found in King's car.
The court decision reversing King's conviction in the wake of the Roe v. Wade decision noted "In the course of the abortion, Dr. King perforated the decedent's cervix. She sustained peritonitis, massive hemorrhaging and, as a consequence, suffered severe traumatic shock. The patient expired on December 30, 1967, two days after the abortion procedure."
Sophia's abortion was typical of illegal abortions in that it was performed by a physician.
The Original Story
On December 27, 1967, Sophia traveled from Youngstown, Ohio, to Duquesne, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to have an abortion performed by a Dr. Benjamin King. Sophia was a 19-year-old freshman at Ohio State University. She got 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 paid him $300 for the abortion. The young couple returned to Youngstown, where Sophia was promptly hospitalized. She died the next day. King had perforated her uterus, according to "Dr. Clay" in Miller's book. Detective Jack said that when they went to arrest King, "we nearly had a riot on our hands." Unsavory people had turned up on large numbers to protect him.
Though King was a reputable physician, he drifted into illegal activities. In addition to his arrests for abortion (He had injured two women prior to the fatal abortion on Sophia.), he was arrested in 1968 for failure to report a gunshot wound and in 1970 for selling narcotics.
According to Dr. Clay, King was eventually sent to prison for Sophia's death.
Confirmation
I was able to confirm and add to "Detective Jack's" story as archived newspapers became available online. King was in his 40s at the time of the abortion and his arrest. The location of his practice was alternatively given as McKeesport, Homestead, and Aliquippa, all in the vicinity of Pittsburgh. King had a history of being an abortionist, and was awaiting trial for another case in which the woman had survived at the time of Sophia's fatal abortion.
The young man who had accompanied Sophia for the abortion told police that he had called King on December 29 to say that she was very ill. Sophia died on December 30 at South Side Hospital in Youngstown.
The young man had been unable to pay King the entire $300 fee at the time of the abortion. After speaking to Police, he arranged to meet the doctor to hand over the rest of the money, whereupon the police quickly arrested King.
King was indeed sentenced to prison for Sophia's death, as well as for the non-fatal abortion the year before Sophia's death. His wife, Regina, had also been convicted as an accessory before the fact in that abortion, having collected the woman's $250 fee.
While awaiting trial for Sophia's death, King and three of his relatives (his brother, stepson, and stepson's wife) were arrested in Brooklyn on charges relating to $15,000 worth of narcotics found in King's car.
The court decision reversing King's conviction in the wake of the Roe v. Wade decision noted "In the course of the abortion, Dr. King perforated the decedent's cervix. She sustained peritonitis, massive hemorrhaging and, as a consequence, suffered severe traumatic shock. The patient expired on December 30, 1967, two days after the abortion procedure."
Sophia's abortion was typical of illegal abortions in that it was performed by a physician.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Illegal in Chicago, Safe and Legal Nationwide
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.
"Beth" was 23 years old when she traveled from Massachusetts to take advantage of New York's liberalized abortion law in 1971. Beth's doctor chose saline abortion, which is performed by injecting a strong salt solution into the amniotic fluid. The fetus inhales and swallows the fluid, which causes massive internal bleeding and death. The woman then goes into labor. The abortion was initiated by injecting saline into Beth's uterus. But instead of the amniotic sac, the saline went into Beth's bloodstream. Beth immediately began to have seizures and went into a coma. She was pronounced dead on December 29, 1971.
Mary Ann Page was 36 years old when she went into cardiac arrest during an abortion/tubal ligation performed under general anesthesia on December 28, 1977. Both procedures were completed, then Mary Ann was taken to the Intensive Care Unit at St. Luke's Hospital. Mary Ann suffered several more cardiac arrests while she was in the ICU. She was pronounced dead on December 29, 1977.
On December 29, 1987, 31-year-old Sheila Watley had a safe, legal abortion at Concerned Women's Center in Houston, Texas. She was 17 weeks pregnant, and had one child. The abortion was performed by Dr. Richard Cunningham. About four minutes into the procedure, Sheila went into cardio-respiratory arrest. She was pronounced dead later that day. The cause of death was listed as an amniotic fluid embolism, which is when fluid from the uterus gets into the woman's blood stream. From a search on information about Cunningham's license, a lawsuit was filed against him that might have pertained to Sheila's death; the case in question was dismissed, according to information Cunningham gave the Texas medical board.
Hoa Thuy "Vivian" Tran, like Holly Patterson,
got abortion drugs at a Planned Parenthood. Vivian was 22 years old,
and died December 29, 2003, six days into the abortion process. She‘d
been given the drugs on December 23 at the Costa Mesa Planned Parenthood
facility. The autopsy showed that she died of sepsis. 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.
Planned Parenthood spokesperson Kimberlee Ward said that PP has
"absolute confidence in this method of abortion," which is hardly
surprising. After all, Vivian‘s fetus died, leaving PP with nothing to
complain about.
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.
"Beth" was 23 years old when she traveled from Massachusetts to take advantage of New York's liberalized abortion law in 1971. Beth's doctor chose saline abortion, which is performed by injecting a strong salt solution into the amniotic fluid. The fetus inhales and swallows the fluid, which causes massive internal bleeding and death. The woman then goes into labor. The abortion was initiated by injecting saline into Beth's uterus. But instead of the amniotic sac, the saline went into Beth's bloodstream. Beth immediately began to have seizures and went into a coma. She was pronounced dead on December 29, 1971.
Mary Ann Page was 36 years old when she went into cardiac arrest during an abortion/tubal ligation performed under general anesthesia on December 28, 1977. Both procedures were completed, then Mary Ann was taken to the Intensive Care Unit at St. Luke's Hospital. Mary Ann suffered several more cardiac arrests while she was in the ICU. She was pronounced dead on December 29, 1977.
On December 29, 1987, 31-year-old Sheila Watley had a safe, legal abortion at Concerned Women's Center in Houston, Texas. She was 17 weeks pregnant, and had one child. The abortion was performed by Dr. Richard Cunningham. About four minutes into the procedure, Sheila went into cardio-respiratory arrest. She was pronounced dead later that day. The cause of death was listed as an amniotic fluid embolism, which is when fluid from the uterus gets into the woman's blood stream. From a search on information about Cunningham's license, a lawsuit was filed against him that might have pertained to Sheila's death; the case in question was dismissed, according to information Cunningham gave the Texas medical board.
Monday, December 28, 2015
Unknown Perp's Fatal Work, 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 abortion mill, 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.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Documents are unclear as to how it was determined that the perpetrator was a doctor. The hospital was a reputable facility, not a seedy abortion mill, 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.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Atlanta Doc's Fatal Work, 1985
Arnetta Hardaway was 18 years old when she had a mid-trimester abortion
performed by Dr. George Tucker in Atlanta on December 23, 1985.
Arnetta continued to bleed, and developed infection, after her abortion. On December 27, she died from her complications.
Tucker had an active medical board order on his license as of January 4, 2002. The Georgia medical board web site does not reveal the details of the order.
Arnetta continued to bleed, and developed infection, after her abortion. On December 27, she died from her complications.
Tucker had an active medical board order on his license as of January 4, 2002. The Georgia medical board web site does not reveal the details of the order.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Two Centuries, Three Women's Deaths
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1885: Sylvia Sawdy
In 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, 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.
New York, 1934: Loretta Wilson
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. One source says that truck drivers found the body, another says it was spotted by two truck drivers.
The young woman was estimated to have been dead between 12 and 24 hours. 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.
William, whose profession is alternatively given as a chauffeur and a truck driver, came home from work on December 19 to find Loretta not home. He assumed that she had gone to Becker for the abortion since he'd made the appointment for the 19th. He went to Becker's office and learned that she wasn't there, and the next day he reported her missing.
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.
One more note: Loretta's abortion was typical of pre-Roe abortions in that it was performed by a physician.
New York, 1970: "Kimberly" Roe
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:
In 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, 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.
New York, 1934: Loretta Wilson
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| Loretta Wilson |
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. One source says that truck drivers found the body, another says it was spotted by two truck drivers.
The young woman was estimated to have been dead between 12 and 24 hours. 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.
William, whose profession is alternatively given as a chauffeur and a truck driver, came home from work on December 19 to find Loretta not home. He assumed that she had gone to Becker for the abortion since he'd made the appointment for the 19th. He went to Becker's office and learned that she wasn't there, and the next day he reported her missing.
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.
One more note: Loretta's abortion was typical of pre-Roe abortions in that it was performed by a physician.
New York, 1970: "Kimberly" Roe
"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:
- Pearl Schwier, July, 1970, cardiac arrest during abortion
- Carmen Rodriguez, July, 1970, salt solution intended to kill the fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
- Barbara Riley, July, 1970, sickle-cell crisis triggered by abortion recommended by doctor due to her sickle cell disease
- "Amanda" Roe, September, 1970, sent back to her home in Indiana with an untreated hole poked in her uterus
- Maria Ortega, October, 1970, fetus shoved through her uterus into her pelvic cavity then left there
- "Amy" Roe, January, 1971, massive pulmonary embolism
- "Andrea" Roe, January, 1971, overwhelming infection
- "Sandra" Roe, April, 1971, committed suicide due to post-abortion remorse
- "Anita" Roe, May, 1971, bled to death in her home during process of outpatient saline abortion
- Margaret Smith, June, 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
- "Annie" Roe, June, 1971, cardiac arrest during anesthesia
- "Audrey" Roe, July, 1971, cardiac arrest during abortion
- "Vicki" Roe, August, 1971, post-abortion infection
- "April" Roe, August, 1971, injected with saline for outpatient abortion, went into shock and died
- "Barbara" Roe, September, 1971, cardiac arrest after saline injection for abortion
- "Tammy" Roe, October, 1971, massive post-abortion infection
- Carole Schaner, October, 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
- "Beth" Roe, December, 1971, saline injection meant to kill fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
- "Roseann" Roe, February, 1971, vomiting with seizures causing pneumonia after saline abortion
- "Connie" Roe, March, 1972, cardiac arrest during abortion
- "Julie" Roe, April, 1972, holes torn in her uterus and bowel
- "Robin" Roe, May, 1972, lingering abortion complications
- "Roxanne" Roe, May , 1972, given overdose of abortion sedatives
- "Danielle" Roe, May, 1972, air in her bloodstream
1871 & 1891: Fishy Circumstaces Lead to Abortion Death Investigations
1871: Amanda McCoy
On December 28, 1871, an Illinois coroner's jury was called to investigate the December 22 death of Amanda McCoy. Amanda, a young widow who worked as a milliner in Crestline, OH, had died at the home of Dr. Fahlbusch, a German woman practicing as a midwife and described as "of good reputation."At first, Amanda's body was being transported out of the city for burial, but due to the suspicious circumstances of her death, her body was ordered returned to Chicago for an inquest. The man accompanying the body, said to be engaged to marry Amanda, was taken into custody.
The Coroner's Jury concluded that Amanda had undergone her fatal abortion before coming into the city. Dr. Fahlbusch was cleared of any suspicion in Amanda's death.
1891: Tillie Thor
On December 22, 1891, a 21-year-old Swedish girl named Tillie Thor was found dead in a bed at the rear of the office of Dr. Franklin E. Brooks on Ogden Avenue in Chicago.Brooks was unable to give an innocent explanation as to why Tillie was dead so he, along with George Lundy, a carpenter, were arrested. Lundy and Brooks had a longstanding friendship.
Tillie has been working as a domestic servant in the home of an upscale family until September of 1891. For a reason I've been unable to determine, she moved in with her sister, Christina Armblade, and Christina's husband, Frederick, on Sangamon Street.
Behind the Armblade house was George Lundy's carpentry shop. He offered her a job as his housekeeper, and she accepted, beginning her job on September 23. A short time later, Lundy relocated to Dussold Street, and against the vehement objections of her family, Tillie accompanied him. They had seen that Tillie was infatuated and feared that she's marry Lundy, a man they considered "odious." Tillie's brother-in-law went so far as to collect Tillie's belongings from Lundy's home and bring them to the Armblade family home.
Tillie sent Lundy to bring her things back to his home, and she remained there, though she spent a brief time at her sister's home in October to be attended during an illness. Her family's attempts to convince her to leave Lundy fell on deaf ears. Tillie said she knew the ways of the world and could take care of herself.
Tillie visited her family less and less often, though her 15-year-old sister, Alma, frequently visited her at Lundy's home. Alma said that Tillie seemed contented living with Lundy, but was disquieted by things she'd observed there, such as Lundy being present in Tillie's room while she was dressing or undressing.
One of Tillie's friends, Helma Boyer, testified that she'd frequently spent the night at the Lundy home and had sometimes seen Lundy sitting by Tillie's bed after Tillie had retired for the night.
However, around the 14th of December, Tillie informed Lundy that she was pregnant. He made arrangements to go to Brooks for the abortion on December 16. Tillie evidently was expecting the abortion and recovery to take several days, since her sister Alma reported that she'd visited Tillie briefly on the 16th and had seen her packing, ostensibly for a vacation. This prevented Tillie's family from having any suspicions regarding her absence from Lundy's home.
Tillie instead went to Brooks' practice. She never left alive. The abortion, which has been perpetrated by an undetermined means, triggered peritonitis. Brooks, who insisted that she'd only been suffering from stomach and bowel problems, kept her in the bedroom at the back of his office and attended her there until her death.
On December 20, Brooks had called in a second physician, Dr. James B. Williams, for a consultation on Tillie's case. Dr. Williams found Tillie, who had been identified to him as "Mrs. Wales," with a high fever and symptoms of the peritonitis that would eventually kill her. Dr. Williams found the whole situation fishy, advised Brooks to continue his current treatments and expressed a desire to extricate himself from situation.
Dr. Williams returned the following day with a Dr. Dal, and together the two doctors concluded that "Mrs. Wales" was suffering from complications of an abortion. They prescribed morphine for her and questioned her about how she'd come to be in her current condition. Eventually she confessed that she'd gotten pregnant by a man in his 40s, with whom she resided. However, she refused to provide the doctors with any clue as to her real identity. Dr. Dal questioned her alone to get a deathbed statement identifying her abortionist. When asked if Dr. Williams was the guilty party, Tillie answered with an emphatic, "No!" When asked if Brooks was the culprit, she gave no answer.
The two consultant doctors testified that Brooks' nephew, Mr. Wales, told them that his uncle was fretful about Tillie's condition and feared he'd go to prison.
For reasons I've been unable to determine, perhaps due to a tip-off by one of the consulting physicians, police staked out Brooks' office. They arrested Lundy first, when he'd approached at around 1 a.m. the day of Tillie's death with a paper with Brooks' address on it that somebody had shoved under his door.
Tillie's family, who had been tricked by the story of the vacation, were stunned by the news of her death.
Brooks had a history as an abortionist. Fifteen years earlier he'd served 18 months for perpetrating an abortion upon a young woman who survived her ordeal. So far I've been unable to determine the outcome of the Tillie Thor case.
Tillie's abortion was typical of those before legalization in that it was performed by a physician.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Two Criminal, Two Safe-and-Legal
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.
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.
Denise 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 Federation was 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 Patricia Chacon, Mary Pena, Josefina Garcia, Lanice Dorsey, Joyce Ortenzio, Tami Suematsu, Deanna Bell, Susan Levy, Christina Mora, Ta Tanisha Wesson, Nakia Jorden, Maria Leho, Kimberly Neil, Maria Rodriguez, and Chanelle Bryant.
WAKE-UP has posted state medical board disciplinary documents against Dr. Earl McLeod
(pictured),regarding the death of an abortion patient on December 21,
1997. WAKE-UP has identified her as 27-year-old Jennifer Halner. On December 20, 1997, she went to Potomac Family Planning for a safe, legal abortion. McLeod's
anesthesiologist, identified only as Dr. K., started an IV,
and Jennifer 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 was transferred to recovery at 10:10 a.m., still unconscious but
breathing on her own. Her pulse was 103 (very rapid). A nurse identified only as Nurse W
put an oxygen mask on her, but took off the cardiac
monitor and pulse oximeter. Another nurse took off the blood pressure cuff to use on another patient. At around 10:20
a.m., Nurse W noticed that Jennifer was still unresponsive. She told a
nursing assistant to get
Zofran, an antiemetic, from the
anesthesiologist, who was in the second procedure room with
McLeod. Dr. K gave the
Zofran to Nurse W without evaluating the patient. Not surprisingly, this did
nothing to revive Jennifer. Nurse W then asked Kr. K for Romazicon, used to reverse the effects of anesthesia. Dr. K again provided the drug without examining
the patient. Nurse H realized that couldn't find a
pulse, and that Jennifer's pupils were dilated. She fetched Dr. K. He found Jennifer 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. Meanwhile, McLeod
performed two other procedures before finally entering the recovery
room. He
administered additional IV medications, and said that the patient 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. Dr. K told
somebody to administer Epinephrine, Ephedrine, and Lidocaine -- all
appropriate drugs. Finally, at
around 10:42 a.m., McLeod told somebody to call 911.
Paramedics arrived and found Jennifer in cardiac arrest. They noted 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, hooking her up to a
cardiac monitor, defibrillating her, and administering appropriate
drugs. The medics
transported her to a to hospital, arriving at
11:09 a.m. The ER physician noted that Jennifer's pupils were fixed
and dilated. After aggressive resuscitative efforts, her 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. McLeod also ran the Hillcrest abortion mill in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where Kelly Morse
had died in 1996 after being inadequately resuscitated.
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.
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| Earl McLeod |
Sunday, December 20, 2015
1926: Chicago Midwife's Fatal Handiwork
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.
She died on December 20 at Chicago Hospital.
On January 15, 1927, midwife Josephine Petrova was indicted for felony murder in Mary's death.
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Chicago Death, 1921
On December 19, 1921, 18-year-old housekeeper Marie Pickle died in
Chicago after an abortion perpetrated by Clarence Shoere, who was
identified as a nurse or midwife. Shoere was held by the coroner but not
tried.
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.
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 18, 2015
Two Illegal Deaths -- 1923 and 1982
On December 18, 1923, 40-year-old Sophia Hartozinski died at Chicago's County Hospital due to a criminal abortion performed there that day.
The coroner identified midwife Mary Roback as having been responsible for Sophia's death.
Keep in mind that things that may seem appalling to us in the early 21st
century -- such as performing surgery in one's home -- was not
appalling at the time. 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.
News articles indicate that Myrtha Baptiste, age 26, had a safe and legal abortion of her 10 week pregnancy performed by Orlando Zaldivar at Woman's Care Clinic December 18, 1982. Myrtha, a mother of two, arrived at the hospital in critical condition due to delay of transfer by the clinic staff. She bled to death from two uterine perforations. Zaldivar could not be reached for seven hours while hospital staff were struggling to save his patient's life. Since Zaldivar's license was inactive at the time he performed Myrtha's abortion, the CDC classified her death as being due to illegal abortion rather than legal abortion. This effectively hides her death from a legal abortion death tally. The other deaths at that facility -- Ruth Montero, Shirley Payne, and Maura Morales -- were counted as legal abortion deaths.
If you are tempted to attribute Sophia's death to the fact that abortion was illegal and Myrtha's (and Ruth's, Shirley's, and Maura's) to "all surgery has risks," consider the following graph. Legalization didn't even amount to a blip in the trend toward safer abortions for women.
News articles indicate that Myrtha Baptiste, age 26, had a safe and legal abortion of her 10 week pregnancy performed by Orlando Zaldivar at Woman's Care Clinic December 18, 1982. Myrtha, a mother of two, arrived at the hospital in critical condition due to delay of transfer by the clinic staff. She bled to death from two uterine perforations. Zaldivar could not be reached for seven hours while hospital staff were struggling to save his patient's life. Since Zaldivar's license was inactive at the time he performed Myrtha's abortion, the CDC classified her death as being due to illegal abortion rather than legal abortion. This effectively hides her death from a legal abortion death tally. The other deaths at that facility -- Ruth Montero, Shirley Payne, and Maura Morales -- were counted as legal abortion deaths.
If you are tempted to attribute Sophia's death to the fact that abortion was illegal and Myrtha's (and Ruth's, Shirley's, and Maura's) to "all surgery has risks," consider the following graph. Legalization didn't even amount to a blip in the trend toward safer abortions for women.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Unknown Perp, December 17, 1914 Chicago
On December 17, 1914, 24-year-old Emma Fertig, wife of Edward Fertig, died at Chicago's West Side Hospital from an abortion performed by an unknown perpetrator. She left behind three children.
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, due to improvements in addressing these problems, maternal mortality in general (and abortion mortality with it) fell dramatically in the 20th Century, decades before Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion across America.
For more information about early 20th Century abortion mortality, see Abortion Deaths 1910-1919.
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, due to improvements in addressing these problems, maternal mortality in general (and abortion mortality with it) fell dramatically in the 20th Century, decades before Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion across America.
For more information about early 20th Century abortion mortality, see Abortion Deaths 1910-1919.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Deadly Abortions: 1891, 1971, 1983
At around 9:10 p.m. on December 15,
1891, Dr. J. M. Ryall was called to the Pittsburgh home of 32-year-old
Nancy Hildinger. He found her dead. Her family told Ryall that Nancy had
been sick and bleeding from her period. He performed an autopsy. Nancy
was a large, muscular woman weighing about 160 lbs. and found her uterus
enlarged to about three months size, flabby, inflamed, and marked by an
injury caused by some sort of instrument. She had already expelled the
fetus. Her lungs were also congested. The coroner's jury found that Nancy had died at the hands of an unknown abortionist.
Twenty-year-old LaSandra Russ, from Berkley, California, went to Los Angeles to have an abortion on December 13, 1971. She was six weeks pregnant. At the time, abortions were legal in California as long as they were performed in a hospital. The abortion was performed at Memorial Hospital of Hawthorne the next day, December 14. LaSandra went into cardiac arrest almost immediately after the abortion. Attempts were made to revive her, but she was finally pronounced dead on December 15, 1971.
Abortionist Andre Nehorayoff
was disciplined over the abortion death of "Faye Roe." She was 19 years old when she went to Nehorayoff's office for a safe and legal abortion on December 15, 1979. Nehorayoff failed to record an adequate history or medical exam for Faye. Nehorayoff left her in a recovery room at 2:25 p.m., without any monitoring. When
somebody finally checked on her an hour later, she was cyanotic (blue)
and had no pulse. She was pronounced dead at a hospital. Nehorayoff was also disciplined regarding Patient E, an 18-year-old patient who bled to death after Nehorayoff sent her home in 1983 with a fetal leg still in her uterus.
Twenty-year-old LaSandra Russ, from Berkley, California, went to Los Angeles to have an abortion on December 13, 1971. She was six weeks pregnant. At the time, abortions were legal in California as long as they were performed in a hospital. The abortion was performed at Memorial Hospital of Hawthorne the next day, December 14. LaSandra went into cardiac arrest almost immediately after the abortion. Attempts were made to revive her, but she was finally pronounced dead on December 15, 1971.
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| Andre Nehorayoff |
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