Saturday, March 07, 2026

March 7, 1978: High-Risk Abortion at a Birthing Center

SUMMARY: Gloria Jeanie Small, age 34, died March 7, 1978 after an abortion performed by Ronald Tauber at his Orlando Birthing Center in Orlando, FL.

Dr. Ronald Tauber's Background

Dr. Ronald Tauber
Dr. Ronald Tauber considered himself a maverick. He was a risk-taker. He lost his medical privileges over an abortion he'd performed at Florida Hospital. The administration wasn't too upset that the baby in question had been between 23 and 24 weeks of gestation -- teetering on the cusp between Constitutionally protected second-trimester abortions and illegal third-trimester abortions. Rather, he had raised the ire of the hospital administrators, as one said, because he had performed the abortion on the medical ward. As an administrator said, "There was the possibility of delivering a live fetus and the nurses were afraid to work the case. It also would have been a problem to put the patient on the obstetrical floor where babies are born... the nurses here were very upset about the entire situation and Dr. Tauber didn't settle the problem."

Long story short: The problem wasn't the age of the fetus Tauber aborted. It was that he put the nurses in a bad situation and the administration backed the nurses.

Shortly after losing his privileges at Florida Hospital, he lost his privileges and position at Orlando General Hospital. He had been Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Tauber said that the move was part of a conspiracy between the two hospitals to persecute him for performing late second-trimester abortions at Florida Hospital. Orlando General Hospital's president, however, said, "Dr. Tauber was suspended from our staff because he didn't meet the standards of practice as held by this hospital."

Tauber's New Idea

Orlando Birthing Center
Tauber responded by opening the Orlando Birthing Center in Orlando, Florida. Tauber said that he wanted to provide a more family-centered and lower-cost birthing experience. Though he lacked privileges to admit any of his patients to a fully-equipped hospital, he said that he had arrangements with local physicians who did have privileges and would admit any of his patients who needed such care. 

All might have gone well had he stuck with delivering living babies. But he also decided that he was just as interested in making sure fetuses came out dead as in helping them emerge alive. As a space to do the abortions, as well as tubal ligations and C-sections, Tauber converted a concrete building adjacent to the gracious birthing center into a surgical ward.

Tauber's birthing center, like his last abortion at Florida Hospital, danced in a gray zone of legality. Tauber intended to keep fewer than three patients at a time overnight, and thus his center didn't qualify as a hospital. He also didn't fall under the category for ambulatory surgical centers. A consultant for the Florida Health and Rehabilitative Services Office of Licensure and Certification said, "As long as Tauber says his facility is a doctor's office, we have no jurisdiction."

And it was into the gray zone that Gloria Jeanie Small walked one spring day.

Gloria's Choice

Gloria was a 34-year-old mother of six children, ages 3 to 19. She had done her best to supplement welfare payments with work at a fern farm and occasional cleaning jobs at the nearby Brass Rail Bar. Neighbors described the family as very close-knit. 

But in January of 1977 she had a positive pap smear and was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, Her doctor, Stephen Spore, described her as "a pulmonary cripple," and noted that just trying to converse left her gasping for breath. As her health deteriorated she could no longer work. 

As if the breathing problems weren't enough to deal with, Gloria suffered from arthritis and ulcers. She spent a year in and out of West Volusia Hospital for bone and liver scans, barium tests, and x-rays.

Then, in February of 1978, Gloria discovered that she was pregnant. She scheduled an abortion at Women's Health Center in Orlando, but before the appointment she developed double pneumonia and was hospitalized once again.

She had discussed her abortion plan with Dr. Spore. He believed that Gloria's health would be at risk whether she decided to give birth or to undergo an abortion. However, he advised her that her medications had likely injured her unborn baby. After this consultation, Gloria decided that "under no circumstances" would she carry her baby to term. 

Spore believed that Gloria should have her abortion in a hospital, where she could be closely monitored by physicians familiar with her medical history. But none of the doctors affiliated with the hospital wanted to abort Gloria's baby. Spore told Gloria that she should therefore go ahead and have the abortion at Women's Health Center.

But by then, Gloria was 14 weeks into her pregnancy. Though abortions past 13 weeks were legal, there were not any clinics in the area that would perform them that late.

Women's Health Center discussed Gloria's options for her. One doctor in Miami would do the abortion, but it would cost $600, and Gloria would have to pay for travel expenses. An out-of-state facility would be even ore expenses. So Women's Health Center referred Gloria to Orlando Birthing Center and the care of Ronald Tauber.

Consultation at the Birthing Center

When she was around 15 weeks pregnant when she made her first visit to Orlando Birthing Center on March 2, 1978. She had a consultation with Tauber, who noted, "She discussed her need for sterilization and stated that she didn't want any further children." He noted that Gloria was struggling to support her six children. Gloria reportedly told Tauber that she couldn't afford the full fee, and that if Tauber didn't perform the abortion she'd do it herself, and if she failed to dislodge the unwanted fetus she'd just kill herself.
 
Tauber agreed to reduce the fee and scheduled Gloria to return for a combination of abortion and tubal ligation on March 6.

What Were Her Realistic Options?

A prolife center also could have taken a holistic approach to Gloria's sad predicament. She was struggling financially. With her health problems she was probably also struggling to manage a household with so many children, even though the oldest were old enough to help take care of the youngest. The fact that she was raising her six children on her own indicates that she may have lacked the skills to identify reliable men that would help to support the children they sired. Her work skills seemed to be limited to more physical labor that her health wouldn't allow. Help finding a sedentary job would have resolved some of her problems. Abortion doesn't require a holistic approach but focuses on getting rid of the fetus and leaving the woman in her same unfavorable circumstances.

Dr. Spore expressed awareness that Gloria was a high-risk patient, either for an abortion or for carrying to term. But news coverage doesn't indicate that he referred her to a high-risk ob/gyn who would have been able to give her more realistic guidance. Was Spore so focused on the idea that the baby might have health problems that he fixated on the idea that the child should be aborted? Or was he just stuck thinking in that direction because Gloria had previously scheduled an abortion?

What would a high-risk ob/gyn have done? By the late 1970s, he or she certainly would have had access to ultrasound to better assess the health of Gloria's unborn baby. He or she would have had a better idea of the comparative risks of carrying to term versus aborting. If a high risk ob/gyn believed that an abortion was indeed the best option, Gloria would almost certainly have been admitted to a hospital for the procedure, and her medical assistance would have paid for it as medically necessary. Sending her to an abortion clinic was a shortcoming on Dr. Spore's part.

The Abortion and the First Signs of Trouble

Going into the abortion, Gloria's vital signs were good. Her blood pressure at 11:45 pm was 122/84 and her pulse was 84. Tauber was assisted by registered nurse Carolyn MacArthur and OR tech Cynthia LaGree.

Gloria's surgery was started at 12:05 pm. About 45 minutes into the procedure, there was a sudden gush of blood. Tauber inserted a scope through Gloria's navel to try to identify the source of the bleeding. LaGree said later that she observed through the scope as Tauber completed the abortion. The only injury she saw was a hole about half in inch long on the lower right side of the uterus. This nick was not enough to account for the amount of blood loss Gloria seemed to be suffering.

The surgery was completed at 1:25 pm, nearly an hour and a half after it was started. By then, Gloria's blood pressure had fallen to 80/60 and her pulse had risen to 96. This was a sign of internal bleeding. Tauber packed Gloria's uterus with medical gauze, which appeared to have controlled the bleeding. By this point, though, Gloria had lost an estimated 1500 cc's -- 3 units -- of blood. Tauber documented Gloria's condition as "borderline." He administered IV fluids, continued cardiac monitoring, and ensured that she was being attended by a nurse. 

Delays and Transfusions

Tauber hand-wrote a note on her chart: "Plan -- Observe and transfuse. If deteriorates, transfer for hysterectomy." He ordered blood from Central Florida Blood Bank at 4:30 pm.

While waiting for the blood to arrive, Tauber called Orlando Regional Medical center. The resident on call instructed him to call the attending obstetric physician. So around 5:30 or 6:00 pm, Tauber called Dr. A. J. Herran to get clearance to admit her to ORMC. Dr. Herran approved the transfer. But Tauber decided to try to stabilize his patient at the birthing center.

Also at around 6 pm, Gloria's friend LeRoy Feaster came by with Gloria's two youngest children, expecting to take her home. By then, the first blood had arrived and Gloria was getting a transfusion. He was told that she would have to be kept overnight. LeRoy went back to speak to her. She reassured him that there had just been a problem with her blood pressure that was being addressed. She smiled as LeRoy gave her a goodbye kiss on the cheek. 

Tauber administered a second transfusion, concluded that Gloria was recovering, and left his patient in the care of a crisis nurse and nurse MacArthur. 

Gloria Seemed Stable

Tauber came back at around 9:30 on the morning of March 7. Gloria's vital signs had remained stable since the previous night. Though Gloria was sitting up on the side of the bed and had gotten up and showered, she still reported abdominal pain. Tauber attributed this to the laparoscopic surgery and kept Gloria for observation.  

Nurse LaGree said that all signs of the bleeding had stopped. Gloria's abdomen was soft and not tender. She spent the afternoon watching TV and chatting with the nurse. She showed off pictures of her children and told LaGree that her oldest son had just gotten back from Job Corps and was going to be a help to the family. 

At around 5:30, LeRoy Feaster came by again, expecting to take Gloria home. He looked into her room but decided not to disturb her because she was sleeping. He never saw her alive again.

The Final Catastrophe Plays Out

At around 6 pm, Gloria walked to the operating room to have the packing removed. Tauber removed it slowly, but about 3/4 of the way through the process there was a sudden massive gush of blood, and Gloria's blood pressure plunged. Tauber ordered meds to contract the uterus and told his staff to call 911 and to cancel an ordered unit of blood from the blood bank so that it would be available for the hospital.

While waiting for the ambulance, Tauber packed Gloria's uterus and vagina with more gauze. Nurse B.J. Caruth lowered Gloria's head so it was lower than her feet to direct more blood and oxygen to her brain. "Mrs. Small was looking around quietly, but obviously frightened, obviously in pain. She was instinctively trying to roll over. We reminded her to lie still and she said, 'OK, OK, OK.'"

The staff who contacted the ambulance dispatch gave contradictory instructions. She said she said that she that there was an hemorrhage and used the words "stat" and "emergency," but also said "to come without making a commotion about it."

This led to the ambulance being dispatched as "routine transfer -- no lights, no siren." It was half an hour until, light and sires blaring, the ambulance headed from the birthing center to the hospital. Gloria arrived, accompanied by Tauber, at 6:52 pm. EMS said that awake and talking, alert, but lethargic and weak.

Chaos at the Hospital

Reports of what happened next are unclear. Dr. Herran said that he was notified that Gloria was being transferred and began his drive towards the hospital. While on the way he got a notice on his pager that Gloria had arrived at the emergency room and gone into cardiac arrest. Different hospital staff give different accounts of whether the internal bleeding was diagnosed promptly, but though Gloria's blood pressure was 82/56 at 7 pm. 

Tauber, not part of the hospital staff, was no longer able to provide care. He reported that he kept telling hospital staff that he'd ordered two units of blood that were at the blood bank across the street, but that hospital policy said they couldn't use blood that had been ordered based on type matching done at another facility. 

Things were chaotic. Gloria's condition was clearly deteriorating rapidly. She went into cardio-respiratory arrest and was provided with resuscitation efforts. Her pulse was restored by the time she got her transfusion at 7:40 pm, but she was still being "bagged" to keep air going in and out of her lungs as she was brought into the operating room at 7:47 pm. 

Herran arrived at the hospital and was briefed by staff as he prepared to operate. Another doctor, R. O. Vandyke, arrived to assist. The surgery began at 7:55 pm. Gloria's uterus was distended from all the gauze packing, which was poking out through a 1 1/2 inch tear. A resident photographed the damaged uterus as Herran surgically removed it. During the surgery, that lasted more than an hour, Gloria received five units of blood, but Herran estimated that this only made up for about a quarter of the blood the patient had lost.

Gloria was barely clinging to life as she was taken to the Intensive Care Unit at 9:50 pm.

Five minutes later she was dead.

The Immediate Aftermath

Some time after midnight the morning of March 8, Gloria's 19-year-old son, Terry, was called by a nurse and told to come to the hospital as soon as possible. Terry called LeRoy Feaster, telling him that the hospital had called. He had to get off work early, then, confused, he went to the birthing center rather than to the hospital. The receptionist directed him to the hospital. The hospital sent him to the medical examiner's office. 

Assistant Medical Examiner Judith Bunker hemmed and hawed and finally told LeRoy that Gloria had died. As LeRoy broke down, he later recalled, Bunker told him that Tauber kept Gloria at the center too long and should have brought her to the hospital for surgery right away. 

LeRoy contacted Gloria's sister, Shirley Johnson, who lived in DeLeon Springs.

On March 10, the medical examiner's office and police department met to discuss the case. But somebody at the state attorney's office leaked the story to WDBO, Channel 6 news. This led to concerns that Tauber would have a chance to destroy records to cover his tracks. A Channel 6 reporter said that he "sat in a van across the street [from the birthing center] with a sixpack of beer for four hours, waiting for the raid." 

When it came at 11:25 that night, the media rushed up to the search party as they entered the birthing center, where three women were in labor. 

The medical examiner said that Gloria's medical history should have precluded performing an abortion in an outpatient setting. The medical board faulted Tauber with failing to transfer to a hospital as soon as he'd had the bleeding stabilized with packing, and with trying to remove the packing in a setting where there was no blood available for a transfusion. 

A court-appointed panel found Tauber negligent in Gloria's death.

The Consequences for Tauber

The repercussions for the 31-year-old Tauber were astonishing, given the legality of Gloria's abortion. He was dismissed from the staff of two hospitals, had his medical license suspended, and was charged with manslaughter. However, I have found no record that the case ever went to trial. Tauber relocated to Detroit, where he finally got around to completing a residency in obstetrics and gynecology, and went to work at the Scottsdale Medical Clinic abortion facility.

Gloria, like other Black women, faced a higher risk of abortion death than a white woman.


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March 7, 1919: Serial Killer's Brother is Deadly Serial Abortionist

SUMMARY: Inez Elizabeth Reed, age 28, died in San Mateo, California on March 7, 1919 after an abortion perpetrated by Dr. Ephraim Northcott, a relative of the notorious serial murderer Gordon Northcott.

Inez Reed
I originally learned of the death of the unfortunate Inez Elizabeth Reed comes from a 1919 reprint of an editorial in The San Francisco Star:

Poor Inez Reed, the betrayed Red Cross nurse, who died from the effects of an illegal operation, and whose body was brutally thrown over a cliff in San Mateo county, certainly erred, but she did not deserve the cold-blooded report of an army board of inquiry, that she "came to her death thru her own misconduct."

There are thousands who will think that she came to her death thru the misconduct of the "man in the case" -- who must be a wretch so vile that he is beneath the contempt of men. She was evidently deserted by him after her betrayal, for she had borrowed money from a friend to bring her here from Camp Funston; and desperate lest her condition should become known, had sought to hide her shame in the same way so many others like unfortunates have done. ....

The dread of the world's knowledge of her lapse from virtue, of being the subject of men's ribald jests, and of the sneers and jeers of her own sex, which she felt would be her punishment, were, perhaps, more than Inez Reed could bear, and she sought to conceal her sin in the only way she could. May a merciful God judge her more kindly than the army board of inquiry has done.

My copy cuts off in the middle of the next paragraph, calling for "the one who caused all her trouble" to be identified and called to account for his actions.

The Gruesome Discovery

On March 8, 1919, a laborer saw a woman's hand protruding from a clump of weeds in a rocky ravine along Halfmoon Bay Road in San Mateo County. Thousands of people went to the morgue to view the body in hopes that the dead woman could be identified. It was only a week later that the identity of the dead woman was ascertained when relatives recognized the descriptions printed in the San Francisco Chronicle. The body was that of 28-year-old Army nurse Inez Reed, who had last been seen alive on March 3.

The Abortionist's Nasty Family Connection

Ephraim Northcott
Further search found an entry in The Pacific Reporter, covering the appeal of Ephraim Northcott, the abortionist convicted in Inez's death, and a section in Nothing is Strange With You: The Life and Crimes of Gordon Stewart Northcott. (Ephraim, it turns out, was a relative of the more infamous Gordon Northcott, perpetrator of the "Wineville Chicken Coop Murders." One of his victims was Walter Collins, whose disappearance and faked rescue was the subject of the film Changeling, starting Angelina Jolie.) The two sources enabled me to determine that she probably died on March 7, 1919.

Northcott was arrested on June 26, and found guilty of second-degree murder after the jury had deliberated a mere two hours and fifteen minutes. Northcott was sentenced to between ten years to life at San Quentin.

The authorities found the evidence against Northcott so strong that the San Mateo County District Attorney also planned to charge all of Northcott's alibi witnesses with perjury, other than Northcott's wife, for whom the prosecuting officials pitied. During closing arguments, her friends had to lead her weeping from the courtroom.

The prosecution was also so confident that they didn't bring forward any rebuttal witnesses after the defense had finished presenting its case.

Some of them were also to be charged as accessories to the murder of Inez Reed. Two nurses, Frances Cronin and Marion Ayers, were said to have been specific accomplices. Cronin was said to assisted Northcott in perpetrating many abortions. She denied having ever seen Inez Reed, and said that she had been at a party at Northcott's house -- from which the host was somehow absent -- the night of Inez's fatal abortion.

The defense only called a total of seven witnesses: Northcott, his wife, Northcott's daughter-in-law, nurses Frances Cronin and Marion Ayres, Mrs. F. B. Marshall, and Arthur Pidgeon.

Cronin also was reportedly the one who had met a woman named Eleanor Anderson in Golden Gate Park, taken her to her home, and called in Northcott to perpetrate an abortion there. Eleanor died subsequently in a hospital. Northcott was indicted for Eleanor's death, and the authorities had come to court armed with a warrant for Northcott's arrest should he have been acquitted of murder for Inez's death.

Cronin's fiance, San Francisco traffic officer Allan E. Noreen, admitted that he'd been at Northcott's home around the time of the fatal abortion. He was believed to have been the one to drive Inez's body to the ravine and dump it. At the time of Northcott's trial he as on the lam, facing charges of passing bad checks.

Ayers fled the area immediately after Northcott's original arrest.

Northcott, at the age of 49, had opened a maternity home, thus making him a promising person to approach for an abortion.

The Referring Physician and Other Witnesses

Dr. F. R. Jordan testified that during the last week of April, Inez had visited his office, reporting that she was four or five months pregnant, and requesting an abortion. Jordan said he'd refused to perpetrate the abortion himself, but had told her Northcott's address, which she then wrote down. Jordan also testified that he and Northcott had discussed establishing an abortion facility "down the peninsula" for "long-time (abortion) cases."

Nurse Catherine Fisher, who had worked for Northcott, testified as to the nature of the work he did. A milk wagon driver identified a photograph of Inez as the woman he'd seen in a house that Northcott used as his private hospital.

Northcott had an office on the second floor of the Hotel Turpin; when police went to arrest him at 2:00 a.m. on March 9, before Inez had even been positively identified, they found a woman there who had taken the elevator to the 4th floor, then taken the stairs down to Northcott's second-floor office.

Northcott had performed the fatal abortion on Inez in his San Mateo house. Testimony was presented that Northcott had performed other abortions.

Trial and Sentence

Northcott was found guilty of murder for Inez's death and was sentenced to serve at least ten years.

Since California prison policy was not to release a prisoner who had a separate murder indictment pending, it looked unlikely that Northcott would ever be freed.

Northcott's Spurious Grounds for Appeal

Issues: Northcott's attorney held that photos of where the body was found, in a ravine, were irrelevant. The state held that the way Inez's body had been dumped was evidence that the abortion had been performed unlawfully, and the body dumped to hide the crime. In particular, Northcott's attorney complained that one of the photos of the dump site had a lizard on a rock. "The picture of the scene was taken after the body had been removed. We have examined it with some care to find the lizard complained of, and by no stretch of the imagination does it conjure up any of the horrors which the attorney for the appellant fears may have resulted in the minds of the jurors."

Northcott's attorney also objected to a photo of Inez's body at the dump site, but the state pointed out that the photo in question had only been entered into evidence in response to the defense's claims that the body might have been brought to the dump site from quite some distance away. "The photograph was then introduced ... showing bruises on the head and face as indicating that the body had not been carefully handled, and that it was therefore highly unlikely that it could have been brought for any considerable distance without the loss of much of the blood that was found in the abdomen by the physician who examined the body." The photograph also helped to establish that the external injuries to Inez's body were inflicted after her death. The photo also allowed Inez's sister to identify the clothing.

Northcott's attorney also played games with the dead woman's name, because some court documents cited her names as "Elizabeth Inez Reed" and others as "Inez Elizabeth Reed". The court rejected this tactic, and Northcott remained at San Quentin, where he died on July 1, 1928.

Sources:

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Friday, March 06, 2026

March 6, 1977: Abortionist Lets Miscarriage Patient Die

The Ambulance Crew's Shock

Grok AI illustration
Ambulance attendant Benito Lopez told the medical examiner's inquest that he and his partner Cameron Burchett of the El Paso Ambulance and Rescue Services were shocked at what they saw when they arrived at. Dr. John B. Miller's private practice at 3307 N. Piedras St. in El Paso. It was around 12:20 pm on February 26, 1977. A woman lay unresponsive on the table. 

She was later identified as 20-year-old Sylvia Ann Ramos, the daughter of Jesse and Carlota Quiroz Ramos. She had been born May 19, 1956 in Texas. Sylvia had divorced and had resumed using her birth surname. 

She was not being provided with any care when the medics found her. She wasn't breathing. Her head was in a forward position rather than tilted back to keep her airway open. The medic saw no oxygen tanks or other emergency equipment. Miller seemed to have given up on his patient. Benito said he told Miller that he had to either pronounce Sylvia dead, in which case the medics would call the police and medical examiner, or Miller could instruct them to resuscitate her. 

"Give it the old college try," Miller reportedly responded.

Not an Abortion

Though the news painted Sylvia as being Miller's second dead abortion patient, she had actually gone to him for follow-up rather than an abortion. She had previously gone to R. E. Thomason General Hospital in El Paso. She was told that she was having a miscarriage. It's unclear why she ended up having follow up several days later at Miller's office instead of being treated at the hospital, especially considering what is noted in the autopsy. 

Poor Judgment From the Start

At 4' 8" tall and weighing nearly 200 pounds, Sylvia was high-risk to be doing any sort of procedure in an outpatient setting. It would be difficult to keep her airway properly managed and she would be at higher risk of complications related to obesity. But evidently, Miller didn't hesitate. He said that he injected Novocain, performed a D&C to treat the miscarriage, and removed a genital wart. 

What Everyone Agrees On

To give Miller credit, he had called emergency services as soon as he noticed that Sylvia wasn't breathing, though it's unclear if this happened on the procedure table or after she was moved to the recovery room. Benito and Cameron arrived within four minutes. They initiated appropriate CPR and transported Sylvia to Sierra Medical Center. She lingered there until March 6, when for an undisclosed reason she was transferred to R. E. Thomason General Hospital and declared dead on arrival. 

Unqualified Assistance

Both Miller and Sylvia's mother, who by then had the surname Chamberlain, agree that Sylvia had gone to Miller's office that February day with a male companion. Miller identified him as "Clums." Carlota said that the companion was a friend named James Opie.

Carlotta, who later sued Miller for $205,265, asserted that Miller asked Sylvia's friend to assist with the surgery because there were no trained nurses. I haven't seen any denial from Miller that he asked "Clums" to assist. Miller himself admitted that he had no licensed nurse -- neither an RN nor a registered practical nurse. He just referred to his two helpers -- his wife and his daughter -- as "nurses."

What the Autopsy Found

Miller's story doesn't hold much water. First and foremost, there are no signs of needle marks indicating drug use. Instead, Sylvia's arm showed old scars from likely burn injuries. Nor is there any sign of a genital wart or any procedure to remove one. While Miller might have performed a D&C, as he claimed, he also did something else, something that left a "brownish to black rim of tissue which has the appearance of severe either physical or chemical cauterization" on her cervix. This burning was so severe that it caused part of her cervix to go necrotic.

The pain from this burn might have caused the next finding: Stomach contents had come up through Sylvia's esophagus and were aspirated into her lungs. This caused her right lung to partially collapse and both lungs to suffer damage that inhibited the exchange of oxygen. Sylvia developed aspiration pneumonia.

The lack of oxygen to the brain was the final blow that caused her death. The autopsy report put it bluntly: "The brain is completely mushy." 

The combination of Miller's actions and inactions led to a lingering, inevitable death.

Miller's Protests Fall Flat

Miller, a 54-year-old 1954 graduate of University of Texas-Dallas Medical School, defended himself not only at the medical examiner's hearing, but in letters he wrote to local papers. 

Miller told the El Paso Herald-Post stating that the medics were in only one room of his facility, and there for only five minutes, so they were in no position to pass judgement on how well or poorly equipped his office was. He said that at his office he had three bottles of oxygen, four laryngoscopes, oral airways, and "all the injectables that could conceivably be needed." But he did not assert that the medics would have seen an oxygen bottle in the room where they had found Sylvia.

Miller wrote, "Our office does not have the equipment that a Cardiac Emergency Room has, but it does have proper resuscitation equipment and the injectables for the treatment of Anaphylactic Shock." But he didn't indicate having the right injectables to deal with cardiac arrest.

Miller admitted to the inappropriate placement of Sylvia's head, but asserted that this didn't matter because he had placed a plastic airway device in her mouth, which would have kept her windpipe open. First of all, this isn't true. An oropharyngeal airway can only be counted on to keep the windpipe open if the head remains properly positioned (see illustration). Secondly, if Miller had a laryngoscope, why had he only used an airway rather than inserting a breathing tube? 

As for why he reported doing only artificial respiration and not CPR, Miller wrote that he didn't choose to open Sylvia's chest for open heart massage because he knew the ambulance would be there soon. However, chest compressions for CPR had already become the norm, rather than opening the chest to access the heart directly. Closed-chest compressions were standard for medical professionals by the late 1960s. Miller had more than a decade to learn how to properly resuscitate a patient.

Miller admitted that neither his wife nor his daughter was trained in CPR, but defended them vociferously: "My nurses have worked for me better than three years. They are chosen because they like people, and then are taught to perform our services. We have many emergencies every month, and my nurses do exceptionally well in helping take care of them." 

Many emergencies every month? He considered this normal? And if he dealt with many emergencies every month, why were he and his staff so ill-prepared for a patient who stopped breathing?

Perhaps the saddest of his defenses was to cast Sylvia as a drug addict -- as evidenced by needle marks on her arms. Thus, he implied, Sylvia had likely contributed to, if not caused, her own death. But, as noted in the autopsy, there were no needle marks on Sylvia's arms other than those caused by medical interventions. The only scars on her arms were burn scars.

Outcome Unknown

Sylvia's story vanishes from the newspapers after Miller's letters. I've been unable to determine if any action was taken by the medical board or the outcome of the lawsuit against him. 

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March 6, 1945: Beatrice's Journey to Sudden Death

SUMMARY: Beatrice Fisher, age 36, died on March 6, 1945 after an abortion perpetrated by Dr. Frank Hart in his Seattle, WA practice.

Starting the Fatal Journey

Beatrice Fern Fisher, age 36, operated a gas station and grocery store with her husband, Lyle, in Snohomish county, about seventeen miles north of Seattle. The couple had three children, aged 14, 13, and 4. Around 1937, Beatrice had successfully sought an abortion, performed by the same Seattle doctor who had delivered her oldest child. Around March 4 of 1945, Beatrice informed her husband that she was pregnant, and that she intended to return to Seattle for an abortion to be performed by the woman who'd done the first abortion. Her husband wasn't happy with the plan, but left the matter to his wife.

On March 5, Beatrice took her four-year-old daughter and $100 in cash and drove to Seattle to seek her former physician. On the way to Seattle, Beatrice stopped at the home of her mother-in-law, Ethel Howard. Mrs. Howard was a practical nurse. While at her mother-in-law's house, Beatrice called a "Dr. T" and spoke to him about having an abortion done. This was the first Mrs. Howard learned of the pregnancy.

At some point that morning, Beatrice called her husband and said that she'd not been able to talk to her doctor, but that the nurse at the doctor's office had referred her to "Dr. T" in Seattle.


Seeking "Doctor T"

Beatrice, her mother-in-law, and the little girl went to Seattle, to Dr. T's office. They arrived at around noon. Dr. T was not available, but his nurse gave Beatrice a business card from Dr. T. On the back, she wrote the name of 58-year-old Dr. Frank C. J. Hart, along with the address of his office in the Joshua Green building in Seattle.

Beatrice and her companions went to Hart's office, where they found a waiting room full of women but no nurse. Later, Hart came into the waiting room and announced, "Five of you women that came in just now leave and those that were here yesterday remain." Mrs. Howard left with the little girl, but Beatrice stayed.

The Trip Back Home

On the drive home, at about 5:00, Beatrice stopped at her mother-in-law's home. She said she had a severe headache. She was perspiring heavily. Mrs. Howard, following Dr. Hart's instructions, gave her daughter-in-law black tea and put a hot water bottle under her back. That was when she noticed that Beatrice's genitals were bandaged.

Beatrice stayed in bed for about 45 minutes, then got up for dinner with her in-laws. She left for home at about 8:30, stopping at the gas station to pick up her husband.

The Next Day

The following morning, Beatrice told her husband that she was returning to Dr. Hart to have "blood clots" removed. She looked tired. She took her daughter with her again, stopping again at her mother-in-law's house. The three went into Seattle, ate lunch, then went to Hart's office. During the trip, Beatrice reported chest and arm pain, and her face was flushed deep red.

At Hart's office, the women again found a waiting room full of women, but no nurse. Again, Hart made the announcement that those who were there for the first time were to leave, and the rest were to remain. He told Beatrice to proceed into the office. Mrs. Howard told Hart that she was very concerned about Beatrice. Hart told her, "This is no place for relations and children. Meet her downstairs in the lobby."

A Dreadful Surprise

Expecting her daughter-in-law to be ready to leave in about 20 minutes, Mrs. Howard went to do some shopping. On returning to the building, she found a crowd of people gathered in the lobby near the flower shop. Mrs. Howard approached the group and found Beatrice lying dead. She had collapsed and died on the spot.

The autopsy determined that Beatrice had been about two months pregnant. There were clear signs that somebody had performed a curettage. The uterine wall had been gouged in several places. Clots had formed over these gouges. The coroner concluded that one of these clots had formed an embolism that had lodged in Beatrice's lung, causing her death.

The Doctor Arrested

On March 7, Hart was arrested. He showed authorities through his premises and gave instruments into evidence, including sponge-forceps and irrigating curettes. When questioned, Hart said that he kept no patient records and didn't give receipts.

When the case went to trial, Hart insisted that he had only been treating Beatrice for complications of a self-induced abortion. Lyle signed a statement saying that two other doctors had refused to perform an abortion, asserting that it was too risky. This would indicate that Beatrice was willing to persist in finding a physician rather than resorting to a self-induced abortion.

Hart was convicted of abortion and manslaughter in Beatrice's death and was sentenced to concurrent sentences of 5 years and 20 years. He appealed but his conviction was upheld.

Hart died in the State Penitentiary in Walla Walla from "heart block" on September 29, 1948

Beatrice's Death in Context

Beatrice's abortion was typical of illegal abortions in that it was performed by a physician.

During the 1940s, while abortion was still illegal, there was a massive drop in maternal mortality from abortion. The death toll fell from 1,407 in 1940, to 744 in 1945, to 263 in 1950. Most researches attribute this plunge to the development of blood transfusion techniques and the introduction of antibiotics. 

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March 6, 1970: "Therapeutic" Abortion Leads to Lingering Death

According to an article in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 16-year-old girl underwent a second-trimester saline abortion on August 26, 1969. The article on her death identifies her as "F.S." 

F.S. developed an infection and symptoms of meningitis after her abortion. She continued to be treated for ten days before she was transferred to another hospital in San Francisco for further treatment.

Doctors performed two heart valve replacements for F.S, and had scheduled her for yet another before she died on March 6, 1970. The cause of death was severe congestive heart failure and pneumonia.

Life Dynamics identifies F.S. as "Fay" on their "Blackmun Wall" as having been killed by a legal abortion. A comment by an anonymous person on this blog gave her name, and a search found that her family did go public.

Francesca Sardina
Her name was Francesca Sardina, daughter of Manuel and Stah Sardina of Pittsburg, California.

News coverage of the lawsuit filed by Francesca's parents, she was only 14 years old, but other public records confirm that Francesca was 16 at the time of the abortion and turn 17 while languishing in the hospital. 

The Contra Costa Times said that Francesca was admitted to Contra Costa County Hospital on August 5 rather than August 26. The discrepancy might be because Francesca was admitted to the hospital on August 5 and the decision to perform an abortion was made later. The Richmond, California Independent says that the abortion had been performed on August 8. 

Regardless of the dates, while Francesca was still fighting for her life, her father had originally filed a personal injury suit for $320,000. After his daughter perished, Manuel upgraded the suit to a wrongful death suit for $720,000.

I've been unable to determine the outcome of the lawsuit.


Sources: 

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March 6, 1921: A Repeat Offender in Lima, Ohio

 Summary: Florence Cobb was one of five deaths attributed to Dr. Charles Waldstein Millikin in Akron, Ohio.

Background

Dr. C. W. Millikin

Charles Waldstein Millikin was a trained, licensed physician and very highly respected in his community. It's important to grasp this as we look at what he did with his training and license over a six-month period from October of 1920 through March of 1921.

The sixth son of Thomas and Tamar (Clark) Milliken, C.W. was born April 17, 1856 in Johnston, Trumbull County, Ohio. Milliken was an 1880 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia. He was licensed as an allopath in Ohio in 1896 after having served a residency at Harrisburg Hospital and Philadelphia Hospital in Pennsylvania. 

Millikin moved to Akron, Ohio in 1882.

In 1887, Milliken served as secretary of the 64th quarterly meeting of the Northeastern Ohio Medical Association. 

Things started going wrong when Milliken was around 64 years old, nearing retirement age.

He should have retired.

September and October, 1920 

Around September 23, 1920, Milliken performed a criminal abortion on 19-year-old Francis Karies at his Akron practice. I've been unable to determine anything about Francis's whereabouts or condition in the following weeks. 

However, Millikin was keeping busy. He performed an abortion on Maud Sporn, alias Spohr, on October 2. Had Millikin known that Francis was ailing when he turned his instruments on Maud? I've been unable to find out. But it should have been clear to Millikin that his ministrations were dubious when Maud died in Akron on October 13.

Somehow Francis ended up in Chicago, where she died at Swedish Covenant Hospital on October 23. The coroner recommended Milliken's arrest, but there is no record if any legal action was taken against him for Francis's death until, sadly, too much later. 

February Through March, 1921

No ill seems to have befallen any other women at Milliken's hands in November or December. Even January of 1921 got off to a good start. But things started going wrong in Millikin's practice in February.

Millikin was 65 in 1921 when Florence Cobb went to his practice for a criminal abortion on March 1. I've been unable to determine if she took ill right away, or the details of where she died. I have only a date, March 9, and that Millikin falsified her death certificate. He claimed that she had died of acute tuberculosis.

Funeral services at Billows' mortuary chapel interrupted on afternoon of October 10. Family had been planning to transport Ida's body to West Virginia for burial.

Coroner Kent performed post-mortem.

Millikin filed death certificate indicating acute tuberculosis. Health department issued burial certificate. Coroner found Ida's lungs in perfect condition but found evidence of septicemia. Removed organs and preserved them for prosecution.

Artie said he hadn't know about the abortion until Ida took ill and told him. Four young children. "Doyle stated tat the death of Mrs. Tripplett makes four in seven days all from the same causes, and each of them charged against Dr. Millikin.

Milliken was free on March 1 or 2, 1921 when he performed an abortion on Iva J. Triplett at his home office at 365 E. Market St. in Akron. Immediately after the abortion, Ida took ill. Millikin attended to her until her death from septicemia and peritonitis at 7:00 on the morning of March 9, leaving behind a husband and children. That was the third death in a week reported to Doyle.

Florence Cobb

As Ida lay dying under Milliken's care, he performed another criminal abortion which resulted in the March 6 death of 22-year-old telegraph operator Florence Heath Cobb, wife of Thomas Cobb of Kenmore, who worked for Goodyear Tire and Rubber. Died at Akron Hospital at 1:00 the afternoon of Sunday, March 6, 1921. Florence and Thomas had married only on the 22nd of the previous June. Her family brought her body to her home town of Salt Lake City for burial. Millikin arrested on the 5th while Florence was still alive, a few hours after the illness was reported to Doyle. Assistant prosecutors Scheck and Wanamaker visited Florence Cobb at City hospital on Saturday the 5th. She made a dying declaration saying Milliken had performed the fatal abortion. Her husband agreed. An autopsy showed that Florence had died as the result of an abortion. Florence, a graduate of the LDS University in Salt Lake City, had been a swimming instructor at Desert Gymnasium before moving to Akron, where she married Thomas Cobb on June 22, 1920.

"Doyle stated that when the first reports came to him he was loathe to place any credence on them inasmuch as the physician is reputed to be one off the best in Summit county and one, through his long residence and wide practice here has earned the reputation of being a man of high ideals." Had to order bodies exhumed.

"The physician who has practiced for 40 years or more in Akron and is well known to most of the older residents of the city and vicinity was arrested Saturday night when Doyle had been informed of the serious condition of Mrs. Cobb, and he was released on bond furnished by himself and A. G. Miller." Doyle wanted to await the April grand jury to present the four deaths.

On March 15, 1921, five more indictments were handed to the judge by the grand jury, for a total of seven at that point, some for the abortions, some for falsification of documents to cover up the abortions.

Louise Marie Vogt, 19, died of peritonitis on March 5, 1921 after an abortion perpetrated on February 26.

And what became of the illustrious Dr. C. W. Millikin after all of these deaths? He pleaded guilty for the death of Louise Marie Vogt in exchange for a suspended sentence, dismissal of the indictments for the four other deaths, and revocation of his medical license. Three judges, Anderson, C. P. Kennedy, and F. J. Rockwell pushed for clemency on the grounds that Millikin was old, a first-time offender, and an all-around great guy.

Judge Anderson further stated, "Courts have made the practice of late years of giving young first offenders that benefit of a parole, and we feel that this is a case where the court can do likewise. It is extremely hard at his age for this defendant to be in such trouble as he now finds himself in. This young woman was in trouble. He had treated the members of her family for 30 years, and when she came to him begging him to assist her he did so in order to protect her good name and that of the family. He is not really guilty, although technically he is. I have known him for a great many years, and have never known him to do an unkind act. The appeal of the woman in distress affected him, and he was justified, morally, in doing what he did. Although the publicity given him has caused the loss of his good name, he will always enjoy the confidence of his friends."

Judge Ahern chimed in, "Dr. Millikin has admitted his guilt, however, but on account of his past record and his many manifestations of public spiritedness the court feels that he is entitled to a suspended sentence."

Prosecutor Doyle merely commented that legally the judges had the authority to turn Millikin loose. His rather tight-lipped comments to reporters tend to indicate that he did not take kindly to the leniency granted to a man who had cost five young women their lives.

Milliken remained in Akron until his death from cerebral hemorrhage and chronic myocarditis on April 13, 1929. "Last Rites For Dr. Millikin To Be Held Tuesday," announced the April 15, 1929 Akron Beacon Journal. The notice sang his praises as a political and social figure. "Dr. Millikin's Death," published in another edition that same day, praised him to the skies: "In the death of Dr. C. W. Millikin this community loses another fine type of the old-time physician whose fifty years of service here spanned the interesting transit of Akron from village to city class. .... He was chief of staff of the City Hospital in 1915. He was a lover of nature and a member of the National Audubon society and the National Society of Natural Research Next to his professional work and his devotion to his friends, public service held his chief interest. This was expressed through his association with the Democratic party, of whose local organization he was often chairman. He sought no preferment for himself. Having no children of his own he sent many a student to and through college. He was a lover of children and of young people. One so kindly and gentle in character will be deeply missed in the circles where he was best known and highly regarded."

He likely was not so nearly highly regarded by the loved ones of Iva Triplet, Maud Sporn, Louise Marie Vogt, Florence Cobb, and Francis Karris. 

Sources:

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Thursday, March 05, 2026

March 5, 1980: Hospital Abortion Immediately Kills Patient

Grok AI illustration
Gwendolyn Cliett, age 29, was about to undergo a safe, legal abortion and tubal ligation at Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia on March 5, 1980. She was 8 to 10 weeks pregnant. 

Before the procedure could be done, Gwendolen reacted to the anesthesia and died. 

Gwendolyn, being a Black woman, was at higher risk of abortion death than a white woman would have been.


Sources: Pennsylvania Death Certificate # 029586; Philadelphia Common Pleas Court case#81-05-2770

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March 5, 1907: Woman Implicates Midwife on Deathbed

On March 5, 1907, Mrs. Ella Brunswick, age 24, died at St. Elizabeth's hospital in Chicago from complications of a criminal abortion performed that day. In a deathbed statement, Ella implicated a 35-year-old midwife named Kunigundi Hardman.

Ella's abortion was typical of Chicago abortions of the era in that it was perpetrated by a medical professional. Physician-abortionists and midwife-abortionists were very common.

Note, please, that with 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.

Watch Chicago Midwife's Fatal Work on YouTube.
Watch Chicago Midwife's Fatal Work on Rumble.

Sources: 

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March 5, 1900: Possible Lay Abortion in Chicago

On March 5, 1900, Mrs. Alice Koester died in German Hospital from complications of an illegal abortion evidently performed there that day by Maria Janke.

Janke was arrested March 10, and held by Coroner's Jury on March 11. She was sentenced by Judge Clifford to Joliet Penitentiary.

Janke's employment status is listed as "professional", but nothing more specific is indicated to clarify why she would be performing an illegal abortion in a hospital.

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.

Source: Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database

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Wednesday, March 04, 2026

1992–1996: Abortion Fails Liver Transplant Patient

“Bianca” was an alcoholic with liver cirrhosis caused by her addiction. She had recently undergone a liver transplant and was either on tacrolimus-based therapy or cyclosporine A. Unfortunately, tests indicated that she was rejecting the graft.

Six months after the transplant, Bianca became pregnant. When she told Mt. Sinai Hospital (where she underwent the transplant) that she was pregnant, they “advised” her to have an abortion. The first-trimester abortion was done at the hospital.

It didn’t save Bianca. She died a few weeks later, from transplant rejection or cytomegalovirus infection with sepsis.

Most of the women in the study who gave birth had good outcomes. Bianca’s death was sometime from 1992–1996. After 1997, with treatment being more advanced, there were no maternal deaths of liver transplant patients reported by the hospital— it was advances in health care that saved lives, not abortion.

Mt. Sinai was also responsible for the abortion death of Gail Mazo in 1978 (patient with ulcerative colitis who was “advised” into an abortion and drowned in her own vomit due to negligence).

Source: "Pregnancy outcome in liver transplant recipients," Obstetrics & Gynecology, Vol. 102, issue 1, July 2002




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March 4, 1921: Dr. Millikin's Killing Spree

Summary: Nineteen-year-old Francis Karies was one of five deaths attributed to Dr. Charles Waldstein Millikin in Akron, Ohio.

Background

Dr. C. W. Millikin

Charles Waldstein Millikin was a trained, licensed physician and very highly respected in his community. It's important to grasp this as we look at what he did with his training and license over a six-month period from October of 1920 through March of 1921.

The sixth son of Thomas and Tamar (Clark) Milliken, C.W. was born April 17, 1856 in Johnston, Trumbull County, Ohio. Milliken was an 1880 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia. He was licensed as an allopath in Ohio in 1896 after having served a residency at Harrisburg Hospital and Philadelphia Hospital in Pennsylvania. 

Millikin moved to Akron, Ohio in 1882.

In 1887, Milliken served as secretary of the 64th quarterly meeting of the Northeastern Ohio Medical Association. 

Things started going wrong when Milliken was around 64 years old, nearing retirement age.

He should have retired.

September and October, 1920 

Around September 23, 1920, Milliken performed a criminal abortion on 19-year-old Francis Karies (also sometimes spelled Kerris) at his Akron practice. I've been unable to determine anything about Francis's whereabouts or condition in the following weeks. 

However, Millikin was keeping busy. He performed an abortion on Maud Sporn, alias Spohr, on October 2. Had Millikin known that Francis was ailing when he turned his instruments on Maud? I've been unable to find out. But it should have been clear to Millikin that his ministrations were dubious when Maud died in Akron on October 13.

Somehow Francis ended up in Chicago, where she died at Swedish Covenant Hospital on October 23. The coroner recommended Milliken's arrest, but there is no record if any legal action was taken against him for Francis's death until, sadly, too much later. In fact, as far as I know, no authorities outside of Chicago seemed to take notice. The deaths of both Maud and Francis somehow flew under the radar.

February Through March, 1921

No ill seems to have befallen any other women at Milliken's hands in November or December. Even January of 1921 got off to a good start. But things started going wrong in Millikin's practice in February.

Millikin was 65 in 1921 when Iva Jean Tripplett, nee Isner, age 28, wife of Artie George Tripplett of Akron went to his practice for a criminal abortion on March 1. I've been unable to determine if she took ill right away, or the details of where she died. I have only a date, March 9, and that Millikin falsified her death certificate. He claimed that Iva had died of acute tuberculosis.

Funeral services at Billows' mortuary chapel interrupted on afternoon of October 10. Family had been planning to transport Ida's body to West Virginia for burial.

Coroner Kent performed post-mortem.

Millikin filed death certificate indicating acute tuberculosis. Health department issued burial certificate. Coroner found Ida's lungs in perfect condition but found evidence of septicemia. Removed organs and preserved them for prosecution.

Artie said he hadn't know about the abortion until Ida took ill and told him. Four young children. "Doyle stated tat the death of Mrs. Tripplett makes four in seven days all from the same causes, and each of them charged against Dr. Millikin.

Milliken was free on March 1 or 2, 1921 when he performed an abortion on Iva J. Triplett at his home office at 365 E. Market St. in Akron. Immediately after the abortion, Ida took ill. Millikin attended to her until her death from septicemia and peritonitis at 7:00 on the morning of March 9, leaving behind a husband and children. That was the third death in a week reported to Doyle.

Florence Cobb

As Ida lay dying under Milliken's care, he performed another criminal abortion which resulted in the March 6 death of 22-year-old telegraph operator Florence Heath Cobb, wife of Thomas Cobb of Kenmore, who worked for Goodyear Tire and Rubber. Died at Akron Hospital at 1:00 the afternoon of Sunday, March 6, 1921. Florence and Thomas had married only on the 22nd of the previous June. Her family brought her body to her home town of Salt Lake City for burial. Millikin arrested on the 5th while Florence was still alive, a few hours after the illness was reported to Doyle. Assistant prosecutors Scheck and Wanamaker visited Florence Cobb at City hospital on Saturday the 5th. She made a dying declaration saying Milliken had performed the fatal abortion. Her husband agreed. An autopsy showed that Florence had died as the result of an abortion. Florence, a graduate of the LDS University in Salt Lake City, had been a swimming instructor at Desert Gymnasium before moving to Akron, where she married Thomas Cobb on June 22, 1920.

"Doyle stated that when the first reports came to him he was loathe to place any credence on them inasmuch as the physician is reputed to be one off the best in Summit county and one, through his long residence and wide practice here has earned the reputation of being a man of high ideals." Had to order bodies exhumed.

"The physician who has practiced for 40 years or more in Akron and is well known to most of the older residents of the city and vicinity was arrested Saturday night when Doyle had been informed of the serious condition of Mrs. Cobb, and he was released on bond furnished by himself and A. G. Miller." Doyle wanted to await the April grand jury to present the four deaths.

On March 15, 1921, five more indictments were handed to the judge by the grand jury, for a total of seven at that point, some for the abortions, some for falsification of documents to cover up the abortions.

Louise Marie Vogt, 19, died of peritonitis on March 5, 1921 after an abortion perpetrated on February 26.

And what became of the illustrious Dr. C. W. Millikin after all of these deaths? He pleaded guilty for the death of Louise Marie Vogt in exchange for a suspended sentence, dismissal of the indictments for the four other deaths, and revocation of his medical license. Three judges, Anderson, C. P. Kennedy, and F. J. Rockwell pushed for clemency on the grounds that Millikin was old, a first-time offender, and an all-around great guy.

Judge Anderson further stated, "Courts have made the practice of late years of giving young first offenders that benefit of a parole, and we feel that this is a case where the court can do likewise. It is extremely hard at his age for this defendant to be in such trouble as he now finds himself in. This young woman was in trouble. He had treated the members of her family for 30 years, and when she came to him begging him to assist her he did so in order to protect her good name and that of the family. He is not really guilty, although technically he is. I have known him for a great many years, and have never known him to do an unkind act. The appeal of the woman in distress affected him, and he was justified, morally, in doing what he did. Although the publicity given him has caused the loss of his good name, he will always enjoy the confidence of his friends."

Judge Ahern chimed in, "Dr. Millikin has admitted his guilt, however, but on account of his past record and his many manifestations of public spiritedness the court feels that he is entitled to a suspended sentence."

Prosecutor Doyle merely commented that legally the judges had the authority to turn Millikin loose. His rather tight-lipped comments to reporters tend to indicate that he did not take kindly to the leniency granted to a man who had cost five young women their lives.

Milliken remained in Akron until his death from cerebral hemorrhage and chronic myocarditis on April 13, 1929. "Last Rites For Dr. Millikin To Be Held Tuesday," announced the April 15, 1929 Akron Beacon Journal. The notice sang his praises as a political and social figure. "Dr. Millikin's Death," published in another edition that same day, praised him to the skies: "In the death of Dr. C. W. Millikin this community loses another fine type of the old-time physician whose fifty years of service here spanned the interesting transit of Akron from village to city class. .... He was chief of staff of the City Hospital in 1915. He was a lover of nature and a member of the National Audubon society and the National Society of Natural Research Next to his professional work and his devotion to his friends, public service held his chief interest. This was expressed through his association with the Democratic party, of whose local organization he was often chairman. He sought no preferment for himself. Having no children of his own he sent many a student to and through college. He was a lover of children and of young people. One so kindly and gentle in character will be deeply missed in the circles where he was best known and highly regarded."

He likely was not so nearly highly regarded by the loved ones of Iva Triplet, Maud Sporn, Louise Marie Vogt, Florence Cobb, and Francis Karris. 

Sources:

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