| Lola Madison, Criminal Abortion Death | |
 | |
On March 2, 1906, Miss Lola Madison of Salt Lake City, Utah, died from an abortion at Passavant Hospital in Chicago. She was 28 years old. She died the same day the abortion was performed. The location of the offense is listed as a medical facility, and it might be that the abortion was actually performed there, at the hospital. Mrs. Lucy Hagenow, a physician and known abortionist, was arrested and held by the coroner's jury March 3. She was listed as a midwife on the source document, but at that time female physicians were often identifed as midwives. For reasons not given, the case was dropped on July 22, 1907. There were a number of deaths in Chicago attributed to either a Lucy Hagenow or a Louise Hagenow, who are actually the same woman. The deaths include: Hagenow was typical of criminal abortionists in that she was a doctor. 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. For more about abortion and abortion deaths in the first years of the 20th century, see Abortion Deaths 1900-1909.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Sources:
Like this link graphic? Click here to learn how to add it to your web page.
|
|
