| The Amazing "Dr." Karman | |
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If you came in on this page, please begin reading on Page 1. Harvey credits himself with having invented "menstrual extraction," or ME, a type of early abortion using a large syringe to create the suction. In this case, he appeared to have been telling the truth, since articles in both lay and medical periodicals universally lay "ME" on Harvey's doorstep. He joined up with the Federation of Feminist Women's Health Centers in promoting ME as a safe, do-it-yourself kind of abortion. Some women still get together and do each other's abortions with Harvey's technique. Harvey also invented the flexible Karman canula, still in use today by abortionists. Harvey attended various abortion symposia, presenting his ideas about how ME and "super coils" would make abortions so simple that anybody could be trained to do them safely. The government of Bangladesh, along with the International Planned Parenthood Federation, imported Harvey to teach untrained local women in his ME and "super coil" abortions for use on women raped by soldiers. Harvey himself tried a variation of the "super coil" abortion by augmenting the plastic springs with pieces of balsa wood. His complication rate was spectacular, resulting in infections and perforations and nearly killing a large number of his patients. Harvey scuttled back to the United States and looked for more guinea pigs. In the mean time, the Jane syndicate in Chicago was doing a thriving criminal abortion business. They were also under intense police surveilance. They knew Harvey, whom they had invited to Chicago to teach them ME. When the Jane ring was raided, those members who hadn't been arrested scrambled to find abortionists for the scheduled patients. They approached Harvey, and he agreed to try his "super coils" on the Jane customers. He made arrangements to use the facilities of an openly operating criminal abortion facility in Philadelphia. Jane chartered a bus to take the women to Pennsylvania. Next: Mothers Day in Philly Sources: **** Visit the RealChoice blog
1. Bernard N. Nathanson, Aborting America, Life Cycle Books, 1979
2. Centers for Disease Control Abortion Surveilance 1972, issued 1974
New York Times, 12/13/72
3. Judith P. Bourne, R.M., et al., "Medical Complications from Induced Abortion by the Super Coil Method," Health Services Report v. 89, n. 1, January-February 1974
4. Laura Kaplan, The Story of Jane, University of Chicago Press, 1997
5. Mark Crutcher, Lime 5, Life Dynamics, 1996
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