The Amazing "Dr." Karman
Mother's Day in Philly
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On Mother's Day of 1972, the bus load of Jane clients arrived at the Philadelphia mill. It was a circus. Karman had invited a public television station in New York to send a film crew. Local feminists, who did not share Jane's enthusiasm for Harvey, protested outside. Arlen Spector, who was then Attorney General of Pennsylvania, was scratching his head over what do to. Abortionists across the country were openly breaking the law in order to get arrested so that they could challenge the laws in court. Spector wasn't thrilled about the clinic, but he also didn't want to make a big show of a spectacular raid and arrest only to have the arrest thrown out through Constitutional wrangling.

Meanwhile, Harvey and his associates started packing the women with "super coils." Outside, the protestors were letting the air out of the bus tires. Keeping sloppy records, working well into the night, the abortion team managed to pack the 15 patients selected for "super coil" abortions by the early morning hours. One woman ended up hospitalized in Pennsylvania due to lacerations. Others needed to be hospitalized upon return to Chicago. Local health authorities contacted the Centers for Disease Control, which investigated and found that two of the patients had been lost to follow-up, one required a hysterectomy, one was hospitalized for twenty days with infection, and one continued to bleed until she became anemic. In total, nine of the 13 patients who could be tracked down had suffered complications. The CDC suggested that, "Until the super-coil abortion technique is demonstrated to be safe in the hands of competent medical personnel and in a controlled research setting, the CDC findings suggest that it is not appropriate for use by paramedical personnel."

Meanwhile, Harvey returned to California and continued to get arrested for running illegal abortion clinics and performing menstrual extractions. After Roe v. Wade, Harvey faded away into obscurity and oblivion. He is remembered by the Jane syndicate members (one of whom immortalized him with the bodice-ripper-hero name "Jordan Bennet" in her book, The Story of Jane, see below) and assorted abortion historians. Planned Parenthood recently revamped Harvey's old ME technique and, in a wise public relations move, decided to pass it off as a new technology rather than drag their colorful buddy back into the public awareness.

Whenever you hear abortion promoters talk about the newest, safest abortion technique, remember Harvey and his "super coils." They were the magic bullet in their day, too.


Sources:
1. Bernard N. Nathanson, Aborting America, Life Cycle Books, 1979
2. Centers for Disease Control Abortion Surviellance 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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