Barbara Covington

Barbara Covington1960s, 30s, newyork, illegaldoctorSUMMARY: Barbara Covington, age 35, died on September 11, 1962 after an abortion perpetrated in New York by Dr. Mandel M. Friedman.

Barbara Covington
Gynecologist Mandel M. Friedman, age 53, was charged with homicide in the September 11, 1962 death of Barbara Clarke Covington, age 35, a Florida socialite and Chi Omega Sorority sister.

Friedman was out on bail for the death of Vivian Grant.

Barbara, a divorcee, was the daughter of the late DeCarr Dowman Covington Sr., a wealthy Florida citrus grower, and was the sister of the Democratic Florida State Senate nominee D. D. Covington Jr. She had been living with her mother in New York.

A 31-year-old Madison Avenue advertising executive, Franklin Charles Beck, admitted to securing the $1,000 abortion fee and driving Barbara to Friedman’s office.He told police, “I loved her. I wanted to marry her. I did not want her to go through with this thing.” He waited for about an hour while Friedman operated, only to have the doctor come out and announce, “She’s gone.”

Beck initially went along with Friedman’s plan to attribute Barbara’s death to a heart ailment, but when Friedman tried to get an undertaker to arrange for the removal of Barbara’s body, the undertaker reported the case to authorities, who immediately recognized Friedman’s name and suspected illegal activities. Barbara’s body was taken to the morgue at Queens General Hospital for autopsy.

Beck was questioned and offered a 10-page statement. Friedman was questioned by authorities and released on $10,000 bail shortly after midnight, pending completion of the autopsy. He was scheduled to surrender to the Queens District Attorney’s Office. Instead he fled, leading to a 13-state manhunt that ended quickly. Friedman surrendered, accompanied by his attorney and refusing to give any statement other than his name, age, address, and occupation. After legal wrangling, Friedman entered a plea bargain, getting a manslaughter charge dropped and being sentenced to only two to four years at Sing-Sing.

Barbara’s abortion was typical in that it was performed by a doctor, as was the case with perhaps 90% of criminal abortions.

In the 1960s, we see the 20th Century downward trend in abortion mortality resumed — until a brief upturn starting in 1968, when some states first started loosening their abortion laws. For more, see Abortion Deaths in the 1960’s.

For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

Sources:

New York Times 9-13-62, 9-14-62;
“Pasco Woman Abortion Death Doctor Sought,” AP story in the St. Petersburg Times, Sept. 13, 1962;
“Doctor Flees in Abortion Death of Florida Divorcee,” AP story in The Evening Independent, Sept. 13, 1962;
“Doctor is Indicted in Abortion,” AP story in The Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Oct.23, 1962;
“Gynecologist Sent to Prison for Abortion,” AP story in The Evening Independent, Dec. 11, 1963;
“Physician Surrenders in Abortion,” AP story in St. Petersburg Times, Sept. 14, 1962

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Barbara Covington