I can understand how, presented with material put out by groups that support legal abortion, a person could blame abortion’s legal status for the carnage before Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion across America. After all, there are far fewer deaths per year from abortion post-Roe, when it’s legal, than there were when it was illegal. But there is a difference between correlation and causality — just because two things happen at the same time doesn’t mean one caused the other.

For example, if you have a high fever, and are very congested, it would be wrong to conclude that the fever is causing the congestion, or that the congestion is causing the fever. Both would have their real cause in whatever virus or bacterium was making you ill.

Many things changed between the years tabulated in the Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database and the post-Roe world of legal abortion. Antibiotics were developed and became widespread and were refined and improved. Blood typing and transfusions were developed. Our understanding of what causes, and how to treat, hypovolemic shock has progressed considerably. Doctors have become more aware of the need to keep things clean and sanitary, and to sterilize instruments. Better nutrition has made women healthier in the first place. Improved sanitation reduced the overall filth that caused many infections.

To single out legalization, and to ignore the real factors, is to mistake coincidence for cause. And if you look at maternal mortality throughout the 20th Century, you can see that there wasn’t any change in the trend at all with legalization of abortion:

Clearly something other than legalization was saving women’s lives. And if you don’t have that in mind, it’s easy to believe what abortion supporters say — that it was legalization, not all the many improvements in health, hygiene, nutrition, and medicine — that had such a dramatic impact on maternal mortality.

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Pre-Roe Abortion Deaths

The following deaths are listed in alphabetical order by the woman’s last name. Women whose names aren’t given in source documents are given the surname “Roe” unless another source gives them a different pseudonym.
You will notice that not all of these women’s abortions were illegal. This is because some states legalized abortion for various reasons before Roe vs. Wade

• Annie Allison
• In September of 1923, 44-year-old Annie Allison of Brooklyn died at the office of chiropractor Henry Lee Mottard, who practiced under the name of Dr. Henry L. Green.
• Anna Anderson
• In October of 1915, Anna Anderson, a 25-year-old unmarried woman, went to the office of Dr. A. A. Ausplund.
• Olive Ash
• Accompanied by her twin sister, Olivia, Olive went to Dr. William Howard’s home to secure an abortion in 1858.
• Doris Becker
• In December of 1948, Dr. Cyril B. Babb pleaded guilty to performing a fatal abortion on Doris Becker the previous Wednesday in his office.
• Kerneda Bennett
• Sometime between 1942 and 1949, Iva Rodeffer Davis Coffman performed an abortion on Kerneda C. Bennett, resulting in her death.
• Hughretta Binkley
• At lunchtime on the first of April, 1898, Hughretta “Etta” Binkley went to the residence/office of Dr.Belle Howard, aka Belle Shotwell, for an illegal abortion.
• Cassandra Bleavins
• Cassandra Bleavins, a 20-year-old clerk, had an abortion performed on her at John Wesley Hospital, owned by Los Angeles County, in September of 1971.
• Cora Burke
• Cora A. Burke was a 20-year-old who had been widowed about five months. In May of 1899, Cora told Mrs. Martha Johnson that she was about six weeks pregnant and wanted to find a good doctor to perform an abortion. Mrs. Johnson introduced Cora to Dr. R. J. Alcorn.
• Annette Camoratto
• In May of 1934, 19-year-old actress Annette Camoratto, stage name Toni Morgan, died of abortion complications. Dr. Harry A Felice was charged with homicide in Annette’s death.
• Vivian Campbell
• According to the National Organization for Women web site, Vivian Campbell obtained some sort of illegal abortion, then died of peritonitis in May of 1950.
• Amelia Cardito
• In February of 1944, Amelia Cardito, 34-year-old mother of 4, underwent an illegal abortion at the office of Dr. Anthony Renda.
• Joyce Chorney
• Joyce Chorney, age 25, died Wednesday, in November of 1953. Fifty-four-year-old Dr. Alfred Joseph was charged with criminal abortion in her death.
• Helen Clark
• Sarah Howe, age 57, had been blind since she was three years old. Howe was charged with abortion and with manslaughter in the death of 23-year-old Helen Clark. Helen died in September of 1941.
• Virginia Clark
• In February of 1929, Virginia Clark died of complications of a botched, illegal abortion. Virginia was treated prior to her death by a Dr. McArthur, who said that Virginia told him that when she learned that she was pregnant, and the man responsible made arrarrangements for an abortion to be performed by a doctor.
• Alice Corbett
• In October of1939, Miss Alice Corbett, age 28, of Brooklyn, New York, died from complications of an illegal abortion. Dr. Allen F. Murphy was sentenced to 2-10 years in Sing-Sing for Alice’s death.
• Twila Coulter
• In November of 1972, 21-year-old Twila traveled from her home in Colorado to California for a saline abortion.
• Barbara Covington
• Dr. Mandel M. Friedman was charged with homicide in the September, 1962 death of Barbara C. Covington, age 35, a Florida socialite.
• Katherine Cross
• Katherine was one of two women to die in as many months at the hands of Dr. A.H. Yates in 1917.
• Isabell Cuda
• In November of 1952, Isabell Cuda went to the home of Mary Murawsky in Rockford, Illinois, for an illegal abortion.
• Mary Davies
• In December of 1956, 26-year-old Mary Davies of New York City arrived in the Ashland, Pennsylvania office of abortionist Dr. Robert Douglas Spencer. She was seeking an abortion.
• Margaret Davis
• Margaret Davis was a 33-year-old homemaker who underwent an abortion at Windsor Hills Hospital in Los Angeles County. Christopher Dotson began the abortion in July of 1971.
• Katherine DiDonato
• In October of 1936, 26-year-old Katherine DiDonato, mother of two, was admitted to Roosevelt Hospital to be treated for complications of a criminal abortion. Detectives were told that Katherine had bought pills from drug clerk Hyman Kantor, who had then recommended Dr. Aloysius Mulholland to perform an abortion.
• Gwendolyn Drummer
• Fifteen-year-old Gwendolyn Drummer was a student at Harry Ellis High in Richmond, California, when she was admitted to Doctor’s Hospital of Pinole for a legal abortion.
• Clara Duvall
• According to the National Organization for Women web site, Clara Bell Duvall was a 32-year-old married mother of five, aged 6 months to 12 years. NOW says that Clara attempted a self-induced abortion with a knitting needle and died in March of 1929.
• Ilene Eagan
• In March of 1947, Ilene Eagen was brought to Mankato, Minnesota, to the dental office of W. A. Groebner for an abortion.
• Loretta Enders
• Dr. Amenti Rongetti’s death sentence was handed down by a Chicago jury in March of 1928. Rongetti had been convicted of murder in the abortion death of 19-year-old Loretta Enders.
• Marie Epperson
• The total number of deaths attributed to Oklahoma abortion doctors Thacker and Elsiminger was eight. Marie Epperson died in 1930.
• Edith Eschrich
• On New Years Eve of 1935, criminal abortion charges were dropped against Dr. Tobias Ginsberg, and his nurse, because of insufficient evidence. The two were suspects in the death of 24-year-old Mrs. Edith Eschrich.
• Isobel Ferguson
• In April of 1932, Mrs. Isobel F. Ferguson died of suspected abortion complications. Two physicians in the University of Oklahoma area, J. W. Elsiminger and Richard E. Thacker, were suspected in the case.
• Beatrice Fisher
• In 1945, Beatrice Fern Fisher died after an abortion performed in his office by Dr. Frank C. Hart in Seattle.
• Janet Foster
• Eighteen-year-old Janet Foster underwent an abortion at the hands of Richard Neal at Valley Doctors’ Hospital in North Hollywood, California in September of 1971.
• Ruth Friedl
• According to the National Organization for Women web site, Ruth Irene Friedl was a married, 27-year-old mother of two. NOW says that Ruth drank ergot apiol, an herbal abortifacient, in August of 1929.
• Anna Gosch
• Anna Gosch died in March of 1906, after either she or her boyfriend performed an abortion with a catheter.
• Doris Grant
• Doris Grant, age 32, was admitted by W. W. Williams to Doctor’s Hospital in Los Angeles for an abortion in February of 1971.
• Vivian Grant
• In January of 1961, Dr. Mandel M. Friedman contacted a Queens undertaker, asking him to arrange burial for 23-year-old Vivian Grant of New York.
• Edith Green
• Edith’s boyfriend admitted to police that he had arranged for an abortion to be performed on Edith by Dr. Thomas E. Walsh in 1926.
• Jolene Griffith
• In March of 1962, Dr. J. Bryan Henrie, an osteopath, performed an abortion on Jolene Joyce Griffith, at his clinic in Grove, Oklahoma.
• Ruth Hall
• In April of 1932, Ruth Hall died of suspected abortion complications. Oklahoma City abortion doctors Elsiminger and Thacker were suspects.
• Barbara Hanson
• In October of 1939, the body of Barbara Hanson, age 21, was found in a Houston, Texas, motel room. James Carter and George F. Norton pleaded guilty to performing the abortion that killed Barbara.
• Arretta Hardesty
• In 1928, Roy E. Hardesty won an award of $5,000 for the death of his wife, Arretta. Arretta had paid a physician, John T. Martin, $10 for the abortion, which was performed surgically.
• Ada Hawk
• John O. Edmonson was convicted of manslaughter in the second degree after an abortion he arranged resulted in the death of his paramour, 20-year-old Ada Hawk. Ada died some time before 1895.
• Eleanor Haynes
• Eleanor Haynes, age 22, died at Hackensack Hospital in New Jersey in October, 1937, after indicating that Dr. P. Ralph McFeely had performed an abortion on her.
• Betty Hines
• Betty Hines was 21 years old when she was checked into Doctors Hospital in California for an abortion to be performed by Dr. A. Mitchell in July, 1971.
• Denise Holmes
• Denise Holmes, a 24-year-old Australian woman living in Texas, decided to undergo an abortion at Avalon Hospital in Los Angeles, California, on her way home for Christmas of 1970.
• Anna Johnson
• In late May, 1915, Anna Johnson died from an abortion performed by Dr. Eva Shaver, who then shot the dead woman in the head to disguise the death as a suicide.
• Joyce Johnson
• In early April, 1955, Karvey Karman met Joyce Johnson in a motel room and, using a speculum, inserted a nutcracker into Joyce in order to perform an abortion.
• Joy Joy
• In May, 1950, Annis Whitlow Brown performed an abortion on Joy M. Joy, the unmarried mother of a six-year-old daughter.
• Alice Kimberly
• In February of 1957, veterinarian Ira Ledbetter performed an abortion on Alice Kimberly.
• Mary Kirkpatrick
• Mary Kirkpatrick was a 16-year-old mill worker in New Jersey in 1859. She and her boss became sexually involved, and Mary became pregnant. Mary’s boss obtained an abortifacient, which he gave to Mary.
• Betty Ladel
• Sylvia Redman, who had a license to practice naturopathy, signed a written confession in October, 1954 regarding the death of Betty Ladel.
• Harriet Larocque
• Abraham Conheim had promised marriage to 19-year-old Harriet Larocque. In April of 1902, Harriet discovered that she was pregnant. Conheim reneged on his promise of marriage, and instead arranged a criminal abortion for her.
• Asunta La Rosa
• In early May, 1938, Mrs. Genevieve Horton, a practical nurse, was released on bail pending trial in an abortion case. After being released, Horton performed an abortion on 29-year-old Mrs. Asunta La Rosa, a mother of three.
• Nancy Jo Lee
• In April of 1932, a young woman died of abortion complications — 17-year-old Nancy Jo Lee, a University of Oklahoma co-ed. Richard E. Thacker, a surgeon, was charged with the death.
• Harriet Lichtenberg
• In October of 1942, 23-year-old Harriet Lichtenberg of Brooklyn died in Royal Hospital, the Bronx, from suspected criminal abortion complications. Dr. Henry Katz was indicted for first degree manslaughter in Harriet’s death.
• Sara Lint
• Sara Franki Lint, a 22-year-old coed, submitted to an abortion at San Vicente Hospital in Los Angeles, California, in August of 1970.
• Rose Lipner
• Rose died at Riverdale (maternity) Hospital in late January, 1936. Dr. Maxwell C. Katz, who both operated and lived at Riverdale, signed a death certificate. After the funeral, an anonymous caller notified the police that Rose’s death was suspicious. Authorities had Rose’s body exhumed, and an autopsy showed that Rose had died from an illegal abortion.
• Barbara Lofrumento
• Barbara, a 19-year-old college student, informed her parents that she was pregnant in 1962. Mr. and Mrs. Lofrumento arranged for an abortion by Dr. Harvey Lothringer.
• Elva Lozada
• Elva Lozada is listed on the Life Dynamics “Tombstone Project” poster as having died in California from a legal abortion in 1964.
• Sharon Margrave
• Little is known about Sharon, but in May of 1970, she died following a legal abortion in Los Angeles County, California. She was 25 years old.
• Dorothy Martin
• In late July, 1949, on the basis of a third-party referral, Dorothy Martin went to the home of P.D. Beigun for an abortion.
• Margaret Marts
• Mrs. Marts went to a Dr. Anderson, who she’d previously never seen, in January of 1920. He did not examine her, but made arrangements to go to her home around noon the following day to perform “an operation.”
• Lillian McCullough
• In 1926, Dr. James P. A. Nolan was arrested for the criminal abortion death of 18-year-old Lillian McCullough.
• Madeline McGeehan
• In November, 1942, 26-year-old Madeline McGeehan died at Prospect Hospital in New York after an illegal abortion. Arrested were Dr. Joseph Nisonoff; his nurse, Camille Ewald; his receptionist, Pearl Tense; and Dr. Max J. Weinstein, who was thought to have referred Madeline to Nisonoff.
• Natalie Meyers
• Sixteen-year-old Natalie was brought to San Vicente Hospital in Los Angeles by her mother in October, 1972.
• Cleo Moore
• In late March, 1942, 19-year-old Cleo Florence Moore died at New Rochelle Hospital in New York from peritonitis from an illegal abortion. Upon admission, Cleo told authorities that she had taken some pills to induce the abortion, but before her death she changed her story and said that Dr. Frank F. Marino had performed the fatal abortion.
• Katherine Morse
• After California legalized abortion on demand in 1970, a Texas company began selling abortion referrals and air fare. Twenty-year-old Katherine Morse was one customer. Katherine was admitted to Bel Air Memorial Hospital in LA County on the first of September, 1972.
• Emily Nohavec
• Emma Bickel, a 59-year-old midwife, was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Emily Nohavec of St. Louis in 1913.
• Maria Ortega
• Twenty-three-year-old Maria Hernandez Ortega traveled from her home in Massachusetts for a legal abortion my Dr. Armida Zepeta in her New York office in October, 1970.
• Viola Parr
• In February of 1919, W. G. Waters and M. T. Summerlin performed an abortion on Viola Parr with instruments of some sort, causing her death.
• Agnes Pearson
• In late July of 1941, Mrs. Agnes Pearson of White Plains, New York died at Grasslands Hospital in New York of suspected complications from an abortion. Dr. Nathan Schwartz and Dr. Samuel Schwartz (not related) were charged with manslaughter in Agnes’ death.
• Erika Peterson
• Erika Peterson, age 28, died in July, 1961 during an abortion at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California.
• Magdalena Philippi
• In mid-March, 1869, Magdalena Philippi died of complications of an abortion performed on her, evidently by a Dr. Gabriel Wolff.
• Gertrude Pinsky
• Operating on a tip, police, accompanied by an ambulance, broke into a private home in the Bronx, in early April, 1954. There they found Gertrude Pinsky, age 35, dead from septic poisoning from an illegal abortion. Police arrested Florence Cavalluzzo, a resident of the home, and Hugo Francese, an unlicensed physician.
• Gene Raligh
• Sometime in the early part of the 20th century, physician and surgeon H. W. Coulter performed an abortion upon Gene Raligh, leading to her death from septicemia.
• Virginia Rappe
• An aspiring actress, 25-year-old Virginia Rappe, took ill under strange circumstances at a weekend party Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was holding at a San Francisco hotel in September, 1921. Four days later, she was dead.
• Mrs. F.S. Roach
• In April, 1932, Mrs. F. S. Roach died of suspected abortion complications. Oklahoma abortion doctors Elsiminger and Thacker were suspected in the case.
• “Alice” Roe
• Alice was 31 years old when she underwent a 14-week saline abortion in New York City.
• “Amanda” Roe
• Amanda was 19 years old when she traveled from Indiana to New York for a legal abortion in 1970.
• “Amy” Roe
• Amy was 35 years old when she had a legal abortion on Christmas Eve of 1970.
• “Andrea” Roe
• Andrea was 26 years old when she underwent a legal abortion at a New York City abortion facility in January of 1971.
• “Anita” Roe
• Anita was a 23-year-old mother of two when she chose safe and legal abortion in 1971.
• “Annie” Roe
• Annie traveled from New Jersey to New York for a first-trimester abortion in June of 1971.
• “April” Roe
• April was 17 years old when she underwent a saline abortion in New York City in August of 1971.
• “Audrey” Roe
• Audrey was 44 years old when she underwent a first-trimester abortion in New York in July of 1971.
• “Barbara” Roe
• Barbara was 35 years old when she traveled from Michigan to New York for a safe and legal abortion in 1971.
• “Becky” Roe
• Becky was 18 years old when she traveled from Arkansas to New York for a safe and legal abortion. She was 14 weeks pregnant.
• “Beth” Roe
• Beth was 23 years old when she traveled from Massachusetts to New York for an abortion in 1971.
• “Cindy” Roe
• Cindy was 25 years old when she submitted to an abortion in 1972. She was nine weeks pregnant and the abortion was performed by vacuum aspiration.
• “Colleen” Roe
• In early March of 1972, Colleen traveled from Michigan to New York for a safe and legal abortion. She was 21 years old and 20 weeks pregnant.
• “Connie” Roe
• Connie was 31 years old when she underwent a safe and legal abortion in New York in early March, 1972.
• “Danielle” Roe
• Danielle, age 18, had traveled from Massachusetts to New York for a safe and legal abortion. In mid-May, 1972, the abortion was performed. Minutes after the abortion was completed, Danielle was dead.
• “Dawn” Roe
• Dawn was 29 years old and 7 weeks pregnant when she underwent a legal abortion in August of 1972.
• “Helen” Roe
• Some time prior to 1951, Annas Witlow Brown was convicted of manslaughter in the abortion death of a woman whose name I’ve been unable to determine. I’ll refer to her as “Helen” Roe.
• Jane Roe of ’37
• In late December of 1941, Dr. Samuel Roth was sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the illegal abortion death of a woman. Roth, whose license was suspended at the time, performed the abortion in his office in mid-January of 1937.
• Jane Roe of Newark
• Dr. Charles I. Gordon pleaded guilty in the 1937 abortion death of a Newark woman.
• “Judy” Roe
• Judy was a 42-year-old mother of four from upstate New York when she chose safe and legal abortion in 1970.
• “Julie” Roe
• Julie was only 14 years old when she underwent an abortion in New York in March, 1972.
• “Kimberly” Roe
• Kimberly was 25 years old and 18 weeks pregnant when she underwent an abortion in New York City in December, 1970.
• “Lori” Roe
• Lori was 17 years old and 16 weeks pregnnat when she was admitted to a Maryland hospital for a saline abortion between July and December of 1970.
• “Mary” Roe
• Mary was 19 years old when she checked into a Los Angeles hospital for a first-trimester abortion some time before 1973.
• “Monica” Roe
• Monica was a 31-year-old mother of five. She requested an abortion when she was 8 weeks pregnant in 1971.
• “Nancy” Roe
• Nancy was 16 years old, and 16 weeks pregnant, when she underwent a saline abortion in 1972.
• “Nina” Roe
• In February of 1933, a 22-year-old unmarried store clerk discovered that she was pregnant. In April, Nina went to a nursing home operated by a nurse to ask about an abortion. The nurse informed the woman and her lover that Dr. E. T. Martin or another doctor would be able to perform an abortion.
• “Patsy” Roe
• In early February, 1924, Ida Cantor performed an abortion on a woman not named in Westlaw summaries. I’ll refer to her as “Patsy” Roe.
• “Robin” Roe
• In February of 1972, 21-year-old Robin traveled from Massachusetts to New York for a first trimester abortion.
• “Roseanne” Roe
• Roseanne was in the second trimester of pregnancy when she chose safe and legal abortion in 1971. She was 37 years old, had had four children.
• “Roxanne” Roe
• Roxanne was 17 years old when she traveled to New York from Michigan to have a first-trimester abortion in a doctor’s office. The doctor gave her sedatives and local anesthesia to begin the abortion in mid-May, 1972.
• “Sandra” Roe
• Sandra was 18 years old when she underwent a first-trimester abortion procedure in New York in April of 1971. Three days later, Sandra killed herself.
• “Sara” Roe
• Sara underwent a second trimester abortion in New York City in May of 1972.
• “Sheryl” Roe
• Sheryl was 23 years old when she chose abortion. She had a history of sickle cell anemia and three live births. She was in her first trimester of pregnancy when she underwent the abortion in July of 1970.
• “Tammy” Roe
• Tammy traveled from Ohio to New York to undergo an abortion, which was performed in September, 1971. She was 33 years old.
• “Vicky” Roe
• Vicki was 23 years old in August of 1971 when she underwent an abortion in New York state. Saline was injected into her uterus to begin the abortion. The next day, she began to show signs of infection. She died of sepsis.
• “Wendy” Roe
• Wendy was 23 years old and 16 weeks pregnant when she sought an abortion in 1972.
• LaSandra Russ
• Twenty-year-old LaSandra Russ, from Berkley, California, went to Los Angeles to have an abortion in December, 1971.
• F.S.
• A 16-year-old girl underwent a second-trimester saline abortion in late August, 1969.
• Stella Saenz
• Stella Saenz, age 42, had arranged for a legal abortion in the spring of 1968.
• Geraldine Santoro
• Gerri Santoro died of an illegal abortion performed by her boyfriend in 1964.
• Sylvia Sawdy
• In December, 1885, Sylvia Sawdy went to Grand Rapids by train. There, she let her boyfriend perform an abortion on her.
• Carole Schaner
• Carole Schaner was 37 years old when she traveled from Ohio to Buffalo, New York, for a safe and legal abortion. Dr. Jesse Ketchum performed a vaginal hysterotomy abortion in October, 1971.
• Florence Schnoor
• On Valentine’s Day, 1942, Florence Nimick Schnoor, age 24, died at St. Joseph’s Hospital in New York of what the coroner called a “brutal and inept” illegal abortion. I’m classifying this as amateur rather than “unknown” because no doctor was charged in the case.
• Dorothy Schultz
• Dorothy Schultz, 19 years of age, became pregnant in June of 1929. On June 15 or 16, Dorothy’s mother brought her to Dr. W. B. Parke in Camp Douglas to arrange an abortion. He examined her and agreed to do an abortion for $150.
• Rita Shea
• Queens patrolman Howard Bailey, morgue attendant Victor Genz, and a Texas medical student, Benjamin Lockhart, were arrested in the December, 1965 abortion death of Rita Shea, a 33-year-old Long Island woman.
• Jacqueline Smith
• In December of 1955, Jackie told her boyfriend that she was pregnant. He did not want to marry Jackie and instead arranged for a scrub nurse, Leobaldo Pejuan, to perform an abortion on Christmas Eve.
• Margaret Louise Smith
• Twenty-five-year-old Margaret Smith traveled from Michigan to New York for an abortion because she had been exposed to rubella. Her abortionist, Jesse Ketchum, performed a vaginal hysterotomy on Margaret in June of 1971.
• Eliza Sowers
• A Philadelphia boarding house owner reported that in early October of 1839, a Dr. Henry Chauncey appeared at breakfast time and had her make some special tea. The tea was given to 21-year-old Eliza Sowers, a paper mill worker.
• Elise Stone
• Elise was one of two women to die in as many months at the hands of Dr. A.H. Yates in 1917.
• Kathryn Strong
• In January of 1972, 26-year-old Kathryn Strong went to Civic Center Hospital in Oakland, California for a legal abortion that was to be performed by Dr. Harold Van Maren.
• Eva Swan
• In September of 1910, Eva died after a “Dr. Grant” performed an abortion on her. “Dr. Grant,” it turned out, was actually a Dr. Robert Thompson, a graduate of Dartmouth and Baltimore Medical College.
• Robbie Lou Thompson
• In 1932, Richard E. Thacker, a surgeon, was charged with murder in the abortion death of Robbie Lou Thompson.
• Iva Triplett
• On the first of March, 1921, Dr. C.W. Milliken performed an abortion on Iva J. Triplett.
• Cheryl Vosseler
• Cheryl Vosseler was 17 years old when she was admitted to Fresno General Hospital on in July of 1969, to undergo a legal abortion.
• Jane Ward
• In October of 1947, Dr. Paul Singer reported that he had taken 22-year-old Jane Ward, heir to the Drake Bakeries fortune, to Park East Hospital, to complete an illegal abortion somebody else had done. Jane died as a result. Singer was convicted of manslaughter in Jane’s death.
• Nancy Ward
• In February of 1968, Nancy Ward flew from Oklahoma to Kansas city with her boyfriend for an abortion Nancy’s father had arranged. Nancy and her boyfriend visited Dr. Richard Mucie.
• Virginia Watson
• Virginia was 32 years old and pursuing a Hollywood career when she became pregnant in 1954. Deciding that a baby would hurt her career, Virginia arranged to have an abortion.
• Ruth Weir
• In February of 1929, Mrs. Ruth Weir, of East Orange, New Jersey, died at Orange Memorial Hospital of sepsis contracted through a criminal abortion. Dr. Maurice Sturm was arrested when Ruth implicated him in a deathbed statement.
• Irene Wengel
• In June of 1902, Irene Wengel traveled to Tampa, Florida, where she was met by her cousin, J. Carl Christian. Christian had arranged for her to stay at the home of Dr. Frederick N. Weightnovel for an abortion.
• Loretta Wilson
• On Christmas day of 1934, the nude body of a young woman was found in a thicket near a highway south of New York City. She was identified as 19-year-old Loretta Wilson. Dr. John H. Becker Jr., who admitted to having examined Loretta, was charged with homicide in the death.
• Grace Wolf
• Grace Wolf, a young married woman, traveled from her home in Lansing to the office of Dr. C. Allen Snyder in Dubuque, Iowa, in November of 1917.
• Virginia Wyckoff
• J.W. Elsiminger was an osteopath in Oklahoma City. He alone was the suspect in the abortion death of Virginia Lee Wyckoff, a 21-year-old student at the University of Oklahoma. Virginia died in April of 1932.
• Gertrude Wynants
• Gertrude died in July of 1925, of a criminal abortion. Mrs. Margaret Shott Higgens, age 23, was indicted for manslaughter in Gertrude’s death.