Trial of madame restell

Purdy did not want another child and on the recommendation of her house servant, Rebecca, Purdy consulted the advertisements placed in the New York Sun by abortionist Madame Restell. Restell allegedly instructed Purdy to take fifteen drops of the liquid twice a day to terminate the pregnancy. Purdy took one dose of liquid the day of her appointment with Restell and two the following day, but then stopped. Purdy claimed that she was unsure of the medicine and took it for examination to David D.

Marvin, a physician who determined that the liquid contained the poisonous oils of tansy and turpentine. The doctor supposedly instructed her to discontinue taking the substance. Purdy alleged that Restell promised Purdy that the operation would be without pain or inconvenience, that a woman physician would perform the operation, and that the operation would cost twenty dollars. Purdy, who could not provide the money, offered Restell a pawn ticket for various gold jewelry instead of paying the fee.

According to Purdy, Restell accepted the payment and led Purdy behind a curtain to a dark room. Purdy alleged that in the room Restell instructed her to lie down on the floor on top of a blanket. Following the procedure, Purdy claimed that the man informed her she may experience some discomfort and would likely become ill from the procedure. In her conversation with Merritt, Purdy stated that she experienced severe pain and almost fainted on the way home.

Want more? Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! Anna Maria , d. National Library of Medicine Contributor U. National Library of Medicine Language English. Addeddate Identifier In the spring of , abortionist Ann Lohman, called Madame Restell, was convicted for crimes against one of her abortion clients, Maria Purdy. In a deathbed confession, Purdy admitted that she had received an abortion provided by Madame Restell, and she further claimed that the tuberculosis that she was dying from was a result of her abortion.

Restell was charged with administering an illegal abortion in New York and her legal battles were heavily documented in the news. Her trial was one of the first abortion trials in American history.

Although the charges against Restell were later dropped due to many minor legal complications, her trial brought attention to the legal controversies surrounding abortion as well as the high likelihood of legal action and convictions of abortion crimes in New York during the s. Although she had no formal medical training, she performed many abortions for upper class women in New York who had unwanted pregnancies.

Restell also sold various powders and pills meant to act as contraceptives or to terminate pregnancies. She charged relatively expensive prices for her products and services.

Restell was convicted of numerous crimes during her forty years as a practicing abortionist. On Monday 22 March , police magistrate and judge Henry W. Merritt visited the house of twenty-one-year-old Purdy. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account.

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