Ruth Barnett

Ruth Barnett was an abortionist operating in Portland, Oregon from 1918 to 1968.[1]

She was born in Hood River, Oregon,[1] in 1895, and died in December 1969 of melanoma.[2] She trained as a naturopath and became a doctor's assistant in a clinic specializing in abortions, eventually keeping the clinic open under her own name.[1] She performed an estimated 40,000 abortions and claimed no maternal deaths.[2] However, in 1958, "she pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter by abortion."[1] In 1966, a Portland jury found her guilty of an unrelated manslaughter, while an Oregon City jury found her guilty of abortion in 1967. Her appeal of both verdicts was rejected by the Supreme Court in 1967, and she went to prison in February 1968.[1]

Barnett co-authored an autobiography, They Weep on My Doorstep.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Bruce Handler (February 14, 1968). "Grandmother Faces Prison As 'Queen of Abortionists'". Tri-City Herald. Associated Press – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 Rickie Solinger, The Abortionist: A Woman against the Law, University of California Press, publisher's synopsis


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