On the 26th of August, 1871, at three o'clock in the afternoon, a truck
drove up to the baggage-room of the Hudson River Railway depot, in
Thirtieth street, and deposited on the sidewalk a large, common-looking
travelling trunk. The driver, with the assistance of a boy hanging about
the depot, carried the trunk into the baggage-room, and at this instant a
woman of middle age, and poorly attired, entered the room, presented a
ticket to Chicago, which she had just purchased, and asked to have the
trunk checked to that place. The check was given her, and she took her
departure. The baggage-master, half an hour later, in attempting to
remove the trunk to the platform from which it was to be transferred to
the baggage-car, discovered a very offensive odor arising from it. His
suspicions were at once aroused, and he communicated them to the
superintendent of the baggage-room, who caused the trunk to be removed to
an old shed close by and opened. As the lid was raised a terrible sight
was revealed. The trunk contained the dead body of a young woman, fully
grown, and the limbs were compressed into its narrow space in the most
appalling manner. The discovery was at once communicated to the police,
and the body was soon after removed to the Morgue, where an inquest was
held upon it.
The woman had been young and beautiful, and evidently a person of
refinement, and the post mortem examination, which was made as speedily
as possible, revealed the fact that she had been murdered in the effort
to produce an abortion upon her. The case was at once placed in the
hands of the detectives, and full details of the horrible affair were
laid before the public in the daily press. The efforts to discover the
murderer were unusually successful. Little by little the truth came out.
The cartman who had taken the trunk to the depot came forward, after
reading the account of the affair in the newspapers, and conducted the
police to the house where he had received it. This was none other than
the residence of Dr. Jacob Rosenzweig (No. 687 Second avenue), a
notorious abortionist, who carried on his infamous business at No. 3
Amity Place, as Dr. Ascher. Suspecting his danger, Rosenzweig endeavored
to avoid the police, but they soon succeeded in securing him. His
residence was taken possession of and searched, and papers were found
which completely established the fact that Rosenzweig and Ascher were one
and the same person. Rosenzweig was arrested on suspicion, and committed
to the Tombs to await the result of the inquest. The body was
subsequently identified by an acquaintance of the dead woman, as that of
Miss Alice Bowlsby, of Patterson, New Jersey. A further search of
Rosenzweig's premises resulted in the finding of a handkerchief marked
with the dead woman's name, and other evidence was brought to light all
making it too plain for doubt that Alice Bowlsby had died from the
effects of an abortion produced upon her by Jacob Rosenzweig. The wretch
was tried for his offence, convicted, and sentenced to seven years of
hard labor in the penitentiary.
This affair produced a profound impression not only upon the city, but
upon the whole country, and drew the attention of the public so strongly
to the subject of abortion as a trade, that there is reason to believe
that some steps will be taken to check the horrible traffic.
Bad as Rosenzweig was, he was but one of a set who are so numerous in the
city that they constitute one of the many distinct classes of vile men
and women who infest it.
The readers of certain of the city newspapers are familiar with the
advertisements of these people, such as the following:
A LADIES' PHYSICIAN, DR. ---, PROFESSOR of Midwifery, over 20 years'
successful practice in this city, guarantees certain relief to ladies,
with or without medicine, at one interview. Unfortunates please call.
Relief certain. Residence, ---. Elegant rooms for ladies requiring
nursing.
IMPORTANT TO FEMALES. DR. AND MADAME --- (25 years' practice,) guarantee
certain relief to married ladies, with or without medicine, at one
interview. Patients from a distance provided with nursing, board, etc.
Electricity scientifically applied.
A CURE FOR LADIES IMMEDIATELY. MADAME ---'s Female Antidote. The only
reliable medicine that can be procured; certain to have the desired
effect in twenty-four hours, without any injurious results.
SURE CURE FOR LADIES IN TROUBLE. NO injurious medicines or instruments
used. Consultation and advice free.
These are genuine advertisements, taken from a daily journal of great
wealth and influence, which every morning finds its way into hundreds of
families. The persons thus advertising are all of them members of the
most dangerous and disreputable portion of the community. They do not,
indeed, attack citizens on the streets, but, what is worse and more
cowardly, exert their skill for the purpose of destroying human life
which is too helpless to resist, and which has no protector. These
persons impudently assert that they do not violate the law in their
infamous trade, but it needs scarcely a physician's endorsement to make
plain to sensible persons the fact that successful abortions are
extremely rare. Indeed, the secrecy with which the infamous business is
carried on, shows that its practitioners are conscious of its
criminality. The laws of all the States punish the procuring of an
abortion with severe penalties. That of the State of New York declares,
"The wilful killing of an unborn quick child by any injury to the mother
of the child, which would be murder if it resulted in the death of such
mother, shall be deemed manslaughter in the first degree." The
punishment for this crime is an imprisonment in the penitentiary for _not
less_ than seven years. The law further declares: "Every person who
shall administer to any woman pregnant with a quick child, or prescribe
for any such woman, or advise and procure for any such woman, any
medicine, drugs, or substance whatever, or shall use or employ any
instrument or other means, with intent thereby to destroy such child,
unless the same shall have been necessary to preserve the life of such
mother, shall, in case the death of such child or such mother be thereby
produced, be deemed guilty of manslaughter in the second degree." The
law prescribes as the punishment for this crime an imprisonment of not
less than four years', nor more than seven years' duration.
This is seemingly very severe, but in reality it is not. Now that
science has established the fact that to expel the foetus at any period
of pregnancy is to take life, or, in other words, to commit murder, the
law should make the selling of drugs or medicines for such purpose a
felony, and should punish with great severity any person publicly
exposing or privately offering them for sale. Such a statute, so far
from embarrassing any reputable member of the medical profession, would
be hailed with joy by all; for science has progressed so far, that the
cases in which it is necessary to produce an abortion for the sake of
saving the mother's life are extremely rare. Further than this, it may
be added that the drugs used by these Professors of Infanticide, are, as
a rule, unused by the Medical Faculty.
Being well aware then of the penalties to which they are exposed, the
Professors of Infanticide conduct their business with extreme caution.
They have a great advantage under our present legal system. It has been
found by experience that the only evidence by which they can generally be
convicted of their crime, is that of the patient herself. Their
knowledge of human nature teaches them that she is the last person in the
world to ruin her own reputation by exposing them; and their knowledge of
their devilish business teaches them that, if the case does terminate
fatally, death will occur in all probability before an _ante-mortem_
statement implicating them can be made by their victim. A recent writer
thus describes these wretches and their mode of operations:
"Under the head of abortionists, it must be understood there are
different classes. First, there is the one whose advertisements, under
the head of 'Dr.,' are conspicuous in almost every paper which will print
them. Next comes the female abortionists, the richer classes of whom
also advertise largely; and lastly, the midwives, who, when it pays them
to do so, will in some cases consent to earn money by the commission of
this fearful crime.
"First in order, then, the doctor, who styles himself the 'ladies'
friend,' which appellation would be more truthful if the second letter
were omitted from that word of endearment. He is, as a rule, either a
man who has studied for a diploma and failed to pass his examination, or
one who, though he is really an M.D., because it pays better, devotes his
time to this particular branch of his profession, and advertises largely
to that effect; while, in nine cases out of ten, if he attended to a
legitimate branch of his vocation, he would prove worthless and
inefficient. There are many abortionists in New York to-day who live in
first-class style, attend to nothing but 'first-class' cases, receive
nothing but first-class fees.
"These men, some of them at least, are received into fashionable society,
not because of their gentlemanly or engaging manners, nor even yet on
account of their money, but from the fact that they exercise a certain
amount of influence and are possessed of a vast deal of audacity. They
are cognizant of many a family secret that comes under the jurisdiction
of their peculiar vocation; and this fact enables them successfully, if
they like, to dare these parties to treat them any other than
respectfully. There is a skeleton in every house, a secret in every
family; and too often the doctor, midwife, and accoucheur have to be
treated publicly, socially, and pecuniarily in accordance with this fact.
It is such men as these who, by their nefarious practices, have been
enabled to accumulate a large amount of money, that are the proprietors
of private hospitals or lying-in asylums, where the better class of women
who have fallen from the path of virtue may, under a pretence of a
prolonged visit to some distant friends, become inmates, and, after all
traces of their guilt have been successfully hidden, can unblushingly
return to their friends, and be regarded in their social circles as
models of chastity and perfections of virtue.
"Next come the female abortionists, who in some cases transact a larger
and more profitable business than the doctors. There are several reasons
for this, the principal of which is, that a female would, under the
peculiar circumstances in which she is placed, reveal her condition to
one of her own sex rather than to a man. The number of female
abortionists in New York City is a disgrace and a ridicule upon the laws
for the prevention of such inhuman proceedings. True, the majority of
them are of the poorer class, but there are many who are literally
rolling in wealth, the result of their illegal and unnatural pursuits.
The names of many could be mentioned. One, however, will be sufficient,
and, although she has been the most successful of her contemporaries, yet
her card is a good criterion for the rest of her class. Her name, Madame
---, is well known, and needs no comment. Most of the better and most
successful of her kind are in the habit of receiving no less than one
hundred or one hundred and fifty dollars for each case, and often as much
as five hundred or one thousand dollars. The less successful of the
female abortionists, whose practice or business is limited, to some
extent, through lack of funds to advertise the same, are content with
considerably less sums for their services. Cases have been known where
as low as five dollars have been received, and very rarely do they get a
chance to make more than fifty or sixty dollars, which is considered a
first-rate fee.
"The female abortionists in New York are mostly of foreign birth or
extraction, and have generally risen to their present position from being
first-class nurses--in Germany, especially, there being medicine schools
or colleges in which they graduate after a course of probably six or nine
months' study as nurses. The object for which these colleges were
established is entirely ignored by the woman, who, from the smattering of
medical knowledge she obtains there, seeks to perfect herself as an
abortionist."
The principal, and indeed the only object of these wretches is to extort
money from their victims. They have no interest in their "patients,"
either scientific or humane, as is shown by the readiness with which they
consent to risk the lives of the poor creatures in their hands, and the
rapacity with which they drain their money from them.
Perhaps the reader may ask, "Why, then, do women seek these wretches,
instead of applying to educated physicians?" The answer is plain.
Educated physicians are, as a rule, men of honor and humanity as well as
skill. They know that to produce an abortion at any stage of pregnancy
is to commit murder by destroying the child, and they also know that such
an act, if it does not endanger the mother's life at the time, will doom
her to great future suffering and disease, and probably to a painful
death at the "turn of life." Therefore, as men of honor and good
citizens, as well as lovers of science, they refuse to prostitute their
profession and stain their souls with crime.
The medicines used by the Professors of Infanticide are in most cases
such as they know will not produce the relief the patient desires. The
object of this is to drain the poor woman's purse, first by causing her
to purchase these medicines, and then to force her to submit to an
operation; for the "doctor" well knows that the "pills" will "do her no
good," and that when she finds there is no escape from an operation, she
will come to him, as he is already in possession of her secret. Yet
occasionally we find powerful and active medicines administered by these
wretches; and it may be said here that all the medicines possessing
sufficient power to expel the foetus prematurely, are also sufficiently
powerful to, and invariably do, shatter a woman's system to an extent
from which she rarely recovers. The majority of abortionists, however,
prefer to use instruments for this purpose, although this is with them
the most dangerous of all means of procuring abortion, many of their
victims dying from such use of instruments. The most skilful surgeon
would be very cautious in using an instrument, well knowing that the most
practised hand may in a few minutes fatally injure a woman; yet these
ignorant wretches employ this means without hesitation. They plead that
it is the quickest and surest means of accomplishing their object.
It is not flattering to our pride to be told that this crime is one
peculiar to our own country; yet so it is. European communities provide
asylums in which pregnant women may seek refuge, and, secure from the
curiosity or censure of their acquaintances, may be safely delivered of
their offspring at the completion of their natural period. Should they
desire to retain the child, they may do so; but should they be unwilling
to claim the proof of their shame, the little innocent may be placed
where it will be cared for and protected by the good Sisters of the
foundling hospitals, and the mother's hands are thus kept free from the
blood of her child. One does not see in the Old World the journals
crowded with such advertisements as we have referred to, or find such
wretches, either openly or secretly, practising their infamous trade
there. No European Government would tolerate such a state of affairs,
for if it cannot prevent adultery, it can protect the lives of its
people. Furthermore, there is in that part of the world a public
sentiment sufficiently pure in this respect, however it may be in others,
to prevent such practices. It is only in this land of boasted
intelligence and freedom that such wretches can thrive, that such
practices can be carried on with the full knowledge of the community, and
no effectual step be taken to put a stop to them.
That we have presented no over-drawn picture every candid reader will
confess. If proof is needed the reader has only to turn to the
advertising columns of the newspapers referred to, and he will find one
or more of the advertisements we have spoken of. In this city there are
over twenty of these wretches plying their trade, and advertising it in
the public prints. How well they succeed we have already shown, and in
order to make it evident how great are their profits, we quote the
following description of one of the most notorious female abortionists:
"By common consent, as well as by reason of her peculiar calling, Madam
---, of Fifth avenue, is styled 'The wickedest woman in New York.'
According to her advertisement in the papers and the City Directory, she
calls herself a 'female physician and professor of midwifery.'
"Madam --- is about fifty-five years of age, is a short, plump,
vulgar-looking woman, with dark, piercing eyes and jet-black hair. Once
she was handsome, but possesses now no traces of her former beauty. She
looks like an upstart or 'shoddy' female, but not particularly wicked or
heartless. She commenced business about twenty years ago. Her
establishment at that time was in C--- street, and for some time she was
but little known. About four years after she had begun business an event
occurred which rendered her one of the most notorious women of the city.
A young woman died who had been under her treatment, and Madam --- was
arrested. She was tried before one of the courts, and her trial became a
sensation for many days. The papers were filled with the testimony in
the case, and the arguments of the leading counsel were given in full.
All sorts of accounts, too, were furnished as to the history of the
accused, the evil of abortion, and the necessity of adopting stricter
laws in regard to it. There was ample testimony offered on which Madam
--- could be convicted, but justice at that time, as at the present, was
open to pecuniary inducements. Madam --- had already made considerable
money from her improper trade, and it was rumored at the time that she
purchased a verdict of 'Not Guilty' for one hundred thousand dollars. It
was a big price to pay, but she regained her liberty, and, what was more,
made money by the large investment. Her trial proved to be an immense
advertisement for her, and shortly afterward she removed from C---
street, purchasing a large mansion on Fifth avenue, not far from the
Central Park. In that house she has lived from that time to the present,
and says she intends to remain there until her death. The building is of
brown stone, and is one of the finest on the avenue. It is a corner
house, five stories high, the windows of which command from below a fine
view of the Fifth avenue, and the Central Park from above. Shades of a
most gaudy, though very vulgar, pattern, are at the windows. No other
house in Fifth avenue or in New York possesses such shades, or, indeed,
would any one else in the city want to.
"Madam --- purchased this house, it is stated, through an agent in real
estate. She could not have procured it otherwise, as the owner would
have refused to sell it to her on account of her business. Property in
the neighborhood in which she lives cannot be sold for any reasonable
figure. The vacant lots on the side of her mansion have been offered for
several years at reduced prices, but no one will take them. Efforts have
been made to buy her out, but without success; she has been offered many
thousand dollars in advance of the price she paid for her mansion, but
she refuses to sell, saying that she bought the house not for
speculation, but for a home, and she intends to remain there as long as
she lives.
"Her residence is the most magnificently furnished of any establishment
on Fifth avenue. It is finished and furnished like a palace. Each
window consists of but two enormous panes of plate glass. There are
fifty-two windows, hung with satin and French lace curtains. Her office
is in the basement, where she receives her callers. On the first floor
are the grand hall of tessellated marble, lined with mirrors; the three
immense dining-rooms, furnished in bronze and gold, with yellow satin
hangings, an enormous French mirror in mosaic gilding at every panel;
ceilings in medallions and cornices; more parlors and reception-rooms;
butler's pantry, lined with solid silver services; dining-room with all
imported furniture. Other parlors on the floor above; a guest-chamber in
blue brocade satin, with gold-and-ebony bedstead elegantly covered;
boudoir for dressing in every room; madam and husband's own room,
granddaughter's room, news-room, study. Fourth floor--servants' rooms in
mahogany and Brussels carpet, and circular picture-gallery; the fifth
floor contains a magnificent billiard-room, dancing-hall, with pictures,
piano, etc., and commands a fine view of Fifth avenue. The whole house
is filled with statuettes, paintings, rare bronzes, ornamental and
valuable clocks, candelabras, silver globes and articles of _vertu_,
chosen with unexceptionable taste.
"Madam --- is a married woman, her husband being Mr. ---, a Frenchman.
He is in the same business as herself, practising it under an assumed
name, having an office in the lower part of the city, and his
advertisements are next to madam's in the daily papers. The interesting
couple have a daughter, aged about fifteen, a blonde and beautiful girl,
who looks too pure and good to live in such a magnificent den of infamy
which is called her home.
"Madam --- keeps seven servants and four fast horses. In winter she
drives in tandem, with large ermine sleigh-robes. On every afternoon in
the summer she may be seen out alone driving in the Central Park. Her
carriage is noted for its extraordinary showiness. There are various
statements given as to how she came to adopt her profession. One is,
that she was once a servant-girl in a large boarding-house. A couple
left one day, and in cleaning up their room the girl, who was afterward
to take the name of Madam ---, found a written receipt for a certain
purpose. That she preserved, afterward recommending its use to a female
friend, and finding it worked well, opened her C--- street office, and
sold the medicine at a high figure. Another story is, that she was once
a pretty bar-maid in a tavern in the suburbs of London, came to this
country when about twenty years of age, made the acquaintance of a
physician, and acquired some medical knowledge; was an astrologer and
clairvoyant for a time, and afterward adopted her present profession.
She is said to have considerable knowledge as to her specialty, which is
probably the fact.
"She is said to be worth fully a million of dollars. She has practised
her peculiar branch of medicine for many years, and with uniform success.
Every one knows it, yet none can bring her to justice. She is too
careful and too rich for that. Her immunity from punishment has been
entirely owing to the fact that she only takes safe cases, never
practising on a woman who has been pregnant more than four months. Her
charge is $500 a case. Need there be any better confirmation of the
assertion that the rich are greater votaries of the crime of abortion
than the poor? Yet every crime has its punishment. Madame ---'s is her
loneliness. She has made frantic efforts to get into some part of
society better than the lowest. But the rich women who resort to her for
'relief' (this is the word used), turn their backs upon her in public.
Madame --- has a daughter, and she offered a quarter of a million to any
man laying claim to respectability who would marry her. But her daughter
is yet unmarried. Her eldest daughter ran away and married a policeman,
and is now happy in being disowned by her own mother. Madame --- has her
mansion, and carriages and horses, and every luxury riches can bring.
All but position."
Yet this woman and her associates continue to ply their fearful trade,
and day after day in this great city this terrible slaughter of innocent
beings goes on, and it will go on until the law makes the publication of
the advertisements of these wretches, and the practice of their arts and
the sale of their drugs, criminal offences.
It must not be supposed, however, that the best customers of the vendors
of medicines for producing miscarriage and abortion are those who seek to
hide their shame. It is a terrible fact that here, as in many other
parts of the country, the crime of destroying their unborn offspring is
repeatedly practised by married women in the secrecy of domestic life.
These buy largely of the drugs and pills sold by the professional
abortionists. New York is bad enough in this respect, but the crime is
not confined to it. It is an appalling truth that so many American wives
are practicers of the horrible sin of "prevention" that in certain
sections of our country, the native population is either stationary or is
dying out. So common is the practice, that the Roman Catholic Archbishop
of Baltimore and the Episcopal Bishop of Western New York, felt
themselves called upon, a year or two ago, to publicly warn their people
of the awful nature of it.
It is fashionable here, as elsewhere, not to have more than one, two, or
three children. Men and women tell their friends every day that they do
not mean to increase their families. They do mean, however, to enjoy the
blessings of the married state, and to avoid its responsibilities. There
is scarcely a physician in the city who is not applied to almost daily by
persons of good position for advice as to the best means of preventing
conception. The physicians of New York are men of honor, and they not
only refuse to comply with the request, but warn the applicants for
advice as to the true moral and physical nature of the course they are
seeking to adopt. Yet this warning does not turn them from their
purpose. Failing to secure the assistance of scientific men, they seek
the advice, and purchase the drugs, of the wretches whose trade is child
murder. The evil grows greater every year. These wretches send their
drugs all over the country, and "the American race is dying out." In
1865, there were 780,931 families in the State of New York. Of these,
196,802 families had no children, 148,208 families had but one child
each, 140,572 families had but two children each, and 107,342 families
had but three children each. In nearly one-fourth of all the families
there was not a child, and in 592,924 families, or more than
three-fourths of all in the State, there was only a small fraction over
one child to each family. Only about one child to each mother in the
State reaches maturity. The New England States show even a worse state
of affairs.
Is it a wonder, then, that Madame --- and her associates grow rich?