Background
The case began after one Sarah Ann Lovell, an unmarried teenager, was found dead in August 1879. It was discovered after she had died that she had been pregnant. Furthermore, she had been a patient of Dr. Stowe in May. Dr. Stowe claimed she had first resisted performing an abortion, but Lovell seemed emotionally distressed and threatened suicide. (As this was before the quickening, an abortion at this stage would be seen by some as more legitimate.) Lovell could have been turned over to the authorities. However, an apparently conflicted Stowe wound up prescribing drugs (hellebore, cantharides, and myrrh) that while allegedly capable of aborting the fetus, were prescribed in such a small dose it might have been intended as a placebo. Stowe herself claimed it was a mere placebo. In any event, drugs prescribed in May would not cause death in August.
While it is unlikely that Stowe was pro-choice, this view of her was pushed by those who saw her as responsible for Lovell's death. The case soon achieved fame. A jury for the coroner wound up deciding Lovell was poisoned by drugs meant for an abortion, but they blamed Lovell and/or unidentified people rather than Stowe.
Read more about this topic: Abortion Trial Of Emily Stowe
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