Did he De Facto Euthenize the girl with the Botched Abortion??
Peritonitis did NOT have a Good Prognosis in the pre penicillin era, and back alley abortions are to be avoided at ALL costs!
Just wondering...
I haven't watched the film in ahile but just re-read the book. I'm guessing she was too far gone to have been saved by Dr. Larch. He might have eased her pain a little but I don't think he helped kill her.
In the book, she didn't say much on the table. Finally Dr. Larch was able to
get to the truth that the other 'doctor' had no idea what he was doing and botched the abortion.
You're right on both counts. There was little Dr. Larch could do other than try to save her. His attempting to complete the abortion (the previous guy had not done it right or finished it), was not what killed the girl but septicemia or toxic shock. I think the guy had also pierced the uterine wall, allowing bacteria into the bloodstream. Even nowadays, once a person has that (aka blood poisoning), the odds of saving them are poor.
For instance, in the film "The Day After Tomorrow", the girl who gets septicemia from a cut on her leg is saved days later by some penicillin on a ship outside the library. That would be highly unlikely, once she had progressed into high fever and delirium. She would have needed much more than one vial of it to stand a chance.
So, in the 1940's, the girl who had a partial abortion was a goner as soon as the fake doctor botched it.
Dr. Larch was angry because he knew that if this girl had come to him at the outset, he could have saved her life. He also mentions often that people should be taught about contraception so they won't need abortions. Contraception was actually illegal back then, except for married couples!
Don't get me wrong...
It might be unbelievable,
But let's not say so long.
...and the Repukes of Today want to ban Condoms, I reckon! I will NOT Shop at Hobby Lobby
shareCondoms were available in vending machines in the 30s.
share