The Cost of Dying: Susannah Lattin

This is the first in a series of abortion stories before Roe v. Wade which were published in Coat Hangers and Knitting Needles which took me over a year to research from articles, interviews and statistics. It showed me that abortion will never be stopped any more that prohibition stopped people drinking alcohol.. Over the next few weeks, I'll publish some of their stories.

Unmarried women, falling in love with a man, sleeping with him and expecting marriage, has happened through the ages. Having a man disappear once a pregnancy is known is not new either.

The daughter of Henry K. Lattin (1806-1904) and (Julia Wood (1813-1873), Susannah, was born on Long Island. She was one of 18 surviving children. Two siblings had died.

She moved in with Andrew Wood, her cousin, who lived in Brooklyn in 1867.

George C. Houghton, a clerk at a store called Whitehouse's, impregnated Susannah Lattin. He did not want to be a father. He paid Dr. J.C. Harrison $50 (US$832 in 2018) to abort the baby. When Susannah did not go through with the abortion, Houghton escaped his responsibility by running away to Philadelphia.

Lattin turned to an older cousin, George Powell, a butcher at the Washington market. Pretending to be her husband and using the name Smith, Powell rented a room for her and arranged an appointment with Dr. Henry Grindell, operator of an illegal abortion clinic.

Grindell wanted to charge $150 ($2,817 in 2018). Other research shows that the clinic charged $300 per week normally with more for board, medical and adoption fees. Perhaps the fee was based on what he could get.

Lattin gave birth on 5 August 1868. Thirteen days afterwards, she developed an infection. A medical student caring for her did not realize the seriousness until it was too late. The baby was adopted, but there are no adoption records.

When Lattin revealed her true name at the urging of Dr. Edward Dame, Lattin's parent were notified by letter but could not arrived before Lattin died.

The resulting inquest under a Coroner Rollins censured Dr. Grindell. It made the suggestion that such clinics be under the supervision of the Board of Health.

Lattin's cousin, George Powell, was arrested as an accomplice. Houghton was brought back from Philadelphia. 

They were never found guilty of her death.

The next story is about Clara Bell Duvall (1895-1925) told by her daughter Linn. We may forget living children of women who die from abortions suffer too no matter in what year the tragedy occurs.