Founders of British obstetrics were callous murderers
Feb 7th, 2010
From the Guardian: Founders of British obstetrics ‘were callous murderers’.
They are giants of medicine, pioneers of the care that women receive during childbirth and were the founding fathers of obstetrics. The names of William Hunter and William Smellie still inspire respect among today’s doctors, more than 250 years since they made their contributions to healthcare. Such were the duo’s reputations as outstanding physicians that the clienteles of their private practices included the rich and famous of mid-18th-century London.
But were they also serial killers? New research published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (JRSM) claims that they were. A detailed historical study accuses the doctors of soliciting the killing of dozens of women, many in the latter stages of pregnancy, to dissect their corpses. [continue]
Reminds me of the end met by Ledward and Wray in O’Brian’s “The Thirteen Gun Salute”:
‘An English spleen at last! An English spleen, the most famous of them
all! And as fresh a cadaver as ever I have had the pleasure of
opening. I am infinitely obliged to you, colleague. Death was caused
by this bullet-wound, I see: a rifle-bullet. How curious.’
‘Just so. That was also the case with his companion, the heavier one,
whom you met once or twice; and the wound was equally recent. Perhaps they had been fighting. Will I send for him?’
Van Buren booked attentively into Stephen’s face, and after a moment
he said, ‘Have you arranged this with the Vizier, Maturin?’
‘I have, too. He said that the court was in no way concerned; that the
protection had been publicly and specifically withdrawn and notified
to Duplessis; and that we might do whatever we pleased. But he was
sure that we would be discreet – that there would be no recognizable
remains.’
‘Then I am perfectly satisfied: oh what a blessed relief! Let us by
all means send for the other, and in the meantime shall we start at
the head?’
Ugly.
But I am somewhat willing to believe they did not actually contract murders, rather allowed class prejudices to blind them to an abundant suppy’s likely source.