Abortion in 1913: Nellie's Exit

Nellie Flanagan Kralemann

I'm tempted to think that taking charge of your life, being the hero of your own drama, taking leaps into the unknown is always a good thing. Risk-takers win, right? Strong-willed women who make things happen for themselves are supposed to lived happily ever after. But then I think of Nellie. My great-aunt Nellie reminds me that gambling with the future is always a flirtation with danger. And that danger can kill you.

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On Tuesday, March 25, 1913, a rainy spring day in ...