Hosts Lauryn and Nima journey back to early 20th-century Vancouver, British Columbia, to explore a compelling case that involves a sensitive topic: abortion. Dr. Robert Telford, a respected physician, faced a moral dilemma in 1904 when Hattie Bowell, a young, unmarried woman, sought his help. Despite performing an abortion in her best interest, a septic infection tragically claimed Hattie's life. Dr. Telford's actions put his professional standing at risk as he grappled with the legal consequences. Join us as we delve into the complex history of Dr. Robert Telford and the life-altering consequences of his choices in a bygone era.
Tune in every other week for new episodes. Your support for the podcast means so much to us. You can subscribe and review us on your favourite podcast listening apps, and support us at patreon.com/rootedincrime. You can stay updated by following Rooted in Crime on Instagram, @rootedincrime.
For show notes, the recording transcript, and source information, you can visit rootedgenealogy.com/show-notes
Credits:
Research, writing, hosting, editing, and production: Lauryn Macdonald
Hosting: Nima Hodoudi
Music: Lindsay Macdonald
Rooted in Crime is an independent production.
Hosts Lauryn and Nima journey back to early 20th-century Vancouver, British Columbia, to explore a compelling case that involves a sensitive topic: abortion. Dr. Robert Telford, a respected physician, faced a moral dilemma in 1904 when Hattie Bowell, a young, unmarried woman, sought his help. Despite performing an abortion in her best interest, a septic infection tragically claimed Hattie's life. Dr. Telford's actions put his professional standing at risk as he grappled with the legal consequences. Join us as we delve into the complex history of Dr. Robert Telford and the life-altering consequences of his choices in a bygone era.
Tune in every other week for new episodes. Your support for the podcast means so much to us. You can subscribe and review us on your favourite podcast listening apps, and support us at patreon.com/rootedincrime. You can stay updated by following Rooted in Crime on Instagram, @rootedincrime.
For show notes, the recording transcript, and source information, you can visit rootedgenealogy.com/show-notes
Credits:
Research, writing, hosting, editing, and production: Lauryn Macdonald
Hosting: Nima Hodoudi
Music: Lindsay Macdonald
Rooted in Crime is an independent production.
Nima: [00:00:00] Rooted in Crime contains coarse language and mature themes such as violence and sexuality, which some listeners may find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised.
Lauryn: Hey everyone, before we get into today's show, I wanted to ask a quick favor of you. If you've been enjoying the show, we'd really appreciate it if you could rate and review the show on your favorite listening platform.
Ratings and reviews help us reach other like minded listeners, and it gives us an idea of how we're doing to make sure we bring you the best content that we can. And if you really like what you've been hearing, we'd really be grateful if you could share the show with your friends and family. You can find us on all major listening platforms and on Instagram @rootedincrime.
Now, on to the show.
Welcome to Rooted in Crime. I'm your host, Lauryn Macdonald, and I'm Nima Hodoudi. And this is the podcast that uncovers hidden stories of historical true crime through the lens of genealogy. Together, we're going to look at historical criminal cases [00:01:00] from around the world using a modern perspective to dig deep into the secrets of the past.
We hit a little milestone between our releases. Yes, we did. We hit 250 downloads. Yay. So I quickly wanted to say thank you to everyone. A huge thank you to everyone for helping us get to this spot. Honestly, I love getting to share these stories with you listeners every other week and I can't wait to keep sharing them with you.
Nima: Yeah, thanks everyone. Really appreciate all the feedback. And the reviews, and keep them coming, because honestly, that's what keeps us
Lauryn: going here. Yeah, it means so much to us, so thanks again. Big time. This week, we're heading back to one of my favourite cities, Vancouver, to talk about a really fascinating turn of the 20th century case.
I will throw another disclaimer out, though. We are talking about a case that involves abortion. Obviously, there was a different socio political climate in 1904, and that's going to be a major piece in today's conversation, but abortion is still a highly [00:02:00] debated topic today in many parts of the world. In Canada, where we live, abortion has been legal since 1988, protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
This episode isn't about opening up a debate around modern law and opinion, but rather discussing the historical implications of abortion, how it impacted this particular criminal case, and the lives of those involved. If this isn't something you're comfortable listening to, this is a good point to hit pause and tune into the next episode.
Like I said, we're heading back to the turn of the 20th century to Vancouver, British Columbia. Vancouver is situated on the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil Waututh nations. One of the city's most notable residents at the time, Dr. Robert Telford, had quickly become a highly respected doctor in British Columbia after several years of working as a surgeon on Vancouver Island.
He moved his practice to Vancouver and along with some colleagues opened a premier private medical facility, the Burrard Sanitarium, in 1902. Working as a [00:03:00] surgeon, Dr. Telford encountered his fair share of difficult medical choices, sometimes being forced to choose between the well being of his patients and the written rule of law.
He found himself in this situation in July of 1904, when 20 year old Hattie Bowell came to him, pregnant, unwed, and desperate. As the daughter of a prominent father with an even more prestigious grandfather, Hattie was about to bring an immeasurable amount of shame for conceiving a baby out of wedlock.
Dr. Telford's abortion was successful, but unexpected septic poisoning claimed Hattie's life. Performing an illegal abortion that resulted in the death of a young woman, despite it being in his patient's best interests, placed Dr. Telford's professional standing and status in jeopardy, as he had to confront the prosecutorial consequences of his actions.
Hmm. Let's get into the story of Dr. Robert Telford and the death of Hattie Bole. Let's do it.[00:04:00]
Dr. Robert Telford was born in 1869, the 5th of 13 children born to Robert Telford Sr. and Mary Ann Tennant, well respected and wealthy farmers. Raised in Beverly Township, Ontario, or present day Hamilton, Robert moved to Vancouver Island in his early 20s and worked as a teacher for a few years there, until he went to McGill University in Montreal to become a medical doctor.
He returned to Vancouver Island sometime before 1898 and worked in both Nanaimo and Chemainus, both of which are located on the eastern coast of the island. There were a few big events that took place in Telford's life in 1902. He married Ella Maud Monroe in July of 1902, and together the couple would go on to have six children together over the decades of their marriage.
What also happened in 1902 is that Telford left the Island and joined [00:05:00] forces with other doctors in the lower mainland of British Columbia to open a new medical facility in Vancouver, the Burrard Sanitarium. The sanitarium was essentially a private medical facility, which was exclusively funded by patients, and didn't receive any money from the province.
Universal healthcare in Canada wasn't nationally implemented until the 1960s, so this was standard for people to pay for their medical services at the turn of the 20th century. Okay. The facility was highly regarded for being incredibly clean and modern, having been fully outfitted with electricity and built with non porous walls and floors to ensure the facility could be thoroughly sanitized on a regular basis.
The sanitarium had both inpatient and outpatient treatment available, with facilities ranging from state of the art operating rooms to Turkish baths and electric massage rooms. So, a good modern day comparison would be hospital meets health club. It was kind of somewhere in between the two. Like I said, the facility was among the [00:06:00] most premier facilities in British Columbia, let alone Canada at the time.
The staff here, especially Dr. Telford, were highly regarded medical professionals who would learn and practice the newest medical techniques to provide the most advanced care for their patients. For these reasons, the sanitarium held an incredible reputation in Vancouver. Although Dr. Telford was among the top doctors in the province, this didn't mean he held a perfect record as a surgeon.
Telford performed an optional preventative surgery on a 27 year old man named Guy MacGowan in June of 1902. I couldn't find any more information about the nature of the surgery, but it did seem to be a pretty low risk one. Although the surgery itself was successful, MacGowan didn't recover well at all and experienced complications.
Another surgery had to be performed, and MacGowan passed away a few hours after the second operation. MacGowan's father, A. H. B. MacGowan, was an MPP, a Member of Provincial Parliament, and in December of 1903, took to the legislature floor to call out several doctors of whom he felt were guilty of [00:07:00] malpractice, among whom were Dr. Telford and his sanitarium colleagues, such as fellow surgeon Dr. Hall.
He initially spoke about another case where the medical board was investigating another doctor completely unrelated to Telford and argued the legislature should have had access to the investigation to see if the medical decisions being made were made on an individual bias rather than on medical merit, which the province should then further regulate.
So in the speech in parliament, he then mentions the case of his son's death calling for further investigation into Dr. Telford. So he basically just uses this as his soapbox moment to voice a personal concern, right?
Nima: That makes sense. Yeah.
Lauryn: There was no inquest or investigation into the younger MacGowan's death by medical or police officials since it was a surgical complication outside of the doctor's control which ultimately caused the death.
This didn't stop the older MacGowan, like I said, from using his position in the legislature to condemn the physicians who operated on his son. Dr. Telford took the [00:08:00] opportunity to write a long reply to MacGowan, which was published in the Lower Mainland newspapers. It took up like half a newspaper page. It was quite impressive.
Okay. He wasted no opportunity to refute MacGowan's remarks and offered insight into his track record. He listed some interesting stats about the death rates of institutions he had worked at and compared to national averages. During Telford's one year as surgeon and superintendent in Shemanes, the hospital cared for 75 patients and only saw one death as a result of typhoid fever.
This meant that the hospital death rate was at 1. 33%, with no deaths related to surgery.
Nima: That's low.
Lauryn: At the Burrard Sanitarium, Telford had an equally impressive track record, having had four deaths out of 200 patients in the first year and a half. So it was a 2 percent death rate, where MacGowan's case was the only death that had resulted from surgery.
The others were non surgical. Okay. For a comparison with those death rates, 1. 33 percent and 2%, let's compare those to the Royal Provincial Jubilee Hospital in [00:09:00] Victoria, British Columbia at the time. Okay. This is uh, B. C. 's capital city, by the way. Their death rate was sitting at 7. 29 percent per annum, while the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal had a 7 percent per annum death rate.
Nima: Wow.
Lauryn: So he's 5 percent plus under what those averages are at some of the top hospitals in the country at the time. One quote from Telford's reply particularly struck me. Towards the end of his reply, he said the following, and this is a direct quote,
"I will never, as long as I practice my noble profession, allow another human being to die to save my reputation."
Nima: That's a big statement.
Lauryn: It is. And quite honestly, having read through that reply of his to MacGowan, he did not come across as somebody who was hurt or, you know, he needed to defend his ego or anything like that. He truly was a legitimate doctor defending his practice and saying, this is something that happens in the medical world.
You cannot abuse your position as [00:10:00] a member of provincial parliament, somebody who gets to speak in the legislature and represent. Your constituents, you can't use that time to stake a personal vendetta against the people that cared for your son in a tragic and unpreventable death, ultimately.
Nima: Yeah, and I can respect that, 100%.
Lauryn: It's also worth noting that MacGowan's opinion of Telford was extremely unpopular. For the most part, he was highly regarded, like I said, as a successful surgeon, and he was very active in the communities he lived in. And this incident didn't seem to smear his reputation whatsoever. Mm.
The question of reputation had become central, however, in July of 1904, when Dr. Telford operated on the young, scared, and pregnant Hattie Bowell. Harriet Mackenzie Bowell, who went by Hattie, was the eldest child born in 1883 to parents John Bowell and Alma Patterson, originally from the Belleville, Ontario area. Her father, John, was the son of Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell, who was in office from 1894 [00:11:00] to 1896.
So they were one of the most prominent families in Canada, ultimately. Through his family's political influence, John gained the position of Collector of Customs, which moved his growing family from Ontario to Vancouver in 1887. Being from a prominent family, Hattie attended community functions like galas and charitable events as she got older.
I got to read up on details like the dresses she wore at these events and the friends she dined with on these occasions. Being from this kind of family meant that her outward appearance and reputation were among the most important things in her life, or at least in the lives of her parents and grandparents.
So you can imagine that when Hattie found out she was pregnant in May of 1904, as an unmarried woman, she would have to make quick and decisive actions to protect such a reputation.
Nima: Yep.
Lauryn: Hattie had been seeing David McHarg, a 33 year old commercial salesman who traveled between B. C. and the American Pacific coast.
He was listed in Vancouver directories at the [00:12:00] time, but news articles stated he and Hattie both lived in Vancouver Island, so it isn't clear to me exactly where and how they met. In any case, by the spring of 1904, Hattie was pregnant and David was desperate to support her. He made the traditional effort to marry her, and their engagement was announced in local papers on May 26, 1904.
Over the months, however, Hattie made it clear that she didn't want to marry David or have his baby, since it would bring insurmountable shame to her family to have conceived this child out of wedlock. Because of this, David looked for a doctor who would be willing to perform an abortion on Hattie. He had spoken to several doctors, one of whom had even examined Hattie to confirm the pregnancy, but none were willing to perform an abortion.
Abortion was illegal in Canada until 1988, at which time many Canadians held very open and positive attitudes towards abortion. At the turn of the century, by comparison, abortion was regarded as highly immoral, in addition to being criminal. It was officially [00:13:00] addressed in Canadian law under the Criminal Code of 1892, Section 251, which made performing or having an abortion punishable with life imprisonment.
Nima: Wow. Life.
Lauryn: Life.
Nima: Unreal.
Lauryn: It was equivalent to a murder sentence, essentially.
Nima: Whoa.
Lauryn: We do see, though, in most Western countries at this time, that some doctors would prioritize the overall health and safety of the mother if the pregnancy put her life in danger, and they would perform the abortion procedures.
Even at this time, there were supportive attitudes towards abortion in Canadian society in a very small, limited medical context. Not at all in the way that it's regarded today.
Nima: Yeah.
Lauryn: Coming back to the case at hand, David went to Dr. Telford at the beginning of July to see if he would be able to help Hattie in any way.
He told the doctor he had gotten his, quote, young lady, unquote, pregnant. I thought that was a, a...
Nima: Young lady.
Lauryn: It's just not a term you use anymore. Yeah. Like, would you ever call me your young lady?
Nima: No, no, never.
Lauryn: Anyway, so he went to Dr. [00:14:00] Telford, told him that he'd gotten his young lady pregnant and needed the matter dealt with, and that she was also having some abdominal issues that seemed to be appendicitis.
Dr. Telford initially refused to perform the abortion, but did say he would likely perform a surgery for the appendicitis, but first he would need to examine the young woman. Right. Apparently, Telford did mention to David that women sometimes tamper with themselves, which can require a physician to intervene and perform an abortion to save the woman's life.
Nima: Hmm. Tamper with themselves.
Lauryn: Yes.
Nima: Okay.
Lauryn: On the morning of Monday, July 18th, David returned to Dr. Telford, this time with Hattie. Hattie was already feeling quite ill coming to Dr. Telford that morning, and he performed his first exam on her. Telford found that she did not have appendicitis, but she did have a laceration on her cervix, which he believed was self inflicted with a pair of scissors in an attempt to terminate the pregnancy.
Nima: Oof. Ugh. [00:15:00]
Lauryn: Yeah, that just makes me hurt so much.
Nima: Yeah, just squirm a little bit. Oof. Poor thing.
Lauryn: Hattie had also been bleeding for about two or three days before being admitted to the sanitarium. By this point, it had been decided that Telford would perform the abortion using the appendicitis surgery as a cover for her reason to be in the hospital.
Okay. So even though she didn't have app appendicitis, Essentially, Telford could see that from the previous backyard abortion attempt that the pregnancy needed to be terminated, but equally understood Hattie's vulnerability in this situation. So he agreed to the cover up surgery knowing that Hattie couldn't even tell her own parents about what had happened due to the irreparable shame that the unwanted pregnancy would have brought them.
But this is something that, I mean, people made money off of. These, these shameful... Secretive pregnancies, you know, people would have houses where unwed mothers could just go off and have their baby in secret You know, you were going to visit your aunt in the country But really you're just going to this spot and like that would have been her other [00:16:00] solution, right?
To either go off, leave, have to go through that and then come back after, you know, what six months? Mm hmm. Nine months. Right. And have to just come back to life, right? Yep. And give up the baby. Yep. Or have the baby and have all that shame. Yep. Or marry this guy that you don't really want to marry. Yeah.
Those are her options. Or have the abortion. Right. It's a terrible situation in any case, and this is ultimately her best option. Yeah. The plan was that Hattie would return to the sanitarium later that evening to be admitted and to prepare for the appendicitis surgery, which would take place the following morning.
Hattie returned to the hospital that evening with a close family friend, Mrs. McDonald, who did not know about Hattie's pregnancy and believed she was being treated for an appendix related issue. On the morning of Tuesday, July 19th, Hattie was prepared for surgery by hospital nurse, Ms. Wallace, who had been instructed by Dr. Telford to prep the patient for the appendicitis operation and for curetting, which today we would refer to as dilating and curatage or a D& C [00:17:00] procedure. Have you ever heard of this one?
Nima: No.
Lauryn: This is a pretty uh, common gynecological obstetric procedure, where essentially the contents of the uterus are scraped out and expelled through the cervix and vagina.
Uh... Today, it's, it's used pretty commonly uh, when a woman has a miscarriage and the body is in the process of expelling the uterine contents. It's just help to finish that process essentially uh, also can be used in abortion. It's, it's an abortion method.
Nima: Right, okay.
Lauryn: Tuesday morning, Miss Wallace noted the patient's temperature and other vital signs appeared to be normal ahead of surgery.
Even though we know Hattie had been not feeling great and she did have some bleeding this was known to. This was essentially Hattie's last chance to end the pregnancy and the subsequent shame that it brought into her life. We'll get into what happens next after a quick break.
Nima: Sounds good.
Lauryn: And we're back.
Nima: We're back.
Lauryn: Hattie went into surgery around 1230 p. m. on [00:18:00] Tuesday, July 19, 1904. It seemed that the surgery itself went well, however, Hattie's recovery was immediately troublesome. Telford had made a small incision on the right side of Hattie's abdomen to give the impression of an appendicitis surgery.
Telford began the curating procedure, but at one point remarked to the hospital matron or head nurse, as we would call them today, that he would let nature take its course, suggesting he would allow the uncompleted backyard abortion to finish its course.
Nima: Oh, I wonder how that would work.
Lauryn: So she's al, she's already bleeding, so I'm thinking he basically wants to be as minimally invasive as possible. So if she's already essentially miscarrying.
Nima: Got it.
Lauryn: Just let it continue.
Nima: I see. Okay.
Lauryn: Dr. Telford essentially believed that the anesthesia being introduced to Hattie to put her under for the quote unquote appendicitis surgery, that would ultimately hasten the miscarriage that she'd brought on. By Tuesday evening after the surgery, Nurse Wallace was tending to [00:19:00] Hattie, who was nauseous and vomiting.
She was bleeding excessively, and Dr. Telford had to pack her vagina to control the bleeding.
Nima: Wow.
Lauryn: She's hemorrhaging, essentially, here.
Nima: Wow.
Lauryn: Her pulse began to weaken and she was given a strychnine injection. which was a common stimulant used to strengthen a weak pulse in turn of the century medicine.
Nima: Strychine?.
Lauryn: Strychnine like strychnine poisoning. That same strychnine.
Nima: Oh, I see. Okay.
Lauryn: Yes. So When we see strychnine poisoning. you know, it's depicted and this is how it goes As you know these crazy like muscular convulsions like somebody's spasming almost like having a seizure and then you just kind of You're dead.
That's basically how it goes when it's given in large amounts, but in smaller amounts at the turn of the century. It wasn't deemed to be so poisonous So it would be used um for something like a weak pulse since that's gonna Get your heart to convulse a little bit faster. That's why it was being used.
Mm hmm. Yep. Hattie's nausea and vomiting continued during Wednesday, and she had reduced urinary function, which required a catheter [00:20:00] to be inserted. By the early morning hours of Thursday, Hattie's pulse had increased to 110, and Dr. McKechnie, a colleague of Dr. Telford's, was called in to consult on Hattie's deterioration.
Nima: That's never good.
Lauryn: Telford explained the patient's history to McKechnie as follows. Hattie came to the sanitarium for an appendicitis surgery, and upon initial examination, he discovered her pregnancy and the cervical laceration, and that she had also taken drugs in an attempt to abort the pregnancy, which had caused organ damage.
Nima: Okay.
Lauryn: It turned out that while David had been doctor shopping back in May, one doctor had actually prescribed a medication to induce an abortion, although I couldn't find out exactly what was prescribed to her at that time. Telford had also treated her with ergotol, a liquid form of ergot, which is a hallucinogenic fungus which was used to treat excessive menstrual or other uterine bleeding, and it was also known to induce an abortion.
In higher quantities, though, the fungus becomes extremely toxic [00:21:00] and causes extreme delirium and even gangrene.
Nima: Oh, no.
Lauryn: So it's something that commonly grows on wheat, and before it was known to grow on wheat and be so toxic, when people ingested it, it would cause this crazy delirium.
Nima: Okay.
Lauryn: And it's actually believed that some of the people that were executed in the Salem witch trials and other witch trials around the world were suffering from ergot poisoning.
Nima: Oh, okay. That would make sense.
Lauryn: That's how it makes you. Okay. Just for frame of reference, and this is also being administered to Hattie to try and stop the uterine bleeding.
Nima: Oh, poor thing.
Lauryn: It's something that is not really used in, in modern medicine whatsoever.
Nima: I would imagine.
Lauryn: Just, just to put that out there.
Nima: Yeah, I would imagine.
Lauryn: McKechnie examined Hattie and found Telford's case history to be factual, noting that the laceration on Hattie's cervix was not made very recently, but had certainly been made within the last few weeks. Mm hmm. McKechnie's opinion was that the abortion procedure had become necessary at this point to complete the botched backyard abortion, which had already been started, which Telford agreed with.
That was his initial course of treatment anyway, [00:22:00] and he's just had his colleague confirm this. In any case, additional surgery was required to ensure Hattie's uterine contents were removed to prevent further deterioration. McKechnie agreed that since the abortion was required to save the patient's life, it was perfectly fine to perform it.
I want to quickly pause here and discuss some points in Hattie's care that would be concerning or questionable to us from a modern perspective. We've seen that she's been given abortion drugs, which caused organ failure. And she's also been given strict meaning. which even then was known to be poisonous, but it was widely used in small amounts, right?
She's also been given the ergot to control the uterine bleeding, which we know can have deadly efforts too. And she'd also previously attempted her own instrumental abortion, and as a result of laws and attitudes towards abortion, did not receive proper medical care after injuring herself. From all of this, do you think that she's been failed by the medical practitioners who she's seeking help from?
Or do you think that they did their best given the law at the [00:23:00] time and the medical knowledge and technology at their disposal?
Nima: Actually, I was giving hats off to Robert because, you know, really he puts his ass on the line at the end of the day. To do that.
Lauryn: He's also not the first doctor he's seen though So consider all of I'm saying consider all the care that she's gotten at this point though.
Nima: Okay, I mean sure on a wide spectrum Yeah failed by the medical industry. That's Influenced by the government so I can't fully blame them You know, I can, again, give hats off to Dr. Robert, but not blame the whole field necessarily. Who I blame are the people who make the laws, and who make something like that punishable by uh, life in prison.
So, yeah, I wouldn't blame, I wouldn't blame the medical field on that one. Not, not fully. Do I think there was malpractice? Sure, in today's standards, right? In today's standards, for sure there was, but it's hard to say because they ran under a very different set of [00:24:00] rules back then.
Lauryn: Yes. Different uh, legal set of rules and a different moral, ethical set of rules.
Nima: Yeah, exactly. Very different.
Lauryn: Doctors Telford and McKechnie performed the full abortion surgery on the evening of Thursday, July 21st. Mrs. Macdonald was at the sanitarium visiting Hattie on Thursday and consulted with Dr. Telford who told her of Hattie's actual condition in the face of her deterioration.
Together they decided they would not inform Hattie's parents of her real condition and Dr. Telford told Mrs. MacDonald that she was most likely going to recover following the second surgery. By Friday, Hattie was still nauseous and vomiting and she had developed a new symptom of muscular convulsions in her arms and face.
Her condition stayed the same into Saturday, and she began to worsen slightly into Sunday. She was given an electric bath, which is essentially a bath with electrodes running through it, which was a common medical treatment at the time since it was believed to stimulate organ function.
Nima: [00:25:00] Oh, that's interesting.
Lauryn: Yeah, not something that's used anymore.
Nima: I was going to say, we don't do that anymore.
Lauryn: Extremely dangerous. Yeah. Don't run electricity through water and sit in it, because that's what they were doing.
Nima: Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Sounds like a bad idea.
Lauryn: Well, it didn't improve her condition, and she continued to worsen as the day went on.
On Sunday evening, Dr. Telford called for both Dr. A. S. Monro, another colleague, and Dr. McKechnie for their opinions. Yeah. Monro arrived first and believed that she was suffering from septic poisoning, but wanted another opinion before deciding on course of action. Dr. McKechnie arrived, and in his assessment, he believed Hattie was suffering from peritonitis, a deadly infection of the stomach lining when it becomes infected with bacteria, which typically leaks from a small perforation in the gastrointestinal tract.
Mmm. McKechnie also believed that she had sepsis, likely caused when bacteria was introduced during the backyard abortion attempt or from retaining the placenta or fetus. Yeah. Or part of the placenta [00:26:00] or fetus. Right, Telford also believed Hattie was experiencing uremic poisoning, a buildup of toxins in the kidneys since her urinary function had ceased.
Right. Hattie worsened through the night, and she died on the morning of July 25th, 1904. Her death announcement later that evening in the Vancouver World said that she was a favorite among everyone who knew her, and that it was particularly sad since she was to be married in August, making it seem like her loved ones were under the impression that she was still set to marry David.
Right. So that really goes to show she kept all of this hidden from her friends, her family, everyone close to her. Her funeral was held on Tuesday, July 26th, and it was only once they were planning Hattie's funeral that her parents learned of her pregnancy and the real cause of her death.
Nima: What did they think it was initially?
Lauryn: They were all under the impression something with like appendicitis or another abdominal issue was going on. So the cover story of going in for the appendicitis surgery is what everybody believed.
Nima: [00:27:00] Okay, cool.
Lauryn: John Bowell, Hattie's father, arranged to meet with David McHarg the day after Hattie's funeral, and at this meeting, David profusely apologized for having arranged the procedure.
He told John that he truly wished to marry Hattie, and regretted that he couldn't have stayed with her while she was at the sanitarium, since he was called away for work. John told him that he would be wisest to head south of the border and stay out of the country, and David left on another business trip in the days following this conversation.
Nima: Hmm.
Lauryn: Well, I mean, son of the Prime Minister tells you to get out, you get out, I would say.
Nima: Yeah, oh yeah.
Lauryn: With John Bowell leading the charge, information was brought to the authorities surrounding the concealed abortion and an inquest into Hattie's death was opened, meaning her body needed to be exhumed. Her body was exhumed two days after her burial, and post mortem exams were conducted by three different physicians.
The inquest began on Friday, July 30th, and heard a variety of testimony from Dr. Telford, Dr. McKechnie, and a variety of other medical professionals involved in Hattie's [00:28:00] case. The three doctors who performed the post mortem exams all testified that they came to the conclusion that Hattie's death was caused by septic poisoning as a result of the abortion.
The official cause of death on her death certificate, registered on August 3rd, 1904, was written as follows. Died from ill effects of an abortion, colon, ill about one week. Why are you laughing?
Nima: Um, That certificate seems a little uh, a little off to me, but that's fine.
Lauryn: What, what's making it off?
Nima: Uh, I feel like there were other complications, and I mean if they really dug into the whole story and understood what was happening, which I'm sure they will.
then they would understand that a lot of it was caused by her and not by the doctor giving the abortion.
Lauryn: All three of the practitioners who performed the post mortem, they all said it was [00:29:00] septic poisoning. But we don't see septic poisoning anywhere on the death certificate.
Nima: Right. That's what I mean.
Lauryn: Ill effects from an abortion.
Nima: From an abortion. Yeah. Ridiculous, but hey.
Lauryn: Dr. Telford testified at the inquest that he believed that if Hattie had lived, the fake operation would have proven to have been worthwhile and necessary in protecting her from the true reason for the operation. Both he and Dr. McKechnie were adamant that when they performed the abortion, the procedure was necessary if any chance was to be made at some point.
Right. And Telford was additionally sure that the abortion had already begun before she was even admitted to the sanitarium, making it necessary for the doctors to finish it. Right. McKechnie testified that the abortion procedure itself was fairly routine, and he fully agreed with Dr. Telford's course of action.
The various testimonies at the inquest put together a timeline similar to what I've already shared with you here, and on the evening of July 30th, the jury comprised of six men came to the following [00:30:00] verdict. We, the jury, find that the deceased, Hattie Boll, came to her death as a result of the abortion performed by Dr. Telford, and we consider that those responsible for advising a young girl such as the deceased was to submit to such an operation are deserving of the severest censure.
Nima: Wow.
Lauryn: I found this second part of the verdict to be quite telling of certain attitudes towards abortion since the coroner's inquest's Weren't meant to find guilt, but rather just what was the actual cause of death?
What happened? What were the actual steps? What was the timeline that led to this death? What are the facts in that? Whereas this here, those that letter to this deserve the severest censure, that places blame, that places guilt in my opinion.
Nima: It does.
Lauryn: After this verdict was delivered, Dr. Telford alone was taken into police custody on two charges.
The first for administering ergotol with the purpose of procuring abortion, and the [00:31:00] second for conspiring with David McHarg to procure an abortion. A warrant was subsequently issued for David's arrest, and since he was known to be away in the United States on a business trip, the provincial police crossed the border in search of him.
Nima: Of course they did.
Lauryn: So Nima, what do you think of this jury decision and the consequent charges against Dr. Telford and David?
Nima: I hated that obviously the jury were six men, strictly.
Lauryn: Nobody to understand what Hattie went through to actually get to that point.
Nima: Right. There's no one there to understand that.
I hated how they delivered the verdict because it clearly had an undertone of not like justice. It wasn't how the judicial system should work, right? They should look at it from a lens of Did they do the right thing, not did they do the right thing in God's eyes, which is how this felt.
Lauryn: But the law is if you perform an abortion or you have an abortion, you go to jail for life.
Nima: Yeah, right. I know. I know that's the law. But [00:32:00] morally speaking, I disagree with it. You know, I know it was a different time, but I don't, I don't agree with it.
Lauryn: Morally, it's more important to save the life of the person who's here on the table. Yes. Is what you're saying. Yes.
Nima: Absolutely. Like, save Hattie.
Lauryn: Yeah.
Nima: 100%.
Lauryn: I completely agree. Yes. But, legally speaking, that didn't matter. No. Now, what about the charges against him? So, he's been hit with two different charges. Administering ergotol for the sake of producing an abortion. And then for conspiring to procure an abortion. So, he's got two charges against him.
Nima: Yeah. Why two?
Lauryn: I couldn't find any reason for two being given. But what do you think of those two?
Nima: I mean, they're a bit ridiculous. Again, they're both just based on the abortion, right? I can't see anything like that happening now as far as charges like that. And they're ergot all, otherwise it's not so bad. Right.
Lauryn: It's still poisonous.
Nima: Okay, it's poisonous, right, just for the abortion. Then, then [00:33:00] yeah, I don't, I don't have anything on those charges because I don't necessarily agree with them in the first place, so.
Lauryn: One thing I'm really curious about is this um, conspiring to procure an abortion charge. I looked far and wide on Google for any 1892 Criminal Code of Canada.
Nima: Okay.
Lauryn: I could not, for the life of me, find. This actual section that references abortion. I would love to know what the actual criminal code said at that point in time to justify this. Conspiring to procure an abortion charge because all I could find in terms of research on abortion law was just that you would get life imprisonment for either receiving or performing one.
Right. So if anybody listening has a copy of the 1892 Criminal Code of Canada, please send it over so we can dive into that because I think that's a really important distinguishing factor because it does seem a little strange to me that he didn't just get the, life [00:34:00] imprisonment for performing an abortion charge.
Nima: Yeah, that is a little weird. That's true because we do know that it's been done. Yes.
Lauryn: Right. And he's fully admitted that. Yeah. His colleagues have admitted that. Right. So why didn't he get that? I'd love to know. Yeah.
Nima: Yeah. The conspiracy is weird for that reason, for sure.
Lauryn: In any case, as a result of these charges, Dr. Telford's trial was scheduled to begin on Monday, August 1st. We'll get into the trial proceedings after a quick break.
Nima: Sounds good.
Lauryn: And we're back.
Nima: We are back.
Lauryn: Dr. Telford spent Saturday evening and Sunday in the city police jail, awaiting his next court appearance on Monday morning. It was reported in the Victoria Daily Times that many friends came to visit Telford in jail over the weekend, who both offered their emotional support in addition to monetary support, as many were prepared to contribute to Telford's bail fund.
Dr. Telford's trial in police court began on August 1st, 1904. The court was packed due to the high profile natures of the [00:35:00] deceased and the accused. Plenty of Dr. Telford's friends and family were present in support of him, and reporters and city residents alike filled the courtroom benches to get the latest in the respected doctor's criminal proceedings.
The Monday morning proceedings began with the court clerk saying to Telford, you are charged that you did murder one Hattie Bowell in the city of Vancouver on the 21st of July, to which Telford firmly but warmly exclaimed, I'm not guilty, before sitting down between his lawyers, Joseph Martin and W. J. Bowser. The courtroom's spectators and defense team were shocked that Telford was handed the upgraded charge of murder given the medical opinions that the abortion had become necessary when it was performed. I found this to be a bit strange since the abortion charge also carried life imprisonment, but nonetheless, he was charged with murder.
Nima: Right.
Lauryn: So, this is what I was saying with all of these charges and wanting to know what's going on with the criminal code of 1892.
Nima: Yeah, now it's getting weird.
Lauryn: Yeah, because now he's been handed a murder charge.
Nima: [00:36:00] Yeah. Since when? When did that happen?
Lauryn: Since literally this morning.
Nima: That's ridiculous.
Lauryn: Of this trial.
Nima: Yeah. That doesn't make sense to me at all.
Lauryn: No. That's why I'm like, what is going on? But in any case, in police court, the charge has been upgraded. This is something that the crown and the court have essentially decided upon.
Nima: Right before trial. Yeah, right. Imagine doing that now.
Lauryn: No. No way that would happen.
The Crown, represented by Stuart Livingston, immediately asked for a one day remand to prepare evidence, to which Telford's lawyer, Martin, immediately refuted, saying there wasn't a tittle and that was his exact word there wasn't a tittle of evidence against his client. Martin demanded bail for his client, which Presiding Magistrate Williams said he could not grant, given the seriousness of the murder charge.
Nima: Wow. Okay.
Lauryn: Martin, Telford's lawyer, actually went off on a 10 minute rant about the upgraded murder charge, saying that in his entire career, including time as attorney general in two different [00:37:00] provinces, he had never seen such a preposterous outcome from a coroner's jury that remand was unnecessary.
Nima: Wow.
Lauryn: He's heated.
Nima: Yeah, I would be heated too, yeah.
Lauryn: He also brought up an incredibly valid point. There was absolutely no intent to harm or kill in this case. Yeah. Something central to every murder case. Yeah, exactly. So, the charge shouldn't be anything more than manslaughter, is what he argued. At the worst.
Yeah. At absolute worst. I would agree. Martin Livingston got into some back and forth on the matter, and ultimately Magistrate Williams remanded the case until the next day. Most of the evidence in this case was comprised of witness testimony, and there were some delays with being able to locate certain witnesses, which meant testimony would be heard over many days.
Day 2 opened up with the Crown giving their evidence, starting with testimonies from the various doctors who either cared for Hattie or performed the post mortem exams. Dr. McKechnie reaffirmed that Dr. Telford took a suitable course of action with Hattie's treatment, stating the [00:38:00] cervical laceration was most likely self inflicted and sanitarium.
I really liked one question that Martin asked McKechnie when he was on the stand. He asked if there was any shame associated with performing the abortion procedure with Dr. Telford on the Thursday evening. McKechnie immediately replied, No, there was nothing to be ashamed of. We do it every day. Why, we have to do it.
Nima: Hmm, that's an interesting answer.
Lauryn: So it's very much his medical position. No, this was necessary. We do what we need to do to save our patients lives. We do it every day.
Nima: Yeah, love that.
Lauryn: I felt this really enforced that doctors do make difficult decisions in the best interest of their patient.
Nima: For sure.
Lauryn: McKechnie also testified he believed the cause of death to be uremic poisoning from the retention of urine in the kidneys. Right. One physician who performed Hattie's post mortem, Dr. Poole, testified that he believed the lacerations were not self inflicted and that the cause of death was septic infection as a result of bacteria introduced during the [00:39:00] abortion.
He didn't specify if it was the backyard abortion or The one performed by Telford, though. And it also, in what was provided in the news article that gave this testimony, it also didn't specify which it was. Hmm. Interesting. So also, I don't know in that case then if Dr. Poole is saying it could have been either.
Right. Martin pressed him, and this is a quote, Wasn't it common for women to tamper with themselves? To which Poole replied that he did not think a woman would first attempt to do it on herself.
Nima: What do you mean?
Lauryn: Yeah.
Nima: What?
Lauryn: Because it's, I guess, so painful and difficult to go through, how could you fathom a woman doing that?
Dude. Uh. How could you fathom going through an unwanted pregnancy that's going to destroy your life?
Nima: Yeah, I mean, with the way that they used to shame women. Really like ostracize them based on that then. Yeah, of course, you're gonna do that. I I don't know I mean, I know there's gonna be some women who are gonna do that and a woman in her [00:40:00] stature Especially right can't be seen like that or the shame is on the whole family and blah blah blah You know the story
Lauryn: and obviously this isn't something that All doctors agreed upon because Dr. Telford, we already know, told David, you know, this is something women do to themselves, to themselves, not by someone else. Could be by somebody else. She could have had help.
Nima: Yeah, maybe. But it would have been on her doing, right?
Lauryn: Most likely. But in any case, who cares? Yeah, yeah. Who cares if it's self inflicted or if she had help?
It happened.
Nima: It happened.
Lauryn: Either way. Coming back to Dr. Poole's testimony, he also testified that he did not believe the laceration was caused by a physician because it indicated a lack of skill. Right. So again, supports the back The other doctors present at Hattie's post mortem confirmed that they too believed the cause of death to be septic poisoning.
However, one of them, Dr. Keith, said his medical opinion may have varied if he had been attending to the case prior [00:41:00] to death, putting some doubt in the cause of death firmly being septic poisoning.
Nima: Just from that one guy?
Lauryn: Just, well, I mean, he's saying I didn't attend to her, so if I had attended to her, maybe I would have believed the cause of death to be something else.
If there was another symptom I would have, I had observed, or. Okay, sure. I found that to be strange. I mean. From a post mortem exam, which is kind of. The whole point is to prove what happened post mortem, but in any case, I think this helps us to understand Where medical knowledge stood at the time for them to have that kind of doubt from the post mortem exam, right?
This is this is at a point in time where medical discoveries are Popping up left right and center. We're constantly discovering new things. Of course. I wouldn't be surprised if that's kind of framing his mind there. Fair. Dr. Monro was actually one of the doctors who Hattie visited prior to the sanitarium And he testified that David had come to him seeking an abortion for Hattie, which he refused He examined Hattie a few weeks later on May 25th and confirmed the pregnancy And noted the [00:42:00] laceration on her cervix, which he did not believe to be self inflicted.
Nima: Oh Really?
Lauryn: Again, who's to say whether or not it's self inflicted and why does that matter?
Nima: Yeah, it doesn't in the grand scheme of things.
Lauryn: It doesn't. I I think if anything the lawyers may have been trying to Create a dialogue around David's intent even though this
Nima: yeah, that's a good point
Lauryn: But the charge about procuring the abortion and conspiring about it with David that isn't there if the charge has been upgraded to murder So I don't i'm not too sure what that line of questioning really is set to prove here But in any case it I think does help to paint the moral picture of what are these people thinking about judge, jury, lawyers, you know, everybody that's observing from the benches.
Right. It's just how society was at the time. Several nurses also gave their testimony, speaking to the administration of drugs like Ergot and other treatments to restore organ function. The case was adjourned for two days to allow for witnesses to be in Vancouver to give their testimony, and [00:43:00] Magistrate Williams issued a warrant for David to appear as a witness.
David was found and arrested in Portland, Oregon, and returned north of the border to appear as a witness in Dr. Telford's case. The court session on Thursday, August 4th was unprecedented. David was being held by police as a material witness, and his lawyer, G. F. Cane, argued that his client was refused the ability to speak with his lawyer upon his arrest and was arrested without charge, and that the magistrate was not able to enforce this warrant since David was arrested in the U. S. Mmm, Okay. Martin supported Cane, and in the way that we know Martin likes to dominate the courtroom, he inquired if the magistrate had taken the correct steps to extradite David. Okay. He even went as far as to quote the criminal code verbatim, which states the magistrate's power is limited to be exercised within the province of British Columbia only.
Nima: Oh, wow. Put in your place.
Lauryn: Oh yeah, he brought receipts. Of course, Martin's motive here was to [00:44:00] somehow get David's testimony thrown out. Martin continued to press the magistrate to know the conditions under which David was being held, saying that the Crown either gave evidence unbeknownst to the defence to support this warrant, or that the magistrate had acted outside of his jurisdiction in enforcing the arrest warrant.
Right. The warrant for David's arrest from the coroner's jury was never actually acted on since the Crown hadn't decided to pursue the charges against David. Martin continued to demand to see the evidence which justified this warrant before the witness should resume the stand to which the magistrate Continued to refuse to produce the affidavit on which the warrant was issued Really?
So there's basically No formal charge by police for David to be under arrest because they're not acting on the one that was issued from the coroner's jury. And now the defense's lawyers are saying, well, hold on, the magistrate can only enforce his warrant to appear in court. Within the province of British Columbia and he was arrested in Oregon.
Yeah, [00:45:00] Magistrate Williams. What are you doing?
Nima: And where's the where's the evidence?
Lauryn: Yeah, where's the evidence to support exactly acting outside of your jurisdiction.
Nima: That's the biggest thing Show me the evidence and I'll be like whatever you did a little bit of a you know slap on the wrist But
Lauryn: yeah, and and the magistrate just outright refused to show this to him and it just got into a whole bunch of back and forth It was insane reading through this article was very entertaining.
Nima: That's interesting. Yeah
Lauryn: Cane continued to contest his client going up on the stand, saying he did not have adequate time to speak with his client since he was only retained 20 minutes before court began that morning. The magistrate ignored these arguments and David went on to the stand. He refused to answer all questions and was held in contempt and kept in jail until the next day's proceedings.
Nima: I mean, kind of smart.
Lauryn: Yeah. I wonder if that was their strategy in those 20 minutes. Say nothing, just say you're not going to say anything, we'll figure it out.
Nima: Yeah, we'll figure it out.
Lauryn: The Magistrate remanded the case to the next day and called for the next case, but Martin continued to insist on seeing the evidence, keeping David under arrest.
Martin and Magistrate [00:46:00] Williams really went at it. At one point, the Magistrate said to Martin, "You can't bully me!" To which he replied, "Oh, I'll do something that'll have more effect than bullying ever had on you." Like, Martin holds nothing back in the courtroom.
Nima: I love that, though.
Lauryn: Oh, he's great. Yeah. The magistrate eventually called the court officer to remove Martin so he could proceed with the other cases on the docket, concluding the case's proceedings for the day.
Nima: What a bitch.
Lauryn: Had to get him thrown out.
Nima: Yeah. Yeah.
Lauryn: David finally gave his testimony the next day, and the court finally heard from the man whom many deemed ultimately responsible for Hattie's death. Cane made a point of clarifying that this testimony is only to be used in the case against Dr. Telford, and that this would not be used against his client in any future proceedings.
Nima: Mmm, smart.
Lauryn: David told the story of how they had grown fond of each other in the late winter months of that year and found out about Hattie's pregnancy in the springtime. He first pleaded with Hattie to marry him and bought her a ring and even had his life insurance policies in both Canada and his native [00:47:00] Scotland amended so Hattie would be his beneficiary.
Wow. This was done to ensure that she and their child would be taken care of if anything ever happened to David. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. He pleaded with her to tell friends and family so that she could at least have their support through her condition. Yeah. Hattie would not accept his proposal despite the public announcement.
Eventually, he supported her wish to terminate the pregnancy, and this led to his meeting with Dr. Telford in early July. David went over Telford's refusal to perform the abortion, but that he would need to examine Hattie on the appendicitis matter. He mentioned Telford's anecdote about women tampering with themselves.
Martin was careful in his questioning David to determine if David explicitly told Dr. Telford that Hattie was the young lady he got into trouble during this meeting, to which David insisted Hattie's name was never mentioned. Okay. This was done to show that there was no prior intent in Hattie's death.
If Telford didn't know who the young lady in question was up until he actually examined her himself and agreed to perform the abortion. Good point. The Crown [00:48:00] questioned David about the part of the conversation concerning women tampering with themselves. David said that Dr. Telford had told him that women in Hattie's situation would sometimes use sharp instruments to do this and he showed David a metal catheter which may be used.
David took the catheter with him but testified that he never told Hattie about it or showed it to her. Hmm. Martin later argued that this was at worst improper of Telford to share this knowledge with David, but in no way was it criminal when it was in reference to no specific woman. No. The Crown tried to reduce the charge to manslaughter, which Martin refused to accept, saying the Crown was either arguing that there was or was not intent in this case, but they couldn't choose to do both.
Nima: Interesting. I like that.
Lauryn: The crown admitted that they didn't have the evidence to prove that Telford had prior intent to harm Hattie. However, Livingston did say that he believed that a guilty man would have taken the course that Telford did. The police court magistrate ruled that the case would be [00:49:00] committed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia since Telford should be judged in a higher court and he should stand trial the following month on the charge of manslaughter rather than murder.
Nima: What? So he just sent it up.
Lauryn: Literally, that's what he did.
Nima: This guy just doesn't do his job, eh?
Lauryn: Yeah, he kind of takes the easy way out in these situations.
Nima: Yeah, pass it on.
Lauryn: Later that day, David was released from prison since the Crown decided not to pursue the charges laid against him by the coroner's jury.
So that matter was officially resolved, no charge there for David. Yeah, that's good. The Supreme Court trial proceedings began on Thursday, September 1st, and immediately the Crown, represented by Deputy Attorney General H. A. McLean, tried to have the charge upgraded to murder once again.
Nima: Oh my lord.
Lauryn: This back and forth is crazy, isn't it?
Nima: Yeah, it's ridiculous, man.
Lauryn: Martin must be losing his shit right now.
Nima: Yes. Pissing contests, love it.
Lauryn: And he is so good at calling all of them out for it.
Nima: Yeah, yeah, yeah, a hundred percent.
Lauryn: Judge Bole presiding on the case denied [00:50:00] the request and the trial continued on the manslaughter charge.
Nima: I mean, that's good. At least makes sense. Yeah.
Lauryn: The charge was read aloud to Telford who stood in the prisoner's box of the again packed courtroom, and he once again pleaded not guilty. The first three days of the trial heard the Crown call upon several witnesses who had already testified in the previous inquest and police court trial.
The defense would call no witnesses.
Nima: Oh, wow.
Lauryn: I mean, Martin said from the beginning, there's no evidence in this.
Nima: Yeah, that's fair.
Lauryn: So I think he's just really sticking to that.
Nima: Don't waste my time. Yeah. Yeah.
Lauryn: David was among the first witnesses to be called to provide his testimony and went over mostly the same details from his police court testimony.
David this time testified that he procured a prescription for abortion drugs from Dr. Monro, which he gave to Hattie in early May. The drugs did not give the intended effects. Hmm. It turned out that the prescription was actually written by Monro's practice partner, Dr. Brydone-Jack, which was proven by pharmacy records.
So Monro actually didn't do that. Okay. He stood on the side of [00:51:00] no abortion firmly. Okay. McLean questioned several nurses, specifically on the matters of types of medical equipment in Hattie's exam and treatment rooms, to establish if there was intent to perform the abortion. Hmm. Nurse Wallace testified that a dilator was in the room during Hattie's initial exam.
However, she didn't know if it was being used for the curetting procedure or purely examination purposes. Right. Hospital matron Calhoun was firm that there was no evidence of curetting after the initial fake appendicitis procedure. She did, however, testify that when she left the operating room, Dr. Telford was administering a cleansing douche to the patient, which was not standard for an appendicitis surgery. The Crown pressed if this was indicative that Telford intended to invade the patient's womb, which she initially said she could not be sure of, but after being pressed by McLean, she said it typically meant the womb would, in fact, be invaded.
Okay. Martin was quick to cross examine and ask if the douche may have been used to treat the laceration and try to prevent [00:52:00] infection, which Calhoun said was also extremely possible given the nature of the laceration. Dr. Monro also took the stand and went over his interactions with Hattie outside of the sanitarium, as well as when he had been called in to consult with Dr. Telford prior to her death. He believed that Hattie could not have caused the laceration herself without having caused damage to other parts of her body.
Nima: Oh, okay.
Lauryn: Hattie's father, John, testified for the first time, saying that he was not aware of his daughter being admitted to the quote unquote "so called sanitarium."
Those were his words. And she was not there with his consent. He later found out that she was being treated for appendicitis from his wife, then called and spoke with Telford, who also told him that this was the case. Okay. And this information had come from family friend Mrs. Macdonald, who had taken Hattie.
Nima: Right, right.
Lauryn: So it's all broken telephone that this information's coming through to her family.
Nima: Got it.
Lauryn: Like I mentioned earlier, it was when he was actually organizing Hattie's funeral that John learned about the true cause of Hattie's death. The issue of consent proved to be [00:53:00] interesting. A medical student, Laughlin McMillan, testified that Telford had gone over Hattie's operational plan with him to get his opinion on their course of action when it came to telling her parents.
McMillan said that since Hattie was over the age of 21, she did not need her parents consent for the procedure. But he would not assist Telford with the operation because of where he stood on the whole matter.
Nima: Right.
Lauryn: Both with abortion and with the fake procedure. He didn't agree with either. I think Hattie actually lied to the sanitarium about her age because she was actually 20 years and 9 months old at the time.
Nima: Mmm.
Lauryn: So I think part of him getting around with the whole fake operation, she just lied and said she was 21.
Nima: Yeah. Close enough. Smart.
Lauryn: Since Hattie was, in fact, under 21 at the time, she was still considered a minor under law of 1904. Mm hmm. And at the time, those women, those minor women, were under their father's care, so technically she did need her father's consent.
Right. Dr. McKechnie later took the stand and again stood firm in his position that everything was done correctly [00:54:00] and in the best interest of the patient. Dr. Poole again testified about Hattie's post mortem, and this time some additional details were shared. There were some pieces of placenta still in her uterus, which was quite enlarged, and her kidneys appeared to be normal, which would not be the case if she had died from uremic poisoning.
Okay. The remaining placenta tissue is what led Poole to believe sepsis was the cause of death. Yeah. So again, we're finally getting more information here about what really went on. Yeah. An expert witness, Dr. Walker from New Westminster, who had no relation to Hattie or the case, was called to provide his expert opinion on Dr. Telford's conduct. He said that his recommended course of treatment for a woman at risk of miscarriage was to administer opiates and rest.
Nima: Opiates and rest?
Lauryn: I'm not a doctor, but I will say, do not take opiates while you're pregnant.
Nima: While you're pregnant? Yeah, I mean, I could at least tell you that much.
Lauryn: Now, for the rest of his course of treatment, if the abortion or [00:55:00] miscarriage had already commenced, then it would be standard practice to perform the procedure to remove the contents of the uterus. Otherwise, retained placenta can result in septic poisoning. So, basically here, his testimony is just Backing up what all of the other doctors have said.
Right? Which is if it had already started and it wasn't a medical professional who started the abortion, right, that's fine. You as a medical professional, need to finish it because that's gonna save the patient because there's otherwise such a high risk of septic poisoning. Exactly. So that's his professional opinion. Unrelated for the case,
Nima: or take opiates, first. First take opiates. Sorry.
Lauryn: No, but hold on. Hold on. Coming back to that point. Does that actually prove either side of the defense or the crown here, that expert witness, what he's saying?
Nima: I mean his second part of it, you know, obviously sides with the other ones, with the other doctors, right?
So I think that helps them, but I don't know, the first side is pretty funny. The opiate doesn't [00:56:00] do much in my opinion, but back, but back then it might have. So I don't know who it helps. I think it does help the The defense in this situation because it does support that if that was the case, that the doctor needs to take care of the patient there.
Lauryn: Yes, and that's ultimately the biggest thing that Martin is trying to prove in his cross examinations. The proceedings closed on September 3rd and the judge provided his decision on Tuesday, September 6th. Judge Bole decided that Dr. Robert Telford was not guilty of manslaughter and was immediately released from police custody.
Nima: Yay.
Lauryn: In his ruling, Bole stated that virtually all of the evidence which was introduced was circumstantial, and it equally supported Dr. Telford's innocence. He also said that since the evidence was mostly expert or witness testimony, which he believed was weak or uncertain, this also supported the not guilty verdict.
Nima: I would agree with that, and I still agree with that today. That, and a [00:57:00] lot of people, especially in the States, are convicted off of witness testimony.
Lauryn: Just witness testimony.
Nima: Just strictly that. That is circumstantial as fuck. And it's proven that we create, you know, false memories and in those times we don't see things properly.
I mean, there's so much research. I am not a professional at this, but I have watched and studied enough to know that if you're just basing it on that. And nothing else. That, that case is going to be tough.
Lauryn: Well, with the testimony in this one, with the nature of these witnesses, it wasn't so much a matter of remembering the events that happened, but medically and professionally speaking, was the conduct of these actions correct?
Nima: True.
Lauryn: Or was it criminal?
Nima: Yeah.
Lauryn: So that's even more interesting with how subjective that testimony is. The judge is acknowledging how Different those biases are in medicine. Yeah, and the different moral and ethical areas of medicine and [00:58:00] ultimately here He's saying this is the law you haven't really proven without a doubt beyond a reasonable doubt He's guilty of manslaughter.
Nima: Yeah, and a lot of these cases are actually the ones that are they're all based off of now Right these big wins or whatever. They might be then the future is based off of that the lawyers or attorneys
Lauryn: Yeah, that's what sets the precedent
Nima: say there's the precedent, you know, so based on that, boom.
Lauryn: Exactly right coming back to this case in hand the courtroom burst into joyous cheers and applause and it took several minutes for everyone to settle down before Dr. Telford could actually be released from the prisoner's box.
Nima: Oh, wow. I'm not surprised though.
Lauryn: No, he Everybody in Vancouver loved him. Yeah, he did a lot for the city not just with the sanitarium But like I said, he was very involved with his church with community groups. He volunteered He donated a lot of money and things a lot of people really liked him He was a good guy and it seemed to show with the way everyone reacted to the not guilty verdict Of course, the story didn't stop here.
I'll get into what happens next after one [00:59:00] quick break.
Nima: Sounds good.
Lauryn: And we're back.
Nima: We are back.
Lauryn: Before we get into what happened to Dr. Telford, I first wanted to talk about what I was able to find about David McHarg after the sensational trial. It seems that David took John Bowell's advice and he did leave the country. He had siblings who lived in the eastern USA and he eventually settled in New York City.
I first found him listed on the 1910 U. S. Federal Census, living in the heart of Manhattan, New York, working as a salesman again. He was still living in Manhattan when he registered for the first World War draft in 1917, but by 1920 he was living with his sister Jane and her family at their house in Brooklyn, New York.
He wasn't living with them when the 1930 census was taken, and I couldn't find him in any other records after 1920 that I could say were certainly this David. So for now, his story unfortunately remains a bit of a mystery.
Nima: Okay.
Lauryn: The [01:00:00] Bowell family stayed in Vancouver after Hattie's death. Her mother Alma died in 1918 after being in declining health for several months.
John Bowell continued in his position as collector of customs for some time after Hattie's death. He later retired and passed away in 1927 after having a heart attack while driving.
Nima: Hmm.
Lauryn: Kinda sad.
Nima: Sad, yeah.
Lauryn: Hattie's younger siblings married and mostly stayed in the Vancouver area, having families of their own.
I unfortunately couldn't find any mention of Hattie outside of references to the case of her death after seeing everything settled with Dr. Telford's trial. There didn't seem to be any newspaper memorials, and she wasn't mentioned in her parents obituaries as having pre deceased them. This is most likely since she died such a shameful death in the eyes of so many in the early 20th century, and her parents wouldn't want to have associated with that shame, even in their obituaries.
Nima: That's so fucked.
Lauryn: Like I said earlier, Dr. Telford's story didn't stop when he was released following his [01:01:00] manslaughter acquittal. Telford's medical license had been suspended when he was on trial for Hattie's death, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons opened an inquest into his conduct in November of 1904 to see if his license could be reinstated.
They were investigating the unethical nature of his practices. However, there was no formal complaint made against Telford, which is typically what opened these types of reviews. Hmm. So, the not guilty verdict wasn't enough alone to reinstate his license. They had to do this additional investigation.
Nima: Hmm, that's annoying.
Lauryn: By February of 1905, the inquest had found that Telford had acted unprofessionally, but not unethically, when performing the fake operation, which was done to preserve the dignity of the patient and shield her from shame from her family. But this did not justify revoking his license. So at that time, it was reinstated.
Nima: Okay, it didn't justify revoking it.
Lauryn: Exactly.
Nima: That's good. Okay.
Lauryn: Doesn't stop there, though, because the Provincial Medical Association appealed this decision in June of 1905. [01:02:00] Which went to the BC Supreme Court for the appeal judgment to be made. Okay. The case went on until November when the court sided with the Medical Association and Telford's license was revoked.
Since they had found he acted illegally and unethically in keeping Hattie's true condition from her parents and operating without their consent since 21 and considered a minor. So that's what they got him on for the appeal.
Nima: Nice technicalities there, guys.
Lauryn: Telford applied to the Medical Association to have his license reinstated again in the spring of 1906, and the decision was again ruled on in the fall, where he was once again denied reinstatement.
In an act of retaliation, Telford offered medical services to his patients at the sanitarium but did not charge for his services. So he technically wasn't practicing medicine if he was simply helping with ailments. So the way that he did make some money though was by charging patients for use of the sanitarium facilities like the Turkish [01:03:00] baths.
Nima: Totally.
Lauryn: In May of 1907, however, he was charged with practicing surgery for hire, allegedly having collected money from some patients for minor surgical procedures.
Nima: Hmm.
Lauryn: This charge was tried in Vancouver Police Court by Magistrate Williams.
Nima: Of course.
Lauryn: And he ultimately fined Dr. Telford 10 in hopes that this would discourage him from practicing without a license.
Nima: Wow.
Lauryn: Again, this one had some pretty circumstantial evidence at best. There were certain receipts provided to show like the nature of charges and that sort of thing. And basically Telford's team said, well, these are, these are the full itemized receipts if they were to be getting the full charge for surgical services, but they're only paying for maybe like medication or, you know, like Guys and those sorts of medical supplies.
So even though the patient's bill may have been fifteen dollars In fact, he only paid three dollars for the costs of these things and not the services
Nima: It's just hidden. It's built into it.
Lauryn: Exactly. Yeah, exactly. So again, it was pretty wishy [01:04:00] washy Circumstantial evidence. So for that reason ten dollars slap on the wrist.
Nima: That is a slap on the wrist
Lauryn: Yeah Telford obviously wasn't a poor man and he paid his fine immediately, of course And the slap on the wrist was basically Williams way of acknowledging that the authorities charges were valid while still being sympathetic to Telford.
Nima: I mean uh, it's a W for him, but I mean, go ahead, give yourself a pat on the back, man.
Lauryn: Telford continued to apply for his license to be reinstated, and when he applied again in spring of 1908, nearly four years after Hattie's death, A long petition filled with signatures in support of the doctor was sent in alongside the other application requirements. There were letters to the editor written in local newspapers over the next year defaming the Provincial Medical Association, and many accused the association of keeping Telford from practicing as a means of ensuring their other members would profit from treating patients.
Ooh. The context here [01:05:00] was that the sanitarium had become incredibly popular in the city, not just because of Dr. Telford's personal popularity, but because it was truly a premier medical facility. Right. They had a nurse's training program and consistently implemented new technology and medical practices to offer their patients robust modern treatment.
Telford even bought a ranch on the north side of the city to grow fruits and veggies for the sanitarium kitchen, ensuring his patients always had access to nutritious food.
Nima: Love that.
Lauryn: So a lot of people just genuinely wanted a place that was better.
Nima: Yeah.
Lauryn: And the sanitarium had all of these really great things.
Nima: Yeah.
Lauryn: So, of course, if you're paying for your treatment, You're gonna go to the place that has better treatment.
Nima: Yeah, that grows their own fruit and food. Like, that's dedication.
Lauryn: Yeah, exactly. Because of his popularity, the public felt that the doctors who were licensed members of the Medical Association imposed punitive action against Telford to ensure patients would come to their practices. To pay for and receive quote unquote "legitimate" health care.
Nima: Legitimate.
Lauryn: After over a year of intense [01:06:00] pressure from the public, Telford's fourth application for reinstatement was finally approved in June of 1909, which received significant coverage in the newspapers.
Nima: Yay, again.
Lauryn: Everyone was so happy.
Nima: Yeah, it's awesome.
Lauryn: Well, almost everyone. There was a small camp that were not happy, but the majority were very happy. Yeah. The general community sentiment was that Dr. Telford was unfairly persecuted by his medical peers for performing a medically necessary procedure on a patient who was desperate to protect the best interests of everyone in her life, and many felt sympathy for this incredibly difficult position Hattie was in.
Of course, this reporting came five years after her death, but I was surprised by the overall tone of reporting these attitudes. Like I said, everybody in those reports were basically like what he did he needed to do and it was an unfortunate outcome And that's just the nature of medicine sometimes.
Nima: Yeah It is. Yeah. It still is.
Lauryn: It still is. And obviously we do see that there are malpractice lawsuits all of the time, especially down in the United States. Yep. But still, it is, it is an [01:07:00] unfortunate outcome in, in medicine. 100%. It seemed to be understood that there would have been inevitable shame brought to Hattie, but conversely, there was little shame cast by the public towards Dr. Telford, who did what any good doctor would do, which is put his patient's best interest before his own. Right. Of course, the question remains, do you think Dr. Telford acted unethically and put Hattie in danger with his medical conduct, or do you think that he acted in accordance with what was best holistically for his patient, which was protecting her personal and familiar reputation?
Nima: I mean, if you're asking me, he did the right thing. He was trying to protect her all around, trying to save her from the shame. Trying to save her from a botched job when, you know, she has, obviously, some issues happening. Bleeding, you know, everything until she passes. So I think he did everything that he could.
And, in fact, he was just stuck between a rock and a hard place at that time. But I don't think he should be blamed. I think, if [01:08:00] anything, he should be looked at as a good doctor. That's really all it is.
Lauryn: Do you think performing the fake procedure for appendicitis was ethical, given the circumstances?
Nima: Yes, I did.
I 100 percent do. You know, because again, you're saving... Saving her from shame, and that's kind of his way of being able to do it, right? Without, without anyone noticing off of paper, otherwise, right? So, I think, yeah, it saves, it saves everyone a lot of hurt, you know what I mean? At least that's what it was there to do initially.
Obviously, this was an unfortunate case, but I think overall what he did was something good.
Lauryn: Yeah, and if Hattie had lived, like, had been argued, what most, and again, this is very circumstantial, and this is a pretty unfounded argument because it's completely hypothetical, but if she had lived, the most likely thing would have been that she would have recovered in hospital to the point [01:09:00] where when she was ready to go home, she would have had a scar on her abdomen that looked like she'd been operated on for appendicitis.
Nima: Totally.
Lauryn: The only potential thing in the issue, or the only potential future issue would have been if she did have real appendicitis down the line and then, hey, what's that scar, maybe then it could have been an issue for her. Right. Of having that conversation. Yeah. But by the same token, that's again a hypothetical.
Nima: 100 percent.
Lauryn: She would have been spared those initial conversations at least when, The pregnancy was fresh when the abortion was fresh when she's most vulnerable and you know Your hormones are going crazy when you're pregnant. You're having to make this incredibly difficult decision. Yeah Out of terrible other choices, like, you could have gotten married, you could have taken other drugs to try to terminate the abortion, like, all around this is a terrible situation for her to be in.
Of course. I completely agree that I think this was the best way to, like you said, kind of protect everybody involved, keep things on a strictly a need to know basis, because at the end of the day, a woman's pregnancy [01:10:00] is really only her business until she decides to make it other people's business.
Nima: Agreed.
Lauryn: And it seems that Dr. Telford understood what we feel today.
Nima: Yeah, for sure.
Lauryn: After his license was reinstated, Dr. Telford continued to operate the sanitarium until 1915, when he scaled down and opened his private practice nearby. He operated his practice right up until his death in November of 1938, when he died in his office at the age of 69.
So he literally was working right up until his death. Around the time of Dr. Telford's death, attitudes towards abortion were shifting. The abortion death rate became a great concern in many parts of the world, and as a result, different countries and jurisdictions globally began changing attitudes and opening up access to legal abortion in the mid 20th century.
Today in Canada, it's rare that we see stories like Hattie's, thanks to both medical advances and a change in attitudes towards women's reproductive health and rights. And as we end this episode, I just want to say that women like Hattie did not die in [01:11:00] vain in their pursuits for bodily autonomy, since she and thousands of women in Canada's abortion history are in part responsible for the right to choose that I have today.
Nima: Yep.
Lauryn: And that's it for another episode.
Nima: That's it. That's all.
Lauryn: Thank you again for listening and continuing to show us your support. If you liked the episode, please leave us a rating and a review on your favorite listening app. We also have an audience question posted for each episode on Spotify. So if you're listening on Spotify, we'd love to know your thoughts.
Nima: And if you really like what you heard, please do us a big favor and share the episode with your friends and family. Lauryn literally does a little happy dance every time she sees you guys share the show on Instagram and when we get a new rating.
Lauryn: I do, I really do that little happy dance. I really do.
Getting to share these stories with more and more true crime lovers is what we love doing. So help us reach more like minded listeners like you. Send the show to your sister, your mom, your boss, whoever. It really means the world to us.
Nima: You can find us on [01:12:00] Instagram @rootedincrime and you can send us an email at rootedincrime@gmail.com. The link is in the description to show notes, resources, case photos, the episode transcript, and more. If you'd like to support the show, you can find us on Patreon at patreon.com/rootedincrime
Lauryn: And a special thanks to Lindsay Macdonald for writing and producing our intro and transition music.
And that's it.
Nima: Until next time.
Lauryn: Thanks again, everyone.