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As word spread that two fetuses had been found in the basement of what had once been a medical clinic south of Broadway in downtown Hannibal, so did speculation that they had been aborted.
“I’ve heard from several different people the rumor that this used to be a back-room abortion clinic,” said Darrell McCoy, Marion County coroner, regarding the property at 203 S. Sixth St. “I have no proof of that. I know nothing of that.”
According to McCoy, the remains are from 55 to 60 years old. Considering the condition of the fetuses, one of which was estimated to be around 20 weeks when it died and the other approximately 28 weeks, McCoy is skeptical that their end came as the result of an abortion.
“Two OBGYNs at Hannibal Clinic commented that these fetuses are very well intact and the way abortions were done back in the ‘40s, ‘50s and even early ‘60s, it would be very rare to have a fetus this well preserved if it was an abortion. It was more than likely not an abortion,” he said.
The deaths likely did result from having been born too early.
“Fifty years ago when women went into early labor ... pre-term labor, we didn’t have the surgery centers or medicine to stop their labor, so there were a lot of premature births,” said McCoy. “Talking to the physicians out there this afternoon, their thought on it was what happened is it was a pre-term birth.”
The remains were likely claimed by a physician wherever the delivery occurred, speculated McCoy.
“It wasn’t taboo and it wouldn’t have been rare for a physician to keep premature fetuses to study, or whatever the case may be. We don’t know,” he said.
While McCoy realizes that the rumor mill can spin very fast, he doesn’t believe the abortion theory is accurate after examining the remains and talking with medical personnel.
“Based on what we’re finding this afternoon and doing a little bit more examination on the fetuses, I’m not going to say it’s impossible for them to have been aborted, but there was no trauma indicated on these fetuses. They were very well preserved and in very good shape for their age,” he said, noting that they were found in jars containing some type of formaldehyde, which had then been placed in a larger container which dated back to approximately the same era as the remains.
As word spread that two fetuses had been found in the basement of what had once been a medical clinic south of Broadway in downtown Hannibal, so did speculation that they had been aborted.
“I’ve heard from several different people the rumor that this used to be a back-room abortion clinic,” said Darrell McCoy, Marion County coroner, regarding the property at 203 S. Sixth St. “I have no proof of that. I know nothing of that.”
According to McCoy, the remains are from 55 to 60 years old. Considering the condition of the fetuses, one of which was estimated to be around 20 weeks when it died and the other approximately 28 weeks, McCoy is skeptical that their end came as the result of an abortion.
“Two OBGYNs at Hannibal Clinic commented that these fetuses are very well intact and the way abortions were done back in the ‘40s, ‘50s and even early ‘60s, it would be very rare to have a fetus this well preserved if it was an abortion. It was more than likely not an abortion,” he said.
The deaths likely did result from having been born too early.
“Fifty years ago when women went into early labor ... pre-term labor, we didn’t have the surgery centers or medicine to stop their labor, so there were a lot of premature births,” said McCoy. “Talking to the physicians out there this afternoon, their thought on it was what happened is it was a pre-term birth.”
The remains were likely claimed by a physician wherever the delivery occurred, speculated McCoy.
“It wasn’t taboo and it wouldn’t have been rare for a physician to keep premature fetuses to study, or whatever the case may be. We don’t know,” he said.
While McCoy realizes that the rumor mill can spin very fast, he doesn’t believe the abortion theory is accurate after examining the remains and talking with medical personnel.
“Based on what we’re finding this afternoon and doing a little bit more examination on the fetuses, I’m not going to say it’s impossible for them to have been aborted, but there was no trauma indicated on these fetuses. They were very well preserved and in very good shape for their age,” he said, noting that they were found in jars containing some type of formaldehyde, which had then been placed in a larger container which dated back to approximately the same era as the remains.
