obstetrics in this country; and a few months before his late
demise, he had published a useful work on "Obstetric Accidents,
Emergencies, and Operations."

In 1892 he read, before the St. Louis Obstetrical and Gynecological
Society, a lecture on the moral aspects of craniotomy and abortion, of
which a considerable portion is very much to our present purpose. The
Doctor herein clearly demonstrates that, in this matter at least, Ethics
and Medical Science are to-day perfectly concordant. He says:

"The operation of craniotomy is a very old one. The ancients entertained
the belief that, in difficult labors, the unborn child was an unjust
aggressor against the mother, and must, therefore, be sacrificed to save
her life.

"Hippocrates, Celsus, Avicenna, and the Arabian School invented a number
of vulnerating instruments to enter and crush the child's cranium. With
the advance of the obstetric art, more conservative measures were
gradually adopted, such as the forceps, version, induction of premature
labor, and, finally, Cesarean section.

"Cesarean section is reported to have been performed by Nicola de Falcon
in the year 1491. Nufer, in 1500, and Rousset, in 1581, performed it a
great many times, always successfully; so that, Scipio Murunia affirms,
it was as common in France during that epoch as blood-letting was in
Italy, where at that time patients were bled for almost every disease.
However, a reaction soon followed, headed by Guillemau and Ambrose Pare,
who had failed in their attempts at Cesarean section. In our days a
marked change of opinion on this interesting and delicate question is
rapidly taking place.

"With these advances in view, the question now is:

"_Are we ever justified in killing an unborn child in order to save the
mother's life?_

"This is a burning question, and the sooner and more satisfactorily it
is settled, the greater will be the peace to the medical mind and
conscience.

"In answer to the question, I, at the outset, reply _No_, and claim
that, under no conditions or circumstances, is it ever allowable to
destroy the life of the child in order to increase the mother's chances
of living. And the day may arrive when, by the law of the land, the act
will be considered criminal and punished as such. In support of this
opinion, and to illustrate this position, allow me to take a purely
ethical and medico-legal view of the subject, and to relate to you a
parallel case, as also the decision