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[[File:466px-John_T._Hoffman_(portrait_by_Jacob_Lazarus).png|thumbnail|left|250px|John T. Hoffman Governor of New York vetoed the medical licensing law]]
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In 1872, American physicians were not licensed anywhere in the United States. Medicine was completely unregulated , and anyone could claim to be a physician. Most American physicians could be classified as either a regularsregular, homeopaths , or eclectics. These three medical sects were in brutal competition with each other. Regulars were part of a medical sect that could trace its roots to ancient Rome. Homeopaths and eclectics were part of medical sects that had been founded in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The ineffectiveness of Regular medical practice 's ineffectiveness encouraged people to explore new medical ideas that led to the creation for distinct medical sects. These new medical groups found willing patients who were understandably skeptical of traditional medicine.
These three sects were operating in an environment unencumbered by any meaningful regulation. Over the next thirty years, that would change dramatically. While regular physicians were predisposed to advocating for some type of medical licensing, state legislatures had so far expressed little interest in creating any medical licensing. Up until that point , nothing had occurred to galvanize widespread support for medical licensing until the summer of 1872.
====A Tragic Death====In late August 1872 in New York City, a young pregnant woman named Alice Augusta Bowlsby read an advertisement in the newspaper for a Dr. Ascher. The advertisement stated that Dr. Ascher could help “[l]adies in trouble, guaranteed immediate relief, sure and safe; no fee required until perfectly satisfied; elegant rooms and nursing provided.”<ref> ''New York Herald'', classified advertisement, August 29, 1871.</ref> Bowlsby went to Ascher’s office , where he performed an abortion. Bowlsby died from Ascher’s botched abortion, and her tragic death provided an opportunity for New York’s organized Regulars to open the debate for medical licensing.
Bowlsby’s death captured the attention of the ''New York Times'' and the ''New York Herald'' because the details of her death were incredibly salacious. After Bowlsby died, Ascher attempted to hide the woman’s death by shipping her body in a ramshackle trunk to Chicago by train. After an alert railroad employee searched the trunk, police authorities were quickly contacted and conducted an autopsy on the body. The coroner determined that the young woman died from several “severe lacerations” that “had been sustained in the attempt to affect an abortion.” The police quickly ascertained the identity of the young women and tracked down Jacob Rosenzweig, a 39-year-old Polish physician. The police learned that Rosenzweig practiced in New York City under the name Dr. Ascher.<ref> Newspaper accounts refer to Rosenzweig as both Rosenweig and Rosenzweig.</ref>
The ''Times'' relentlessly reported on the Bowlsby case because it was not only a headline-grabber, but it gave allowed the newspaper an opportunity to batter one of its chief rivals, the ''New York Herald''. The Times had a golden opportunity to accuse the Herald of enabling abortionists and hypocrisy. Soon after Bowlsby’s death, the Herald ran an editorial condemning abortionists. However, but the Herald’s editorial staff failed to notice that Rosenweig’s alias, Dr. Ascher, still advertised in the Herald's classified section. NaturuallyNaturally, the Times was overjoyed at the chance to castigate the Herald. While the Times may have had difficulty containing its glee, a quick scan of the ''New York Times'' classified section reveals that it, too, ran numerous advertisements for dubious doctors. The Bowlsby case was not the first abortion case to get publicity in 1871 in New York City. The New York City police had previously arrested two other physicians, Dr. Michael Wolff and Dr. Thomas Lookup Evans, for performing abortions that year. Both cases garnered media interest in New York City, but they led to any broader medical community action. Dr. Michael Wolff was convicted of second-degree manslaughter after the death of one of his patients. In that case, the presiding judge, Gunning Bedford, sentenced Wolff to seven years in prison and began a New York City campaign to stamp out an abortion. Bedford also presided over the trial of the other abortionist, Lookup Evans. Evans was charged with performing an abortion that killed twins. The Times refused to describe Evans’ alleged crime in the newspaper because it was of such a “revolting character” that it was completely “unfit for publication.”<ref> “Lookup Evans Again.” ''New York Times'', May 13, 1871, 2.</ref> ====Establishing Medical Licensing====Judge Bedford spoke to the New York Academy of Medicine members on September 30th at the start of the Bowlsby case. These prominent abortion cases convinced Bedford that New York City was “living in an atmosphere of abortion.” He stated that the authorities would “strain every nerve until these traffickers in human life are exterminated and driven from existence.” Aside from prosecuting abortionists under the law, Bedford argued that the legislature should change the penalty for abortion or abortion-related deaths from second-degree manslaughter to first-degree murder. If convicted of first-degree murder, doctors could be executed for botched abortions.<ref> “Judge Bedford’s Late Charge on Abortion – Complimentary Resolutions by the New York Academy of Medicine,” September 30, 1871, ''New York Times''.</ref> At the same meeting, members of the New York Academy of Medicine passed a resolution promising to “promote public health and public morals” and pledged to support “any legislative or other measures” advocated by law enforcement officials to “remove the pestilence of criminal abortion.”<ref> Judge Bedford’s Late Charge on Abortion – Complimentary Resolutions by the New York Academy of Medicine, September 30, 1871, ''New York Times''.</ref>
<div class="portal" style=Conclusion==Ultimately, Governor John Thompson Hoffman vetoed the medical licensing bill, but this was one the earliest and most successful efforts to establish medical licensing in the United States. <ref>Stephen Rogers, M.D., “The New Medical Law of the State of New York,” ''New York Medical Journal'', Vol. XX, July 1874, No. 1: 70-72.</ref> The medical community's efforts to pass medical licensing did not occur in a vacuum. Physicians throughout the United States were remarkably well connected. Organizations such as the American Medical Association served as a hub for the national community. State and local organizations across the country quickly became aware of the attempt by New York's medical community to enact medical licensing. In other states, medical groups would quickly follow the lead of their New York brethren. Unlike the New York physicians, they started to become successful in their efforts to pass medical licensing medical legislation. Similiarly to the physicians in New York, they tied licensing to other unrelated public health measures such as stronger anti-abortion laws or sanitary legislation.<ref>Sandvick, Clinton (2016) ''Defining the Practice of Medicine"width: Licensing American Physicians, 1870-1907'' (2016).</ref85%;">
====Related DailyHistory.org Articles===={{#dpl:category=Medical History|ordermethod=firstedit|order=descending|count=8}}</div> ====References====
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