Dr. Robert Douglas Spencer (1889–1969) was a general practitioner in Ashland, Pennsylvania, best known for his work as an illegal abortion provider in the decades before Roe v. Wade. He operated his practice from the 1920s until his death and is believed to have performed some 40,000 abortions.[1] He was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School,[2] graduating in 1915.[3] He served in the U.S. Army and worked for a few years as a chief pathologist in a miners' hospital.[3] He was known for embracing cutting-edge treatments for black lung disease and became one of the first doctors in the country to use sodium pentathol, radium pellets, and a bronchoscope.[3]
Spencer reportedly performed his first abortion in 1919,[3] 1923[4] or 1925, for the wife of a coal miner.[1] Word spread through social networks that Spencer was willing to perform abortions, and women seeking abortions traveled from around the country to Ashland.[1] Spencer originally charged $5 for an abortion and, though the expense went up over the decades, he reportedly never charged more than $100.[5]
The local residents were aware of his illegal practice but either tolerated or welcomed it. "The hotel, the restaurant, the dress shop all thrived on the extra business that came from his out-of-town patients. He built facilities at his clinic for Negro patients who weren't allowed to obtain overnight lodgings elsewhere in Ashland."[5]
Spencer was arrested three times but was never convicted.[1] His first arrests led to acquittals, and he died before the third case went to trial.[3]
Spencer reportedly considered performing abortions to be a public service, both on behalf of the women seeking them and as a means of curbing the population.[3]
A documentary, Dear Dr. Spencer, features a selection of letters written to Dr. Spencer by women seeking his services. It also features interviews with Spencer's widow, attorney, and friends, as well as with women he'd performed abortions on and a juror who had voted to acquit him at one of his trials though she was opposed to abortion.[1]