Madame Restell

Anna Lohman (1812-1877) and her husband, Charles, ran a flourishing mail-order business from the 1840s to the 1870s. Under the names Madame Restell and Dr. Mauriceau, they sold contraceptives an...

Anna Lohman (1812-1877) and her husband, Charles, ran a flourishing mail-order business from the 1840s to the 1870s. Under the names Madame Restell and Dr. Mauriceau, they sold contraceptives and operated an abortion clinic in New York City.

Her husband’s pseudonym is a reference to the famous obstetrician François Mauriceau (1637-1709), who introduced the reclining position during childbirth at the French court.

Madame Restell eventually became so widely known that Restellism was a synonym for abortion.

Anna Lohman (1812-1877) and her husband, Charles, ran a flourishing mail-order business from the 1840s to the 1870s. Under the names Madame Restell and Dr. Mauriceau, they sold contraceptives and operated an abortion clinic in New York City.

Her husband’s pseudonym is a reference to the famous obstetrician François Mauriceau (1637-1709), who introduced the reclining position during childbirth at the French court.

Madame Restell eventually became so widely known that Restellism was a synonym for abortion.