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Geraldine "Gerri" Santoro (; August 16, 1935June 8, 1964) was an American woman who died after attempting a
self-induced abortion A self-induced abortion (also called a self-managed abortion, or sometimes a self-induced miscarriage) is an abortion performed by the pregnant woman herself, or with the help of other, non-medical assistance. Although the term includes abortion ...
in 1964. A police photograph of her dead body, published by ''
Ms. Ms. (American English) or Ms (British English; normally , but also , or when unstressed)''Oxford English Dictionary'' online, Ms, ''n.2''. Etymology: "An orthographic and phonetic blend of Mrs ''n.1'' and miss ''n.2'' Compare mizz ''n.'' The pr ...
'' in 1973, became a symbol for the abortion-rights movement in the United States.


Biography

Santoro was raised, along with 14 siblings, on the farm of a
Ukrainian-American Ukrainian Americans are Americans who are of full or partial Ukrainians, Ukrainian ancestry. According to U.S. census estimates, in 2021 there were 1,017,586 Americans of Ukrainian descent representing 0.3% of the American population. The Ukr ...
family in
Coventry, Connecticut Coventry ( ) is a New England town, town in Tolland County and in the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, United States. The population was 12,235 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The birthpla ...
. She was described by those who knew her as "fun-loving" and "free-spirited". At age 18, she married Sam Santoro; the couple had two daughters together.


Circumstances of death

In 1963, her husband's
domestic abuse Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...
prompted Santoro to leave, and she and her daughters returned to her childhood home. She took a job at Mansfield State Training School, where she met another employee, Clyde Dixon. The two began an
extramarital affair An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or solely em ...
and Santoro became
pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...
. When Santoro's husband announced he was coming from
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
to visit his daughters, she feared for her life. On June 8, 1964, twenty-eight weeks into her pregnancy, she and Dixon checked into the Norwich Motel in
Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic River, Yantic, Shetucket River, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River f ...
, under
aliases A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's ow ...
. They intended to perform a self-induced
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
, using
surgical instrument A surgical instrument is a medical device for performing specific actions or carrying out desired effects during a surgery or operation, such as modifying biological tissue, or to provide access for viewing it. Over time, many different kinds of ...
s and information from a textbook which Dixon had obtained from Milton Ray Morgan, a teacher at the Mansfield school. Dixon fled the motel after Santoro began to bleed. She died, and her body was found the following morning by a maid. Dixon and Morgan were arrested three days later. Dixon was charged with
manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
, and Morgan was charged with conspiring to commit an illegal abortion. Dixon was sentenced to a year and day in prison.


Photograph

Police took a photograph of Santoro's body as she was found nude, kneeling, and collapsed upon the floor, with a bloody towel between her legs. The picture was used in placards and famously published in ''Ms.'' in April 1973, all without identifying Santoro. The photo has since become an
abortion-rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pr ...
symbol, used to illustrate that access to legal and professionally performed abortion reduces deaths from unsafe abortion. Leona Gordon, Santoro's sister, saw the photo in ''Ms.'' and recognized the subject. Santoro's daughters had been told their mother died in a car accident, which they believed until the photo became widely distributed. Of the photo's publication, Santoro's daughter, Joannie Santoro-Griffin, was quoted in 1995 as saying: "How dare they flaunt this? How dare they take my beautiful mom and put this in front of the public eye?" Later, Joannie became an abortion-rights activist, attending the
March for Women's Lives The March for Women's Lives was a protest demonstration held on April 25, 2004 at the National Mall in Washington, D. C. There was approximately 1.3 million participants. The demonstration was led by seven groups; National Organization for Wom ...
in 2004 with her teenage daughter Tara and Gerri Santoro's sister Leona, and blogging in memory of her mother. In 1995, Jane Gillooly, an
independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...
maker from
Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, interviewed Gordon, Santoro's daughters, and others for a documentary about Santoro's life, ''Leona's Sister Gerri''. The film was initially broadcast on the
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
series '' P.O.V.'' on June 1, 1995. It was later screened at
film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...
s, opening in the United States on November 2, 1995. In the documentary, Leona expressed that she was initially shocked by the photograph's publication but that "as years went by... hethought it was good that it was printed."


References


External links


Life and Liberty for Women: About Gerri

Roe v. Wade 25 Years: In Memoriam

Leona’s Sister Gerri, by filmmaker Jane Gillooly

PBS P.O.V. archive: Leona's Sister Gerri


* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santoro, Gerri 1935 births 1964 deaths People from Coventry, Connecticut American people of Ukrainian descent Accidental deaths in Connecticut American manslaughter victims Abortion in the United States People notable for being the subject of a specific photograph