Harvey Leroy Karman (April 26, 1924 – May 6, 2008) was an American psychologist and the inventor of the

Karman cannula The Karman cannula is a soft, flexible cannula (or curette) used in medical procedures that was popularized by Harvey Karman in the early 1970s. The flexibility of the Karman cannula was claimed to reduce the risk of perforating the uterus during ...

, a flexible suction

cannula A cannula (; Latin meaning 'little reed'; plural or ) is a tube that can be inserted into the body, often for the delivery or removal of fluid or for the gathering of samples. In simple terms, a cannula can surround the inner or outer surfaces ...

used for early-term abortions. Karman was born Harvey Walters in Clatskanie, Oregon. His father abandoned him when Harvey was young. He took the surname of one of his several stepfathers, William Karman.

Conviction

In 1955, Karman, who at the time was working towards his doctorate in psychology and who was not licensed to practice medicine, used a speculum and a nutcracker to perform an abortion on a woman in a

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionarie ...

room, who subsequently died. He was convicted of providing abortion, which was illegal in California at the time. He served two-and-a-half years in state prison.

"Super coils"

Karman also developed the "super coil" abortion technique, which he believed would enable lay practitioners to perform second- trimester abortions with little training or equipment. The coils were inserted into the

uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The ...

, where they caused irritation leading to the expulsion of the

fetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal dev ...

. The first trial of the super coil method was on Bangladeshi rape victims under the sponsorship of the

International Planned Parenthood Federation The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global non-governmental organisation with the broad aims of promoting sexual and reproductive health, and advocating the right of individuals to make their own choices in family ...

. These generally resulted in high rates of injury to the patient. One trial of the super coil method took place in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, on May 13 and 14, 1972. Fifteen women in their second trimester traveled from Chicago to Philadelphia, where convicted serial killer

Kermit Gosnell Kermit Barron Gosnell (born February 9, 1941) is an American former physician and serial killer. He provided abortions at his clinic in West Philadelphia. Gosnell was convicted of the murders of three infants who were born alive after using ...

performed the abortions using Karman's method. A public television crew from a station in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

filmed the procedures at Karman's invitation. Nine of the 15 had complications, three of those with major complications.

Flexible cannula

Karman invented a soft, flexible cannula for abortions. At the time of his death at College Hospital in Santa Barbara, California in 2008, it was still in wide use around the world.

Personal life

Karman was the father of

Janice Karman Janice Felice Karman is an American actress, producer, writer, and director. She is the co-owner of Bagdasarian Productions with her husband Ross Bagdasarian Jr. Early life Karman was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father was psycholo ...

Conviction

"Super coils"

Flexible cannula

Personal life

References

Further reading