Milan Vuitch

Milan Vuitch (January 15, 1915 - April 6, 1993) was a physician performing abortions in Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring, Maryland. Born in Serbia, he was a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Early life Vuitch was born in Serbia to a peasant family. His father died when he was young, and his mother made a living growing potatoes and beans. Vuitch won a full scholarship to the University of Budapest, and received his medical degree in 1939. He served as a conscript in the Hungarian army during World War II. Judge Gerhard A. Gesell ruled that District of Columbia law was unconstitutionally vague because it permitted abortions only to preserve a mother's "life or health," without clearly defining those terms. Gesell wrote that the word "health" provided "no clear standard to guide either the doctor, the jury or the court." Gesell dismissed an indictment against Vuitch.

Vuitch was pleased with the outcome of the case and said, "This is a big step forward. Now the government lawyer will be in the position of challenging my medical decision. What are the jury members going to decide when a lawyer tries to tell them that the doctor is wrong about a medical matter?"

The story, by Mark Feldstein, noted a patient who said that Vuitch had operated on her without anesthesia. Feldstein also reported on a 17-year-old patient who had been sent home with instructions to return with $400 before Vuitch would complete her abortion. Though Vuitch had told her not to go to a hospital, she was taken to an emergency room after she collapsed. She gave birth to a live premature baby, of six months gestation, who subsequently died.

Vuitch died at age 78 at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, MD after suffering a stroke.