[Image: KQED, (2016), Rosemary at a wedding]
[Image: The Studio Glass, (2018), Rosemary at an event after her lobotomy]
[Image: KQED, (2016), Rosemary at a wedding]
Rosemary Kennedy, the eldest daughter of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, had her life irreversibly changed at the age of 23 when she had one of the most unethical medical treatments of the twentieth century: a prefrontal lobotomy.
In 1941, Rosemary's father approved brutal psychosurgery performed by Dr. Walter Freeman in order to address her apparent mood swings and outbursts. The transorbital lobotomy damaged brain connections in the prefrontal cortex that control cognition and emotion. Rather from alleviating her health, it rendered Rosemary extremely handicapped, unable to speak coherently and incontinent.
The previously vivacious young lady with an estimated IQ of 60-70 deteriorated to childhood-level intellect, necessitating lifelong institutionalization. Her tragic life story revealed the horrible consequences of lobotomies and its unproven use as a mental therapy before being abandoned. Rosemary's lobotomy exposed medical negligence perpetrated by an institution ready to surgically quiet anyone who strayed from cultural expectations.
Sources:
Rosemary Kennedy, the Eldest Kennedy Daughter (U.S. National Park Service).” Www.nps.gov, www.nps.gov/articles/000/rosemary-kennedy-theeldest-kennedydaughter.htm#:~:text=Kennedy%20arranged%20to%20have%20a.
Leamer, L. (2001). The Kennedy women: The saga of an American family. Villard Books
Herman, Ellen. “Rosemary Kennedy, 1918-2005 | the Autism History Project.” Blogs.uoregon.edu, 2019,
blogs.uoregon.edu/autismhistoryproject/people/rosemary-kennedy