Catharine Van Tussenbroek

Vocation

Notable

Traits

Dutch physician and feminist who was the second woman to qualify as a physician in the Netherlands and the first physician to confirm evidence of the ovarian type of ectopic pregnancy. In 1902 she urged physicians to be more aware of cervical cancer, now known to be a virally induced malignant disease associated with promiscuity (abstinent nuns never contract Human papillomavirus (HPV) via the vagina). With Hector Treub she pleaded for more liberal abortion laws to prevent illegal abortion resulting in maternal death (1908). December 1908 she also pleaded with Aletta Jacobs for better fitting clothes for women, and thus against the procrustean bed of the then fashionable corsets for women. Van Tussenbroek died on 5 May 1925 in Amsterdam, aged 72. A foundation that administers research grants to women was set up in her name to continue her legacy of empowering women (24 April 928). Personal Van Tussenbroek had a funny name for a gynaecologist, as it literally means "from between the trousers" in Dutch. At that time women did not yet wear trousers, but restricting their mobility corsets. She had a small posture, was short-sighted and had little sex-appeal. She never married (uncommon then). But her message was clear, and she became a leading personality. Her biographer wrote: Ondanks haar kleine gestalte en bijziendheid maakte zij op anderen een sterke en waardige indruk. Uiterlijk was zij dadelijk te herkennen. Zij droeg loshangende kledij, met een vleug van deftigheid. Op een fluwelen keelband prijkte het portret van Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947), voorvechtster van de vrouwenemancipatie.[Despite her small stature and near-sightedness, she made a strong and dignified impression on others. She was instantly recognizable externally. She wore loose-fitting clothing, with a touch of dignity. On a velvet throat band the portrait of Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947), champion of women's emancipation.]. Link to Wikipedia biography