Is the allegation as detailed in this post true?
This may be old news to some but the story is just so bizarre. Rosemary was the prettiest of the kennedy sisters, but was also mentally slow. Some argue her handicap was the consequence of her parents being second cousins. After being hidden from the public her whole life, she became jealous of her siblings accomplishments and began to "act out". Fearing "pregnancy, disease, and disgrace," her father Joe Kennedy decided to give her a labotomy which turned her into a vegetable.
The transcript from the surgeons was especially chilling. "We went through the top of the head, I think she was awake. She had a mild tranquilizer. I made a surgical incision in the brain through the skull. It was near the front. It was on both sides. We just made a small incision, no more than an inch." The instrument Dr. Watts used looked like a butter knife. He swung it up and down to cut brain tissue. "We put an instrument inside," he said. As Dr. Watts cut, Dr. Freeman put questions to Rosemary. For example, he asked her to recite the Lord's Prayer or sing "God Bless America" or count backwards. ... "We made an estimate on how far to cut based on how she responded." ... When she began to become incoherent, they stopped.
Edit:
I found a previous thread from this subreddit on the topic. Keeping this in mind, is there any evidence to prove that Joseph Kennedy's decision was either malevolent or benign? Lastly, it was also asserted that lobotomies were used to suppress potentially promiscuous female behavior by families. Are there any sources to prove this phenomenon? If so, how widespread was it?
Short answer is yes. In his book, An unfinished life, Robert Dallek gives this explanation for the lobotomy.
''After years of effort that had produced small gains in her ability to deal with adult matters, Rosemary turned violent at the age of twenty-one, throwing tantrums and raging at caretakers who tried to control her. In response, Joe, without Rose's knowledge, arranged for Rosemary to have a prefrontal lobotomy, which contemporary medical understanding recommended as the best means for alleviating her agitation and promising a more placid life. The surgery, however proved to be a disaster, and Joe felt compelled to institutionalize Rosemary in a Wisconsin nunnery, where she would spend the rest of her life.
Part of the family's impulse in dealing with Rosemary as they did was to hide the truth about her condition. In the twenties and thirties, mental disabilities were seen as a mark of inferiority and an embarrassment best left undisclosed. Rosemary's difficulties were especially hard to bear for a family as preoccupied with its glowing image as the Kennedys. It was one thing for them to acknowledge limitations among themselves, but to give outsiders access to such information or put personal weaknesses on display was to open the family to possible ridicule or attack from people all too eager to knock down Kennedy claims of superiority. Hiding family problems, particularly medical concerns, later became a defense against jeopardizing election to public office.''
SOURCE : Robert Dallek, An unfinished life : John F. Kennedy, Back bay book, New York, 2003. p.72-73
I'd like to add that Dallek's book is a thoroughly written one and I trust his explanation.
Found a source describing the lobotomy on p. 179 of Personality Theories: Critical Perspectives.
I have never commented in this sub before, but I feel compelled as a medical historian to point out the fact that during this pre-psychopharmacology era, lobotomy (and other somatic therapies like insulin coma and electroshock) was a widely accepted clinical practice and was considered state of the art care for severe cases. It only declined in favor quite a while after Kennedy had the procedure done, after significant changes in the field of psychiatry itself. And, of course, after a number of negative portrayals in the media in the 60s and 70s.
The standard book on this topic, if you're interested, is Jack Pressman, Last Resort: Psychosurgery and the Limits of Medicine.
As for the idea of lobotomies being performed for things like female promiscuity, some historians would agree -- but being historians, they would also point out that it was very complicated and was not just about that one thing, but a whole constellation of issues relating to the cultural/temporal context in which those practices were occurring. See Elizabeth Lunbeck, The Psychiatric Persuasion: Knowledge, Gender, and Power in Modern America.
In my personal opinion, I don't think the Kennedy family did anything intentionally malevolent. As I said, Rosemary was receiving pretty top-notch care for the time. And if they were so concerned with legacy, then the family's later involvement with things like the Special Olympics and championing public and mental health policy issues doesn't make a lot of sense. Just my two cents.
I am by no means an expert on history, but I can provide a little bit of context on the psychological side of things here. Rosemary had her lobotomy performed in 1941. The procedure was still relatively new then, but was quickly becoming a mainstream treatment for mental disorders. In fact, in 1949 the pioneer behind lobotomies was given a Nobel prize in medicine for the procedure. I can't speak as to Joseph's motives one way or the other, but I can say that getting a lobotomy performed in Rosemary's situation made sense in the context of mental health knowledge and procedures of the early 1940's. It was not, at the time, considered a radical or dangerous procedure.
The Lobotomist by Jack El-hai tells the story of the Walter Freeman, the guy who invented prefrontal lobotomies and performed thousands of them (usually with ice picks). The operation on Rose doesn't sound that far from the usual range of lobotomies performed during the operation's popular period either in terms of the patient or the actual procedure (according to the extensive sources, including Freeman's journals and notes, cited in the book). I highly recommend it the book.
I guess I'm just ignorant on the subject, but is lobotomizing someone else (like getting your daughter lobotomized because you fearcher acting out) even legal?
I think she was awake. She had a mild tranquilizer.
Dr. Freeman put questions to Rosemary. For example, he asked her to recite the Lord's Prayer
How does this fit together?