wasn’t that the usual treatment then
Rosemary Kennedy had, at worst, a mild learning disability with a tendency for acting out and inappropriate outbursts. A lobotomy? Even in the 40’s, I can’t believe that was the standard procedure for that.
Joe Kennedy didn’t even tell his wife that the surgery was going to be performed. He just went ahead and did it, even though surgeons told him it would be “risky.” Naturally, the procedure turned her into a vegetable, she was institutionalized for the rest of her life, voila, embarrassing political problem solved.