A solidly grounded, sophisticated history of illegal abortion in
the US. Reagan, a historian specializing in medicine and women's
studies (Univ. of Illinois), persuasively argues that, even during
periods when legal and medical systems and religious beliefs have
proscribed abortion, it has been an important, and often accepted,
part of women's lives. She uses a range of materials, including
government documents and the popular press, to prove her case but
focuses her research primarily on legal and medical records. Reagan
combines her analysis of nationwide trends in abortion practice
with a study focusing on Chicago. By 1880, abortion was illegal
throughout the US. Nonetheless, through 1940 it was a common
medical practice that enjoyed widespread social acceptance. In the
'40s the states, in cooperation with the medical establishment,
began to enforce abortion laws more vigilantly. It was during this
period that most of the pre-Roe "back alley" abortions took place.
The movement to legalize abortion began in the mid-1950s, first on
the initiative of a few doctors, later gaining momentum and
ideological fervor with the rise of the Second Wave of feminism in
the late 1960s. Reagan goes beyond the genesis of written laws,
focusing on women's attitudes toward abortion and their concrete
experiences of it. She points out that abortion has often been seen
as a result of women's victimization (a callous man uses a woman
for his own sexual pleasure and then abandons her). Reagan
acknowledges that this happens but points out that, across class
lines and time periods, many women have actively wanted to separate
sex from procreation. She also skillfully connects abortion to
larger events and tendencies in history; the Depression, for
example, greatly increased the economic need for abortion. Of
enduring interest to anyone concerned with the history of women's
rights, sexual mores, and the relationship of law and policy to
ordinary lives. (Kirkus Reviews)
As we approach the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, it's crucial to
look back to the time when abortion was illegal. Leslie Reagan
traces the practice and policing of abortion, which although
illegal was nonetheless widely available, but always with threats
for both doctor and patient. In a time when many young women don't
even know that there was a period when abortion was a crime, this
work offers chilling and vital lessons of importance to everyone.
The linking of the words 'abortion' and 'crime' emphasizes the
difficult and painful history that is the focus of Leslie J.
Reagan's important book. Her study is the first to examine the
entire period during which abortion was illegal in the United
States, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century and ending with Roe
v. Wade in 1973. Although illegal, millions of abortions were
provided during these years to women of every class, race, and
marital status. The experiences and perspectives of these women, as
well as their physicians and midwives, are movingly portrayed here.
Reagan traces the practice and policing of abortion. While
abortions have been typically portrayed as grim 'back alley'
operations, she finds that abortion providers often practiced
openly and safely. Moreover, numerous physicians performed
abortions, despite prohibitions by the state and the American
Medical Association. Women often found cooperative practioners, but
prosecution, public humiliation, loss of privacy, and inferior
medical care were a constant threat. Reagan's analysis of
previously untapped sources, including inquest records and trial
transcripts, shows the fragility of patient rights and raises
provocative questions about the relationship between medicine and
law. With the right to abortion again under attack in the United
States, this book offers vital lessons for every American concerned
with health care, civil liberties, and personal and sexual freedom.
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