American Medical Association behind original woman-hating anti-choice legislation

[niyad]

History of Abortion


In the United States, the history of abortion goes back much farther than the 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which made abortion legal and marked an important turning point in public health policy. Abortion has been performed for thousands of years, and in every society that has been studied. It was legal in the United States from the time the earliest settlers arrived. At the time the Constitution was adopted, abortions before “quickening” were openly advertised and commonly performed.


In the mid-to-late 1800s states began passing laws that made abortion illegal. The motivations for anti-abortion laws varied from state to state. One of the reasons included fears that the population would be dominated by the children of newly arriving immigrants, whose birth rates were higher than those of “native” Anglo-Saxon women.


During the 1800s, all surgical procedures, including abortion, were extremely risky. Hospitals were not common, antiseptics were unknown, and even the most respected doctors had only primitive medical educations. Without today’s current technology, maternal and infant mortality rates during childbirth were extraordinarily high. The dangers from abortion were similar to the dangers from other surgeries that were not outlawed. As scientific methods began to dominate medical practice, and technologies were developed to prevent infection, medical care on the whole became much safer and more effective. But by this time, the vast majority of women who needed abortions had no choice but to get them from illegal practitioners without these medical advances at their disposal. The “back alley” abortion remained a dangerous, often deadly procedure, while areas of legally sanctioned medicine improved dramatically.

The strongest force behind the drive to criminalize abortion was the attempt by doctors to establish for themselves exclusive rights to practice medicine. They wanted to prevent “untrained” practitioners, including midwives, apothecaries, and homeopaths, from competing with them for patients and for patient fees. The best way to accomplish their goal was to eliminate one of the principle procedures that kept these competitors in business. Rather than openly admitting to such motivations, the newly formed American Medical Association (AMA) argued that abortion was both immoral and dangerous. By 1910 all but one state had criminalized abortion except where necessary, in a doctor’s judgment, to save the woman’s life. In this way, legal abortion was successfully transformed into a “physicians-only” practice.

. . . . .

http://prochoice.org/education-and-advocacy/about-abortion/history-of-abortion/

[no_hypocrisy]

1. The basis for criminalizing abortion doesn't make sense.

If physicians were trying to corner the market on obstetrics and related maternal health conditions, then why not simply make abortion another medical procedure that only doctors could perform? More money, more influence, etc. for the doctors. I understand physicians could make more money with live births than abortions, but from a business standpoint, they were myopic in closing a viable service.

[niyad]

2. it wasn't just about destroying the midwives. as this and the other article stated, it was

then, and now, and always, about controlling women.

[Nitram]

3. Medicine has come a long way since the 19th century.

[niyad]

4. and the battle to control women still goes on.

[Nitram]

5. Very true, but I think it is conservative politicians who have picked up that battle flag.

Medicine is very conservative and slow to change. Took medicine forever to even consider that women might have different responses to medication and different symptoms than men. But they're getting there, slowly but surely, helped in large part by women who are doctors.

[niyad]

6. have you ever read, "Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers"

As we watch another agonizing attempt to shift the future of healthcare in the United States, we are reminded of the longevity of this crisis, and how firmly entrenched we are in a system that doesn't work.

Witches, Midwives, and Nurses, first published by the Feminist Press in 1973, is an essential book about the corruption of the medical establishment and its historic roots in witch hunters. In this new edition, Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English have written an entirely new chapter that delves into the current fascination with and controversies about witches, exposing our fears and fantasies. They build on their classic exposé on the demonization of women healers and the political and economic monopolization of medicine. This quick history brings us up-to-date, exploring today's changing attitudes toward childbirth, alternative medicine, and modern-day witches.

https://www.amazon.com/Witches-Midwives-Nurses-Contemporary-Classics/dp/1558616616

[Nitram]

7. I haven't read it, but have read about it and think it is an interesting topic.

Looking back through history we find appalling examples of our barbarity to each other, and particularly to women who didn't toe the line drawn by a patriarchal society. A significant portion of society still seems to have a similar mindset judging by the GOP's war against women - which uses medicine as cover for their antiquated and hideous belief system.

[niyad]

8. sadly, you are quite correct.

[niyad]

9. . . . .

[libodem]

10. Another excellent article

Thank you, much.

[niyad]

11. you are most welcome