Abortion in America: The Origins and Evolution of National Policy, 1800-1900 by James C. Mohr
After the recent Dobbs Opinion, I wanted to learn about the legal history of abortion in our nation - which started in the mid -1800’s. How did we get to where we are today?
The practice of induced abortion—the deliberate termination of a pregnancy—has been known since ancient times. Various methods have been used to perform or attempt abortion, including the administration of abortifacient herbs – like tansy-, the use of sharpened implements, the application of abdominal pressure, and other techniques. Abortion was widely practiced and legal under common law in early pregnancy, and it was not until the 19th century that the English-speaking world passed laws against abortion at all stages of pregnancy.
In the 19th-century there were no pregnancy tests (the “rabbit” test was developed in the 1920’s). So a woman would not know for sure she was pregnant until she felt "quickening." Quickening is when she felt the fetus move (which varies between 16-20 weeks of gestation). In the United States at that time, there was little regulation of abortion, in the tradition of English common law, and pre-quickening abortions were considered at most a misdemeanor. Post-quickening abortion cases proved difficult to prosecute as the testimony of the mother was usually the only means to determine when quickening had occurred.
In the early 1800’s "anti-abortion" laws began to be enacted in state legislatures as part of omnibus criminal legislation to protect women from being poisoned by herbal remedies. Lawmakers were simply trying to control medical practices in the name of public safety. Then, beginning in the mid-1800’s, criminal legislation began to be enacted that provided for the punishment of any “person” who offered “remedies” or “instruments” AFTER quickening that led to the expulsion of a fetus. Finally, in the later-1800’s, there were two sociodemographic changes that led to the banning of any abortion, either pre- or post-quickening.
The first change was the development of professional medical practitioners. Throughout the first half of the 19th century there was no dominant professional mode of medical practice. Regular physicians, trained in science at established medical schools, had to compete for patients with a variety of lay healers, folk doctors, and outright quacks. All, physicians and non-physicians alike, provided a wide range of medical services including abortion.
The second change was a startling increase in abortion rates. In 19th-century America abortion rates increased from about one in every thirty live births around 1800 to about one in every five by 1870. Socially, abortion changed from a private act of last resort for the unmarried at the beginning of the 1800’s, to a common practice among middle-and upper-class married women. The social acceptance of abortion as a form of family planning for married women was possible because both medical and non-medical practitioners agreed on the relative safety of the procedure during early pregnancy versus childbirth. As a result, non-physician abortionists advertised their services widely in major newspapers. Many charged $100, which only the middle or wealthy classes could afford, thus, several non-physician abortionists became millionaires.
I was surprised to learn that a private, professional organization was initially the driving force behind the abortion legislation not the churches nor citizens. Beginning in the 1880’s, church leaders were recruited by the physicians to help promote the banning of abortionists with their respective state legislators. But, instead of focusing on women’s health and safety, church leaders focused on religious beliefs about pregnancy and were successful in promoting their beliefs. A pregnant woman, in their view, was not at liberty to decide whether or not to continue a pregnancy regardless of her religious beliefs, stage of pregnancy or health. By 1900 abortion procedures, pre- or post-quickening, were completely outlawed in state legislatures throughout the United States. Many states only allowed abortion as a last resort if a woman was dying.
Fast forward to 1973 ... Justice Blackmun, writing in Roe v. Wade, relied heavily on the argument that the sole intent of the initial anti-abortion laws of the 19th century was not the protection of the fetus, but the protection of the health and safety of the woman. The Court divided the pregnancy period into three trimesters.
During the first trimester, the decision to terminate the pregnancy was solely at the discretion of the woman.
After the first trimester, the state could “regulate procedure.”
During the second trimester, the state could regulate (but not outlaw) abortions in the interests of the mother’s health.
After the second trimester, the fetus became viable, and the state could regulate or outlaw abortions in the interest of the potential life except when necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother.
The court also recognized that the right to liberty in the Constitution, which protects personal *privacy, includes the right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy.
Non-fiction: History
The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland
In 1944, Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler became the first Jewish prisoners to escape from Auschwitz. Vrba, 19 years old, was detailed to sift through the belongings of new prisoners. He realized that the prisoners would never need their belongings because they were killed immediately upon arrival. New prisoners left their suitcases, clothing and shoes on the ground before they stepped into the gas chambers. Vrba saw cookware, family heirlooms, items belonging to children, and knew that whole families were killed. Vrba’s goal became escape, not just to save himself, but to warn Jews that Nazis were not simply sending them to new lives in relocation camps, but that they were sending them to their deaths.
He memorized everything he could about the guards, practices and routines of the concentration camp. Vrba then used this information to help him escape, but his ultimate goal was to create a detailed report that could be shared with the world. Having learned from the failed attempts of others, Vrba and Wetzler escaped from Auschwitz, walked across Poland to reach their native Slovakia.
There they secretly reported to the remaining Jewish organization that was coordinating deportations with the Slovak officials. The Vrba-Wetzler Report was shocking (even though the British and American government officials were already aware of some of the details). While it did not lead to direct action by the United States or Great Britain, the report was responsible for saving 200,000 Hungarian Jews.
Vrba was frustrated by the lack of action by both the Allies and the yet-to-be-deported Jews. They just couldn’t believe the shocking information was true. In order for them to take action, they had to believe the information to be true. When information is granted to be true, then it becomes knowledge. With knowledge comes action. When information is NOT granted to be true, denial precludes any action. Refusing to grant the truth of the Vrba-Wetzler Report meant people could deny the possibility of their death, deny that bombing the railroad tracks near the camps would help stop the deportations, and basically to do nothing because “that the information just can't be true.”
Audio book Non-fiction: Memoir
Finding Me by Viola Davis
I did not know who Viola Davis was until she appeared on my favorite television show, "Finding Your Roots." She is an American actress and producer and one of the few performers to have been awarded an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. Watching the news the next day, I learned she won a Grammy for her narrative of her audio book memoir. I had to listen to this book!
In Davis's words: "This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose but also my voice in a world that didn’t always see me.
As I wrote Finding Me, my eyes were open to the truth of how our stories are often not given close examination. We are forced to reinvent them to fit into a crazy, competitive, judgmental world. So I wrote this for anyone running through life untethered, desperate and clawing their way through murky memories, trying to get to some form of self-love. For anyone who needs reminding that a life worth living can only be born from radical honesty and the courage to shed facades and be . . . you."
Foster by Claire Keegan
A little girl whose parents, impoverished Irish Catholic farmers, are overwhelmed by too many children and the father's bad habits, foster her to distant relatives she's never met.
One summer Sunday, after mass, her father drives her "deep into Wexford towards the coast where my mother's people came from," she has no idea what to expect from Mr. And Mrs. Kinsella — whether she'll be worked hard or treated kindly, and for how long.
There, realizing that the little girl has been neglected, Mrs. Kinsella bathes her, cleans her filthy fingernails, deals with her urine-soaked bedding — all without reproach. In the night, she checks on the girl, who hears the woman whisper, "God help you child. If you were mine, I'd never leave you in a house with strangers." When the woman starts to see the effects of their care, she says, "All you need is minding." Mr. and Mrs. Kinsella are loving, kind and caring foster parents.
One of the things the author describes so well is how painful unaccustomed love and tenderness can be because they accentuate what's been lacking. Walking to the beach, Mr. Kinsella thoughtfully adjusts his strides to the girl’s and takes her hand. She notes, "My father has never once held my hand, and some part of me wants Kinsella to let me go so I won't have to feel this." Then she adds, "It's a hard feeling but as we walk along I begin to settle and let the difference between my life at home and the one I have here be."
This is a small book with a miraculously enormous impact. Listening to the audiobook reader's Irish accent takes some getting used to, but it is well worth the effort. I love, love, love this book!
Non-fiction: Sports/Biography
Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World by Lauren Fleshman
I decided to read this book after listening to the author’s interview on NPR’s Fresh Air. I was captivated by the themes explored in the interview - body image, women’s health, the lack of support for women in athletics, and general cultural ignorance about the female body. I knew I had to read this book.
Fleshman, a collegiate, national champion and professional distance runner, shares her intimate and eye-opening memoir about the pain and damage that girls and young women are not only expected but also encouraged to endure for the sake of athletic achievement. Many young female athletes face pressure by coaches (and society) to achieve a body ideal that is nearly impossible during their stage of physiological development, the first 14 years of menstruation. Many learn to hate their bodies, and 65% develop disordered eating habits – anorexia, bulimia and orthorexia, an eating disorder characterized by rigidity around eating only foods deemed clean and healthy, with NO flexibility.
These disordered eating habits lead to destruction of major organs and body systems – especially menstrual disorders/absence of periods; bone depletion – 42% of female collegiate athletes have low bone mineral density leading to higher rates of osteoporosis and bone fractures, especially stress fractures than non-athletes; and, worst of all, the highest mortality rate of all mental health disorders.
The sports environments women are supposed to have equal access to were built by men, for men and boys. Their definition of gender equality has been “getting what men have, the way they have it” rather than building an environment that fulfills sports’ promises of safety, health and empowerment. Currently “we fold and smash women and girls into a male-based infrastructure” while “fundamental female-bodied experiences in sport are invisible, erased, or viewed as problems because they differ from the default male standard. The refusal to acknowledge this is causing incredible harm.”
Essays: Humor
Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris
I chose this book because of the cover! I have heard the name "David Sedaris" but I wasn’t familiar with his essays. (He's probably very popular, like Downton Abbey or Game of Thrones both I have “heard of “ but have never watched.) So the cover and his name made me curious. I listened to the audiobook version read by... David Sedaris.
This audiobook progresses somewhat chronologically, beginning with essays that look back to Sedaris’ childhood and to his young adult years when he was writing plays with his sister Amy in New York City. Later essays recount Sedaris’ experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, walking New York’s empty streets and wondering if his livelihood—reading works-in-progress to audiences all over the country—is gone for good. But in 2021, he returned to the road in a changed America, making pointed observations about different states’ vastly different approaches to the pandemic along the way.
Happy-Go-Lucky is an entertaining collection, both humorous and poignant. When his disapproving father dies at age 98, Sedaris reflects on how to process their difficult relationship. He describes his father’s death to a broken plate glass window. First, you pick up the large shards of glass but then, over time, you begin to notice the tiny splinters of glass you missed. He surmises that it is going to take some time for him to actually see the “tiny splinters”, to process his father’s death, and that’s okay.
The poignant essays are surrounded by many humorous observations and recollections - like what happened at an autograph session in California. A customer bustles to the front of the long line, claiming that as a senior citizen she’s entitled to priority. Sedaris writes “You are a horrible human being” in her book; when she laughs, he says he meant it, at which she laughs again.
Non-fiction: History
The January 6 Report: The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Ari Melber (Foreword)
I was one of the 20 million Americans who watched the January 6th. Committee Hearings on television. They did a great job condensing massive amounts of information, communications, and witness testimony in order to present a concise report to the viewing public. So why did I borrow the print version of the report from the public library – all 752 pages?
I wanted to check out the 4,286 endnotes! These are the “nitty-gritty” bits, the source citations to the facts presented. The endnotes offer a guide to this vast and vital public record and anyone can check the committee’s interpretation of its evidence.
If you want to find out what happened to the 63 post-election lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign, read the endnotes! (Only one ruling was initially in Trump’s favor: the timing within which first-time Pennsylvania voters must provide proper identification if they wanted to ‘cure’ their ballots. This ruling affected very few votes, and it was later overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. All the other 62 cases were dismissed due to lack of evidence.)
My favorite was checking the claims of dead people voting. There were 4 ballots cast (by family relatives) in the names of dead Georgia voters, not 5,000 as claimed by Trump. Another example, one woman mailed in her ballot but died four days before the election, her vote was contested, etc… I could go on and on, after all there are over 4,000 endnotes!
While this book is at least 2 inches thick, the narrative is very easy to read and photographs are included. On a personal note: I am one of the 3% of Americans (Nerds) who read the Mueller Report - I even “read” the redacted pages! The January 6 Report is head and shoulders above the Mueller Report – which is a real “snoozer” compared to January 6.
Non-fiction: Memoir/Spirituality
The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life by Simran Jeet Singh
My brother, Greg, sent me this book and I am so glad he did! The Light We Give combines a personal memoir of a little-understood ethnic and religious minority in America with an introduction to the teachings of Sikhi.
Growing up as a native Texan in a Sikh family, the author Simran Jeet Singh was accustomed to two things by his senior year in high school. One, that his long hair and turban, dark skin and beard caused a lot of racist reactions. He most often deflected these with quick thinking and humor – sometimes even using them as a chance to educate people about Sikh culture. But growing up Sikh also meant that his family was committed to generosity and community. Their door had remained open his entire life, ready to welcome anyone in need at any hour of the day or night until … September 11, 2001. That was the first time Singh had ever seen his mother lock the front door.
For the first time his family began receiving death threats. In Arizona a turbaned Sikh was murdered. Other Sikhs were beaten and harassed, despite having nothing to do with the terrorist attacks. It became clear that many people saw anyone wearing as a turban a threat.
While Singh was running the New York City Marathon in 2011 a couple of spectators started running after him, throwing rocks and yelling, “Taliban! Taliban!” A few years later he ran the same marathon and a volunteer refused to serve him at a water station, calling him “a filthy Muslim.”
In 2012, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a gunman entered a Sikh temple and began shooting, killing five people. The people in the temple were targeted simply because they wore turbans and beards. The gunman, an avowed white supremacist, killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot. Singh, who had experienced racism first-hand, realized that his urge to call the gunman evil was strong, but was it the correct way for a Sikh to respond?
Many friends suggested that Singh cut his hair, shave his beard and take off his turban so that he wouldn’t be a target for racists. Instead Singh decided to respond to the racism with Sikh theology and history. He explains his beliefs with thoughtful musings on what it means to live by a Sikh philosophy.
He calls on readers to seek a life of active empathy, seeing each person, even those who are hurtful, as valuable and worthy of kindness and love – to look for the divine light within. He stresses the importance of being unafraid to speak up, he encourages readers to challenge racism and injustice, and talks about how he pushed past his comfort zone to bring awareness of the Sikh faith.
While you can’t change what happens to you or the circumstances of your life, you can choose how you experience them. Seeing everyone, and everything, as an interconnected whole takes daily practice and self-reflection – but the results lead to a life full of meaning, love, and joy.
Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon
Locust Lane begins with a drunk man driving in the early morning hours when he hits a dog (who somehow manages to come away from the accident with a limp!). The driver stops his car and notices a man standing in the woods. The next day he learns that a young woman was murdered in the neighborhood where he struck the dog.
Over the course of eight days, the mystery unfolds. The three young suspects are all from good families, with well-meaning parents who try to protect their own young and solve the mystery. True to our times, social media has a role to play in the murder mystery.
I read this book in two sittings. It is a quick read.
Non-fiction: History
Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past by Kevin M. Kruse, Julian E. Zelizer
I love history and I love this book! As George Orwell observed, “Who controls the past controls the future.” Without a proper understanding of the events that make up the past, we may be easily misled. Unfortunately, for a large number of Americans, history has been reduced to monuments and the social media posting of memes created by ... who knows!? Today memes are increasingly accepted as knowledge and truth which leads to the spread of historical myths and lies. These so-called "facts” are hardly neutral, rather, they are often expressions of power. Fortunately, historians have the expertise to help us understand our nation's history and its meaning for the present.
In Myth America, prominent historians offer insightful essays that reveal the true and often complex history of America. Edited by Princeton University historians Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer, the book’s chapters range from “American Exceptionalism” and “Vanishing Indians” to “Confederate Monuments” and “Voter Fraud.” The contributors debunk narratives that portray the New Deal and Great Society as failures, immigrants as hostile invaders, and feminists as anti-family warriors—among numerous other partisan lies.
Based on a firm foundation of historical scholarship, their findings revitalize our understanding of American history. The book’s editors are aware that they haven’t covered every myth in U.S. history, but these essays still succeed in bringing important facts to our current historical debates. The footnotes alone make great reading.
Replacing myths with research and reality, Myth America is essential reading amid today’s heated debates about our nation’s past.