Did you know midwives used to be the primary abortion providers in the communities as well as the birth attendants? In fact, when the American Medical Association decided they wanted to expand their business to include childbirth, part of their public smear campaign against midwives was that they were somehow bad or unethical because they were the ones who would assist people in releasing unwanted or unhealthy pregnancies.
As someone who strongly believes in community-based approaches to reproduction that hold respect, choice, and feeling powerful as paramount to the process, the history of how abortion has become more and more controlled, controversial, and less part of community based care is fascinating to me.
I recently listened to a 2-part podcast on Stuff Your Mother Never Told You on the history of abortion, and I loved it so much I listened to both episodes over again immediately after finishing them the first time! If you are interested at all in the history and evolution of midwifery, birth control, and abortion in North America, I highly recommend setting some time aside to give these episodes a listen. You can find the podcast episodes here:
LISTEN: Classic Episode: A Revisionist History of Abortion, Part 1
LISTEN: Classic Episode: A Revisionist History of Abortion, Part 2