Privy to Their Secrets: Archaeological and Historical Context of 19th Century Abortion in America

Summary

Motherhood was the defining role for women in 19th century America, but recent discoveries of fetal remains in privies demand a new consideration of how and when some women chose to avoid opportunities to become mothers. These individuals lived in a patriarchal society without reliable contraception, with a medical establishment just beginning to understand the concept of fetal development, and a legal system that relied on a woman’s report of fetal quickening to determine her right to ‘normalize’ her monthly cycles. Abortion was chosen by women from all walks of life as a means of preventing or postponing maternity. It is believed by historians that the majority of women who terminated pregnancies in the 19th century were married, with many of these being white, middle class Protestants. Archaeological evidence from two privies in Upstate New York suggests that while jaded prostitutes and seduced virgins undoubtedly used abortion as a means of ending obviously inconvenient pregnancies, it was also commonplace among housewives. For some of these women, abortion was a means of family planning, one that was fully compatible with motherhood.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Behind Closed Doors: Exploring Taboo Subjects in Historical Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-46,03