Today’s Sidebar concerns the history of when United States law considered life to have begun. For a long time, the start of life was set at “the quickening,” the moment a gestational parent can feel fetal movement. This typically happens around the four-month mark. That changed in the mid-19th Century when fears of immigration, the backlash against first-wave feminism, and the professionalization of medicine.
I know everyone is rushing here to get Benjamin Franklin’s abortion recipe:
From The American Instructor courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society. Photo by Slate.com
I would not recommend following his directions, but if you are curious, here are links explaining the ingredients I could figure out.
But seriously, don’t consume this stuff; some of it is super dangerous.
Highland Flagg or Belly-ach Root
Pennyroyal Water or Decoction - The “water,” I would assume, is infused with the Pennyroyal. Decoction is the process of concentrating a substance by boiling it.
Spirit of Hartshorn - Aqueous ammonia manufactured from the hooves and antlers of the red deer.
Beer Brewed with Sorrel-leaves - is an actual thing that exists today.
Ground Ivy Tea - You can order ground ivy tea from various sources, but it can cause liver damage.
And for those less practiced at reading 18th-century typefaces, the suggested diet includes Mustard, Nutmeg, Horseradish, and Garden Cress.
How you were going to eat all those greens without becoming “windy,” I cannot tell you. Franklin was a doctor in name only.
On the other end, below is the report from the American Medical Association on Abortion from 1859 with my own annotations.
That is it for this week. See you next week for notes on our episode on the curator Frederic H. Douglas.