The Trials of Madame Restell by Nicholas L. Syrett

Author:Nicholas L. Syrett [Syrett, Nicholas L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The New Press

This was as true then as it is now and was generally acknowledged to be so by most practicing physicians, as well as in textbooks of medicine and midwifery published in that era. The point of contention was not about whether abortion was possible or safe, it was about when it should be permissible for a woman to choose it.20

On that point, Mauriceau was not as radical as one might imagine. Following remarks on the symptoms of spontaneous abortion and its prevention, the next section was titled “When Necessary to Effect Miscarriage or Artificial Delivery.” Here, Mauriceau reviewed the reasons that it might be dangerous for a woman to deliver an infant, among which he claimed were pelvic deformities, rickets, and curvature of the spine. Before exploring abortion itself, he once again recommended Desomeaux’s pills for the prevention of pregnancy in those for whom it would be dangerous. He then moved on to what he called “Premature Artificial Delivery.” He first dealt with cesarean section, which he claimed was not possible to perform whilst ensuring the mother and child would survive. While historians debate when the first cesarean section was successfully performed, it is certainly the case that the procedure was not done frequently in the United States until later in the nineteenth century, so Lohman was on solid ground in this assertion. He then essentially posed the problem as being relevant only to women for whom delivery of a child would be life threatening.

During pregnancy, abortion will present an extreme and last resource. And it would seem more humane to sacrifice, before the period of viability, an embryo whose existence is so uncertain, in order to protect the mother from the perilous chances of symphyscotomy and the Caesarean section.

The abuse and criminal extension of such a resource is reprehensible, but not its proper and authorized employment. This operation should always be undertaken with great care and all necessary precaution used to satisfy the public mind of its necessity.

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