Throughline Abortion Before Roe
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Jun 19, 2025 
Leslie Regan, a historian and professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, dives into the history of abortion before Roe v. Wade. She reveals how abortion was once commonplace, facilitated by women and midwives, before a medical crusade shifted that narrative. Discussion topics include the rise and fall of figures like Madame Restell, the male-dominated medical assault on women's reproductive autonomy, and the ethical and racial motivations behind the criminalization of abortion in the 19th century.
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Madame Ristel's Public Abortions
- Madame Ristel, known as the wickedest woman in New York, ran a thriving abortion business openly in the 1830s.
- She lived luxuriously until facing criminal prosecution near her death in 1878, which led to her suicide.
Early Abortion Was Accepted
- Abortion was legal and widely practiced in early America until it was criminalized in the late 19th century.
- It was considered a private, commonly accepted practice performed by women and midwives before quickening.
Men Enter Childbirth Domain
- Male doctors started entering childbirth, a domain held by women and midwives for millennia.
- This disrupted established norms and introduced professional and gender tensions in mid-1800s obstetrics.
