Female Secrets: Reproductive Autonomy and its Relation to
Women’s Agency from 1742 through 1820
Abstract:
Long before Roe v. Wade, abortion practices and contraception were commonplace. In the United States, from 1742 through 1820, these forms of reproductive autonomy were vital to women’s lives and agency until they were forced to be practiced underground. While the recent Dobbs v. Jackson decision portrays this history as nonexistent, looking at this research, it demonstrates that there has long tradition of women from all backgrounds practicing reproductive autonomy and it being seen as an innate right. There is an agnotology at the heart of the history of reproductive autonomy and my paper aims to take the first step in righting this wrong. I work to acknowledge and highlight the many silences in the telling of the history of reproductive autonomy, promulgated by historians and politicians.