Back to Doing It Ourselves

As always, women take matters into their own hands even if it's at their peril

You don’t have to know much about history to know it will often repeat itself in unpleasant ways. It’s sort of like that relative who backs you into a corner to relate again some old family lore you’ve heard thousands of times before and everyone would love to forget.

Modern Arizonia living, 1870.

Of course, we’re talking about the return of the Territory of Arizona’s 1864 draconian ban on abortion, which was recently reinstated to the Arizona Supreme Court. Also that year North Carolina’s Supreme Court decided that a husband couldn’t be held accountable for beating his wife “unless he inflicts a permanent injury or uses such excessive violence or cruelty as indicates malignity or vindictiveness; and it makes no difference that the husband and wife are living separate by agreement. (State v. Black )”

I like to hitch these two laws together because they say everything about how little legislators continue to care about the lives of women.

(I could also cite the history of the American Medical Association (AMA), founded in 1846 whose members back then were predominately men. At the time, women provided most of the country’s health care. For centuries, tending to sick loved ones had been a part of woman’s household duties and their broad and effective medical knowledge was passed down through generations of female relations. Reproductive health was particularly in their purview. The AMA saw things differently. It argued for the importance of standardizing care by applying science. An unacknowledged and sordid reason was to remove women from their traditional healthcare role and reap the financial award. Even though men doctors had very limited knowledge about performing abortions, they notably zeroed in on it as a procedure they should own because the monetary rewards could be great.)

But let’s move on to a refresher course on several ways women have used in the past to take matters into their hands. First up is a batch of herbal recipes known for centuries to many cultures. They are presented here solely for historical purposes. I completely agree with science that herbal medicines should never be used without a doctor’s approval. The problem is that women in states where abortion has been curtailed or outright banned, it’s been reported that women are once again turning to them without guidance.

Herbal Remedies to Bring Upon Menstration

Pennyroyal Steep dried pennyroyal for 5 to 10 minutes in boiling water. Strain the liquid and drink 2-3 times a day.

This is an ancient recipe that remained popular well into the twenthy century because it is sure to work if you survive the possible side effects: nausea, numbness in hands and legs, liver, kidney, and bladder irritations and/or failure, debilitating bouts of diarrhea. NEVER use the essential oil which will definitely kill you.

Angelica root Mix 1 tablespoon of Angelica POWDER in a glass of warm water. Drink 3 to 4 times a day.

DO NOT USE FRESH ANGELICA ROOT! It is extremely toxic.

Black and Red Cohosh Root Brew a teaspoon or two of Black Cohosh extract in a pot of hot water. In a separate pot, brew an equal amount of Red Cohosh extract. First sip a small amount of the Black followed directly by a sip of the Red. Must be used in this exact order. Repeat until the desired effect is achieved.

Settlers learned about Black and Red cohosh from Native Americans who used it for a host of ailments unrelated to delayed menstrual cycles. It’s popularity increased throughout the 19th century, especially among slave women. However, it has been linked to a fatal decrease in pulse rate.

Rue Take 1 tablespoon of dried Rue and steep it in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. Strain and drink once a day. May take up to 2 weeks before seeing any results.

Known side effects, especially if dose is increased: severe abdominal pain, vomiting, liver and kidney damage, difficulty breathing. Death.

Additional herbal information and remedies may be found in the newsletter, DirtySexyHistory by Jessica Cale. She provides a terrific overview of other herbs used by women throughout the ages and includes a fascinating 17th century recipe in her article, Contraception in Cookbooks: Herbal Family Planning in the Early Modern Period and Beyond.

For all the DYI specialist out there

What we have here is the Del-Em, a.k.a. menstrual extractor, invented in the pre-Roe v. Wade year of 1971 by two feminists, Lorraine Rothman and Carol Downer. Women’s groups and health professionals promoted it as a very safe way for women to take their own health in hand and end pregnancies. It was shelved after Roe passed, but it remains very much in use in conservative and repressive third-world countries. That it may become a hot item in our country says a lot.

Why I cherish my readers!

I want to highlight two comments that appear below because I don’t want them to get lost. Nancy Harmon Jenkins of On the Kitchen Porch and Susan Wittig Albert of Thyme, Place & Story have always been so supportive and, as you can read, are examples of why you all are important to the work of America Eats! I haven’t heard of the books they recommend and hope, like me, you commence a search for them as valuable additions to your library.

From Nancy: I'm sure you know the book but I wanted to mention for other readers Laurel Ulrich's book A Midwife's Tale, about a woman on the Maine frontier in the late 18th/early 19th century, based on Martha Ballard's diaries. Martha talks a lot about births, legitimate and not, and never mentions abortions, but reading between the lines you get a very clear picture of how the male medical profession moved in on midwifery and traditional woman-to-woman care and pretty much destroyed it.

Fram Susan: Thank you for this brave post, Pat. An excellent, well-documented book on the history of women's efforts to manage their bodies: John Riddle's Eve's Herbs (Harvard Univ. Press). https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674270268 An important book for all of us now, if only to refute Alito's ridiculous assertion that there is no tradition of abortion in our country.

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(Home page photo credit: Nancy Chaney. It appeared in an article about an exhibit entitled Designing Motherhood: Things That Make and Break Our Birth offered last year at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center.