Conjuring Nancy
What do you know about the history of abortion in rural America? What about the women who relied on it? Imagine reaching into the past and conjuring the spirit of a woman who lived this history. In this episode, we’ll hear writer, Tamara Dean, discuss her essay “Safer Than Childbirth”, in which she wrote about discovering the history of, and the many lives that relied on abortion.
In the process of researching for the essay, Tamara learned that legal abortion in America was more of a practice than a procedure. Local flora offered women access to abortifacients–wisdom passed down by early indigenous peoples. Less than two centuries ago, there had never been laws proposed in this country attempting to limit abortion. But, with the medicalization of childbirth, came proposals to ban abortion, state by state, eventually redefining abortion rights in America.
A depiction of the Bloodroot plant Tamara Dean discusses in the episode. Original artwork created by Murray State University Art Student Jacob Zhao.
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