Life before birth control: abandoned babies

Cecil Adams of The Straight Dope writes:

...baby abandonment is nothing new. The ancient Spartans systematically weeded out weak or deformed infants by leaving them in a chasm (or maybe tossing them into it -- Plutarch doesn't specify). Chronicles and stories from around the world tell of babies and small children set adrift in chests, dropped off in the forest a la Hansel and Gretel, or otherwise exposed -- a few to be found and taken in, the rest to die. Homes for foundlings, as children rescued from abandonment were called, were set up as early as the eighth century. Pope Innocent III, aghast at infanticide rates in 11th-century Rome, ordered the installation of foundling wheels --revolving-door contraptions that enabled an infant to be dropped off anonymously at a convent. As of 1790 the Hotel-Dieu in Paris was receiving more than 7,000 abandoned infants a year (even with subsequent care, death rates ran as high as 75 percent). Records maintained by the New York Foundling Asylum show that 2,457 infants were dropped off there between October 1869 and November 1871.

This was how women, or families, dealt with excess fertility and the shame of unwed motherhood.

Twenty years of legal abortion

In January, 2008, Canada's laws restricting abortion were struck down. Abortion became a matter between a woman and her doctor, constrained only by the Canada Health Act. That doesn't mean that women can get an abortion at any time; while it's not illegal, doctors will not do a late abortion except for sound medical reasons. In fact, it can be hard to get an abortion after ten weeks, which is really eight weeks, since official pregnancy starts on the first day of the last period. So by the time a woman realizes she's pregnant, it is getting a little late for her to arrange for an abortion.

Civilization did not fall. Abortion became safer because with fewer hoops to jump through, it's on the average earlier. One notable statistic is that the crime rate took a sudden dip a few years ago. That's not surprising. One of the rare controlled studies showed that women who wanted abortions and didn't get them raised children who were more likely to turn to crime.

Here's the story: "Both sides of the debate mark 20 years of legal abortion."

On Jan. 28, 1988, Chief Justice Brian Dickson ruled that a Canadian law severely restricting access to medical abortions was unconstitutional because it violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms....

Louise Harbour, who is a member of the anti-abortion group Action Life Ottawa, said people's perspective on unplanned pregnancy has changed in the years since the law was struck down.

"It's as if it's almost expected that …you will choose an abortion if you find yourself pregnant," she said.

[One student], a member of Canadian Youth for Choice, said abortion rights advocates and anti-abortion groups do share some common ground, and the next step in the ongoing debate over abortion rights is for the two sides to work together.

When the two sides meet, she said, they both talk about preventing unintended pregnancies.

"And so what can we do to work together in order to prevent it?" she said. "Really, at the end of the day, we want women to be making healthy choices for themselves and however they define that."

Pro-Choice Canada contest

In January 2008, Canadians everywhere will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Morgentaler decision that decriminalised abortion in Canada and gave women the right to control their reproductive health. We want you to reflect and celebrate with us!

Tell us in your own words through an essay, song lyrics, a poem, a rant or a testimony why the pro-choice movement has been- and continues to be so important. Or, you may choose to express your pro-choice sentiments through a painting, a drawing, a photo or another form of visual art.

You can sign up here for the contest.