Jan Fisher asked Kate Manning:

My unusual question is related to work I've done on my family history and the fact that, according to 1860 census data, my 2nd great grandfather was imprisoned in Montgomery County Pennsylvania in 1860, having been charged with Conspiracy to Procure Abortion as a result of the newly-minted PA criminal code earlier that same year. Based on your knowledge of that time period, what might you imagine him to have done?

Kate Manning Hello Jan, thank you for your question and apologies for not finding it sooner! I would imagine that your relative helped a woman end an unwanted pregnancy by supplying medication abortion (herbs like tansy or ergot) or a surgical abortion--in those days without anesthesia--which was a common form of birth control. Then as now, most women who chose abortion were already mothers and sought to limit the size of their families for the sake of their health and wellbeing of their other children. I am guessing the PA laws were passed as a result of the work of Madame Restell (model for Axie Muldoon) and other midwives, abortion providers who advertised. In most of the country for most of early US history, abortion was legal till 'quickening'' and, while often risky, still less dangerous than childbirth. Sounds as if your relative was imprisoned for helping a woman, or women. And thanks for reading My Notorious Life! all best, Kate

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