ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the influential role of the medical profession in shaping nineteenth-century abortion laws. It demonstrates that the stance taken by the medical profession may be understood as part of a broader opposition to the emergence of Woman beyond the confines of this appointed sphere - beyond church, home and family. Using abortion as a vehicle to achieve fiscal and social rewards meant that the regulars could tap existing concerns and fears. The chapter aims to place opposition to abortion in the nineteenth century within the context of general gender relations and anxieties. It also aims to place the medical campaign within the context of both the broader concept of biopower and the more specific 'anatomopolitics' of the body. The chapter highlights the continuities that existed between the medical discourses that opposed increased female entry into education and employment, and those used in seeking the criminalization of abortion.
