A tale of two 19th-century researchers reveals how professionalization led to women's exclusion from science

[Lonestarblue]

5. And it was men who got abortion laws passed in the 1800s.

Not because of religious beliefs but because of money. The AMA had been formed in the mid 1800s and doctors, all men, wanted to shut down the services of midwives because women went to them for reproductive healthcare instead of the male doctors. They started the campaigns to outlaw abortion since that was a service midwives provided. And even back then, some were concerned that white women who already had as many children as they wanted were having abortions. They were successful in getting most states to outlaw the practice.

As a side note, Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to graduate from a US medical school, though she was not able to practice in this country for many years. The prejudice against women may be leas today, but the evangelical right keeps trying to reinstate it. The article at this link about Blackwell is quite interesting.

https://amazingwomeninhistory.com/elizabeth-blackwell-first-female-doctor/