Patriarchy. Misogyny. Puritanism. Capitalism. Imperialism. White supremacy.
For centuries, these systems have supported those in power in their efforts to control birthing bodies.
Abortions have always existed.
The earliest written records of abortions date back thousands of years, and the archeological evidence is even older.
In Medieval Europe, unmarried women who wished to terminate their pregnancies sought the services of midwives and healers.
These wise women and cunning folk — as well as the women who sought their help — were accused of witchcraft and subsequently jailed, tortured, and executed, often by burning at the stake.
Trial records from this era often describe witches engaging in the ritual murder of babies — a ghastly exaggeration of the procedure of abortion, designed to incite terror and rage.
But why? How did abortion come to be linked to witchcraft, and why was the punishment so severe?
As Silvia Federici explain in Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women, the system of capitalism relies on control and exploitation of the laborer and what they can produce.
Birthing bodies are gifted with the life-creating power of reproduction — and as the creators of life, they are also the creators of the future labor pool.
This is their most valuable contribution in a capitalist society, which requires an ever-growing workforce to be sustained.
For thousands of years, women’s bodies were celebrated and venerated as symbols of divine creation. But in the eyes of the profiteering capitalist, they are a resource to be exploited.
Women and other folks with birthing bodies who refuse to bear children are a threat to these patriarchal and capitalist structures — not to mention the puritanical view that sex is strictly to be used for reproduction, not for pleasure and enjoyment.
In fact, the witch-hunting handbook Malleus Maleficarum states that women who display three specific qualities are most prone towards witchcraft: lust, infidelity, and ambition.
The memory of these transgressions lives in our collective unconscious, and is known as the witch wound. But it also lives on in our very culture.
The individuals who were persecuted for providing and receiving abortions during the Burning Times would no doubt be disheartened to learn that these same rights are still being threatened by government leaders today.
In a paradoxical twist, I find hope and inspiration in these words from the Malleus Maleficarum:
“If we inquire, we learn that nearly all the kingdoms of the world have been overthrown by women.”
I, for one, look forward to seeing the world that awaits us when our current system has been effectively overthrown.
Sources:
- Silvia Federici, Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women
- Heinrich Kramer, The Malleus Maleficarum
[…] many witches were accused of kidnapping and eating children — a perversion of the work of midwives and herbalists who sometimes aided in abortions, but also a new retelling of the malicious lies told about Jews during the Middle […]