Arizona's 1864 abortion ban was mostly a result of power struggles, historians say

Attempts to gain power partially fueled Arizona’s abortion ban in 1864. Male physicians sought to dominate health care, and xenophobic fears about immigrants emerged, historians said.

Attempts to gain power mostly fueled Arizona’s near-total abortion ban in 1864, as male physicians sought to dominate health care over midwives and anti-abortion advocates felt threatened by immigrants, historians said.

The Civil War-era law — which the state Supreme Court this week ruled was enforceable — was enacted at a time when women did not have the right to vote and before Arizona, then a territory, became a state.

Back then, midwives predominantly performed abortions, using herbs or metal instruments, which caused resentment among male physicians, said Karissa Haugeberg, who teaches history at Tulane University in Louisiana.

“Physicians marked midwives as competitors,” Haugeberg said. So they began campaigning to be the authorities on reproductive rights and health care.

In 1847, a small group of physicians formed the American Medical Association, largely to quash competition from midwives and other nonlicensed providers while boosting their standing as a trustworthy and well-regulated guild, said Christopher Griffin, the director of empirical and policy research at the University of Arizona.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/arizona-1864-abortion-ban-power-struggles-history-rcna147241

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