The Celebrated Abortion Trial of Dr. Emily Stowe, Toronto, 1879 | Zendy

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The Celebrated Abortion Trial of Dr. Emily Stowe, Toronto, 1879

Author(s) -

Constance Backhouse

Publication year - 1991

Publication title -

canadian journal of health history

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 0.117

H-Index - 13

eISSN - 2371-0179

pISSN - 0823-2105

DOI - 10.3138/cbmh.8.2.159

Subject(s) - inquest , coroner , abortion , context (archaeology) , scrutiny , ideology , tribunal , law , history , medicine , political science , politics , poison control , suicide prevention , pregnancy , environmental health , archaeology , biology , genetics

Emily Howard Stowe is generally recognized as the first white Canadian woman to practise medicine in Canada. Less is known about her role as one of the first doctors to be tried for attempting to procure an abortion in nineteenth-century Canada. That she was the target of a well-publicized prosecution in Toronto in 1879 was no accident, however, for her stature as a feminist activist made her a focal point for unprecedented medical and legal scrutiny. This article explores the details of her role in both the initial coroner's inquest and subsequent trial, placing them in the context of prevailing feminist, social and professional ideologies.

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