Female Complaints and Certain Events: Silencing Abortion Discourse

Prior to the liberalisation of abortion laws in Britain and parts of Australia from the late 1960s, public discussion about the 'illegal operation' was highly restricted, and, when it did occur, was overwhelmingly negative. However, public abortion discourses were not only restricted by an informal moral code, but also by legislative measures aimed at preventing the publication of 'indecent' material. In South Australia, as in other jurisdictions, laws were passed that targeted each of the two main sites of publicity about abortions in the daily press: advertisements, and reports of court cases arising from unlawful procedures. This article traces the evolution of language and portrayals of abortion and aborting women in advertisements and court reports in South Australia to the 1930s, showing that the laws against their publication were as ineffective and untenable as those against the procurement of abortion.