Mossman, Craddock (Author)
Allen, Judith A. (Advisor)
Fletcher, Hannah (Author)
Indiana University
Allen, Judith A.
Physical Details: 210 pp.
Language: English
This dissertation examines the development of human embryological science during the Progressive Era through the efforts of one man, Franklin P. Mall (1862-1917). Though by no means the only human embryologist, Mall was instrumental in creating an independent research institute for human embryology, the Carnegie Institution of Washington Department of Embryology (CIWDE). He also amassed one of the largest collections of human embryos and fetuses in the world. Drawing on Mall’s professional and published papers, the records of the CIWDE, pregnancy guides, government publications, and court decisions, this project examines the implications of embryological research in the early twentieth century. This study challenges popular conceptions that situate Roe v. Wade as the beginnings of fetal personhood in America, and instead traces the origins of fetal personhood to Mall’s embryological research. Mall initially intended to expand human embryological research as a means to further anatomical science in the United States. His construction of embryonic and fetal images, his interventions into racial science, and his studies of the origins of birth defects, however, had the unintended effect of altering American conceptions of the fetus. Through embryological research, Mall and his colleagues created an independent and visible fetus. Once visible, the fetus became a tool in support of racial hierarchies, a justification for reducing women’s role in pregnancy, and a recipient of citizenship. Human embryologists in the Progressive Era planted the roots of fetal personhood and made the fetus matter.
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