The Meaning and the Madness in the Method of Suicide in Pregnancy: Literary Allusions (IN: Suicide in Pregnancy, ed. by G J Kleiner and W M Greston)

This article analyzes suicide in pregnancy from 3 famous literary & historical cases. All of the suicides took place prior to 1921. All 3 women had been derserted by the father of the child & all were estranged from their parents. States that the decriminalization of bastardy, the legalization of abortion, & the provision of financial support to single mothers, serve to reduce some of the external stress on pregnant women.