Doctor visits a sick old woman in bed, attributed to Wybrand Hendriks
Scientists working on patient histories face several challenges.
On 28 and 29 September 2023, the Descartes Centre of Utrecht University organised the workshop 'How to Take Patients' Histories: Doing Medical History from Below in Practice'. The interdisciplinary event focused on how to use patients' histories as a source for historical research in different social, cultural and political contexts.
Viola Lászlófi and Judit Sándor's presentation focused on letters written by women seeking abortions in 1954. They explored how women's own experiences of unwanted pregnancy and their paths to abortion were shaped by state socialist population policy goals and the new legal framework for abortion.