The Moral Economy of Childbearing: Six Abortion Trials in Interwar Hungary
Gábor Koloh
ELTE Research Centre for the Humanities
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Hungarian Historical Review Volume 15 Issue 3 (2026): 494-519 DOI 10.38145/2026.3.494
This article explores the moral economy of childbearing through six abortion trials in interwar Hungary. It argues that reproductive decisions in villages and small towns were shaped not simply by individual choice, but by collectively enforced norms, informal authority, and the imperative of preserving reputation. Drawing on criminal case files from four Hungarian counties, the study examines how shame, gossip, surveillance, and social pressure influenced women confronted with unwanted pregnancies. It highlights the roles of midwives, employers, female relatives, and other locally influential actors in mediating reproductive decisions on the boundaries of assistance, coercion, and illegality. The trials also reveal the circulation of informal knowledge about abortion and birth control, the importance of female support networks, and the narrative distortions produced by criminal proceedings. The article interprets childbearing as a hidden form of community coordination governed by a reputational economy centered on concepts of honor.
Keywords: moral economy; childbearing; abortion; interwar Hungary; informal authority