6 women - 6 destinies
Isobel Hawking
Her lifestory
Isobel was born in Scotland on March 3, 1915, the daughter of James and Agnes Walker. She was one of the few women to study economics, politics and philosophy at Oxford. She worked for several years in jobs far below her level.
She married Frank Hawking, a recognized expert in tropical medicine. In 1942, during the Second World War, she became the mother of Stephen Hawking, who was later to become a world-famous theoretical physicist and astronomer. In addition to Stephen, she had three other children: Mary, Edward and Philippa. She passed away on April 6, 2013
Before the birth
Did Isobel know about her son’s disability? No. In her time, the possibilities of prenatal diagnosis were not available. Would she have aborted her child if she had known? We don’t know.
Today, other diseases and disabilities can be diagnosed prenatally. For example, trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), trisomy 18, monosomy, Klinefelter syndrome. In addition, heart defects, malformations of the spine, spinal cord and brain. They all usually result in an abortion.
Hannah Chaplin
Her lifestory
Hannah was born in London on August 6, 1865. She lived and worked as an actress and dancer. She married the entertainer Charles Chaplin in 1885 and became the mother of the later world-famous actor and director Charlie Chaplin in 1889. Life with her husband was characterized by alcoholism, beatings, gambling debts and poverty. Hannah contracted syphilis and suffered from severe depression. Her children grew up in homes and boarding schools. In 1921, Charlie brought her to the USA, bought her a house in Hollywood and organized nursing staff for her. She died there in 1928 at the age of 63 without knowing how famous her son was.
Before the birth
Hannah Chaplin lived in miserable conditions before the birth of her son Charlie. Having a child in her financial situation was a disaster. Although abortion was forbidden by law, it was common practice at the time. So-called „abortifacients“ – pills to kill unborn babies were discreetly available in every backyard and were also advertised in newspapers. The alternative was to give birth and place the child in a home. Christian institutions looked after the many street children in London. Hannah ultimately decided to have the child. We don’t know the reasons for this.
Joanne Carole Schieble
Her lifestory
Joanne was born on August 15, 1931 in Wisconsin, USA, the daughter of Artur and Irene Ziegler. During her studies, she became friends with Abdulfattah „John“ Jandali. When she found out that she was pregnant out of wedlock, she received no support from her parents. She decided to carry her future son, Steve Jobs, provided he was adopted into an educated academic family. Steve was given up for adoption by Joanne shortly after his birth in 1955 and was taken in by Paul and Clara Jobs. Joanne married Abdulfattah in the same year and worked as a speech therapist. After a second marriage, which produced their daughter Mona Simpson, she died in 2000.
Before the birth
The young student’s extramarital relationship with a muslim lecturer aroused great anger and disapproval among her catholic parents. They were not prepared to accept a possible marriage between the two and to support this relationship. At the age of 23, the question arose as to how she should deal with the pregnancy. She decided to go ahead with the pregnancy, but only on the condition that her future child would be adopted by a wealthy and academically educated family.
Caterina die Meo Lippi
Her lifestory
Who Leonardo Da Vinci’s very young mother was is still disputed to this day. What is undisputed is that she was an orphan. There are currently two theories about her origins. The first theory is that she was a North African slave in the Da Vinci household. The second is that she grew up as an impoverished orphan with her grandmother and was impregnated by the wealthy lawyer Piero da Vinci at the age of 15. The illegitimate child was born in 1452 and grew up in the house of Da Vinci. According to the second theory, Caterina later married Achattabriga di Piero del Vaccha. She had 5 children and died in 1490, aged around 67. Perhaps the Mona Lisa is actually Caterina.
Before the birth
Caterina was still almost a child when she was impregnated by Piero. Piero was probably already engaged to a girl from a rich family. He loved young girls and was a womanizer. However, he was not prepared to take responsibility for his actions. His career was more important to him. Had it not been for his father Antonio, who was prepared to take the boy in – no one knows what would have happened. For religious reasons, which saw abortion as a sin, many women refrained from having an abortion and took their child to a convent or gave it to rich families as slaves.
Gladys Pearl Baker
Her lifestory
Gladys was born in Mexico in 1902, the daughter of Della and Otis Monroe. After a failed marriage, her ex-husband took her first two children to Kentucky. Gladys married a second time in 1924 and had an affair with Hollywood producer Stanley Gifford during this time. Their third child, Norma Jeane, who later became Marilyn Monroe, was born in 1926. Gladys, who was mentally very unstable, gave her child to Ida and Albert Bolender for seven years. During this time, she divorced. She only took Norma Jean back in for a short time afterwards. She remarried in 1943. She remained mentally ill and was financially supported by Marilyn. She died in 1984.
Before the birth
Gladys was already severely traumatized and psychologically burdened when she became pregnant with Marilyn. An abortion was out of the question for Gladys, but it was clear that she would not really be able to raise the child. She placed her daughter in the care of foster parents. Norma Jean was obviously very unhappy there. No less happy, however, was Gladys‘ decision to take the child back into her care. From the 1920s to the 1950s, it was always a stroke of luck for children when they ended up in a good place. Many children ended up on farms as a „Verdingkind„. Foster parenting and adoption are now strictly regulated.
Maria Bat Joachim
Her lifestory
Mary, according to ancient extra-biblical writings, was the daughter of Anna and Joachim. She was a teenager of about 13 or 14 when she was betrothed to Joseph from the village of Bethlehem. In the Bible, she is described as being surprised one day by a visit from an angel.He announced to her that she would become pregnant with Jesus, the Son of God and Messiah of Israel. Mary was shocked. An illegitimate child, and not even by her fiancé, would be a social catastrophe. How could this be possible? After the angel announced a miracle, she burst into praise in amazement and faith. Her future husband Joseph helped. They raised Jesus and had a house full of children. They never quite got rid of the stigma.
Before the birth
An illegitimate pregnancy is still considered a disgrace in many cultures. According to religious understanding, marriage and sexuality belong together. Depending on the society, a woman’s virginity is tested before marriage. In certain cultures, illegitimate pregnancies are punished with expulsion or even death by stoning. Honor killings are intended to erase the shame of the family. To escape this problem, young pregnant women often risk great dangers, go into hiding or travel abroad to have an abortion. Mary knew about all these things. But out of faith and confidence, she prepared herself and experienced miracle after miracle.
