Part Two: Matthew Hale's Twisted Views on Women, Witchcraft, & Abortion

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When the Salem Witch Trials began they referred back to the standards set by famed British jurist Sir Matthew Hale, whose legal rulings were all seen through the lens of his Puritan religion and the belief that all legal authority comes from God through a divinely anointed king. But despite the fact that he sentenced women to die for witchcraft, his legal opinions are cited to this day as the basis for laws that deny rights and agency to women.

In this episode Chambers siblings Jamie and Bambi examine an absurd witch trial that became a best-selling pamphlet before looking at the very serious ramifications Hale's life, rulings, and writings have on people who live centuries later on another continent. But even with that's terrible influence, Justice Samuel Alito had to misrepresent Hale's writings on abortion in the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

CW: In this episode we discuss challenging topics including sexual violence and abortion.

#history #witch #supremecourt #ChainsawHistory #abortionrights #historypodcast #legalhistory #womensrights #witchtrials #salem

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Research & Sources

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (06/24/2022)

The Forfeitures at Salem, 1692. David C. Brown.

Historia Placitorum Coronæ: The History of the Pleas of the Crown. Sir Matthew Hale (1736).

Narratives of the witchcraft cases, 1648-1706. Edited by Burr, George Lincoln, 1857-1938.

Pleas of the Crown. Sir Matthew Hale (1716).

A tryal of witches, at the Assizes held at Bury St. Edmonds for the County of Suffolk, on the tenth day of March, 1664, before Sir Matthew Hale Kt., then Lord Chief Baron of His Majesties Court of Exchequer.