A Woman's Right to Know: Pregnancy Testing in Twentieth-Century Britain

The history of pregnancy testing, and how it transformed from an esoteric laboratory tool to a commonplace of everyday life.

Pregnancy testing has never been easier. Waiting on one side or the other of the bathroom door for a “positive” or “negative” result has become a modern ritual and rite of passage. Today, the ubiquitous home pregnancy test is implicated in personal decisions and public debates about all aspects of reproduction, from miscarriage and abortion to the “biological clock” an...