"According to her calculations, the baby would come with October, and on the thirtieth day of September she would kill herself." (Go Set a Watchman, page 133)
At this point in Go Set a Watchman Jean Louise (now in her mid-twenties) is thinking back to a time in her life as a child. At the time she was 12 and in 7th grade. Nine months prior a boy named Albert randomly french kissed scout as thanks for a really small thing. Later she heard girls talking about how Francine Owen had been french kissed and now she was pregnant so scout figured the same thing would happen to her, and she didn't know any better because she never got "the talk". After doing some research Jean Lousie found some medieval techniques which included throwing the women against a wall, and because of fear from that, just having birth in general and anxiety over the whole thing Jean Louise decided she would just kill herself (and the supposed baby with her) to avoid the whole thing. (and don't worry, scout doesn't die, her friend henry comes along and gets her down)
This is really similar to (though a little bit more extreme (sometimes)) things happening all over the country, particularly in Texas, which is an increase in self abortions. Stemming from the recent increase in closing abortion clinics thanks to things like Texas's HB2 anti-abortion laws, pregnant women with a lack of available opportunities take the abortion upon themselves. In Texas the percentage of pregnant women preforming self abortions has increased from 2008's 2% to 7% of women preforming self abortions before going to a clinic, with an estimated total of 100,000 self abortions in texas alone.
Though there are very few (if no other) references to pregnant, birthing or abortions in Go Set a Watchman or To Kill a Mockingbird, this is sort of similar to the supposed happenings in the trial of Tom Robinson in TKAM. After Mayella was injured, whether it was by Tom Robinson (which it wasn't) or by Bob Ewell, Bob figured that he could take care of whatever injuries she had without the help of a doctor similarly to Scout (though there were probably no doctors at the time to have preformed the abortion on scout even if she had the baby)
The article -------> http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2015/11/17/at_least_100_000_women_have_attempted_self_induced_abortions_in_texas.html
This is really similar to (though a little bit more extreme (sometimes)) things happening all over the country, particularly in Texas, which is an increase in self abortions. Stemming from the recent increase in closing abortion clinics thanks to things like Texas's HB2 anti-abortion laws, pregnant women with a lack of available opportunities take the abortion upon themselves. In Texas the percentage of pregnant women preforming self abortions has increased from 2008's 2% to 7% of women preforming self abortions before going to a clinic, with an estimated total of 100,000 self abortions in texas alone.
Though there are very few (if no other) references to pregnant, birthing or abortions in Go Set a Watchman or To Kill a Mockingbird, this is sort of similar to the supposed happenings in the trial of Tom Robinson in TKAM. After Mayella was injured, whether it was by Tom Robinson (which it wasn't) or by Bob Ewell, Bob figured that he could take care of whatever injuries she had without the help of a doctor similarly to Scout (though there were probably no doctors at the time to have preformed the abortion on scout even if she had the baby)
The article -------> http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2015/11/17/at_least_100_000_women_have_attempted_self_induced_abortions_in_texas.html
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