Abortion is the ending of pregnancy by removing an embryo or fetus before it can survive outside the uterus. Abortion has been a practice since ancient times, and abortion techniques were widely known. Abortion practices differed depending on location and legality, but the basic procedure was largely similar. Abortion is also common in many animal species. [1] The Code of Hammurabi (1760 BC) stated that a man could divorce his wife if she did not bear him children, while women could not use the same loophole. 2]
Abortion in Ancient Greece may have been practiced by the Pythagorean sect of philosophers and physicians. [3][4] It was also an established practice in ancient Rome; law legalized abortion specifically to avoid legal responsibility for the child once born. Abortion was generally considered easy to perform, however, it required sufficient knowledge about herbal abortifacients, regularly administered drugs. [5] Abortion is mentioned in texts from ancient Sumer,[6] India,[7] China,[8] classical Greece,[9], and Rome. [5]
Abortion was criminalized in most societies at some point, but this did not necessarily lead to the extinction of abortion. [10] Abortion was practiced in Greek, Roman and Persian empires. Abortion in private spaces was banned with severe punishment for both parties involved in some societies. [11] Abortion is one of the most common surgical procedures worldwide; it is used predominantly by the poor. Abortion rates are difficult to obtain since there are no reliable data collected regarding their practice. Abortion has been forbidden at different periods of time, even when its practice had become commonplace.
The Catholic Church has generally condemned abortion, though some modern officials have begun to relax these restrictions. The history of abortion can be divided into three distinct phases: pre-modern, during which early abortions were likely to have been dangerous clandestine procedures; nineteenth-century, when abortions became safer but were still performed illegally by untrained persons; and late-twentieth-century, when medical advances made early abortion relatively safe. Abortion practices have often been determined by historical and cultural factors. [12]
Much of the knowledge about pregnancy, contraception, midwifery, birth control and abortion comes from ancient texts. For example, in Ancient Rome, Scribonius Largus wrote that a woman who drank a potion containing lead would give birth to a silver baby. Other ancient writings believed to have information on the methods for inducing an abortion are De Agri Cultura (160 BC) by Cato,[6][13][14][15] Historia Naturalis (77 AD) by Pliny the Elder,[16] Aetna (1707) by Hildegard von Bingen,[17] and De Compositio Medicamentorum (before 50 AD) by Pedanius Dioscorides. 18]
Abortion was also well-known in ancient Greece, with medical writers recommending its use to physicians for clearing away birth matter or aborting a fetus. For example, Aristotle wrote that it is necessary to clear out the uterus first before giving drugs because “a child develops faster in the womb than outside of it”. [19][20] Moreover, Hippocrates said that quick delivery can be an indication of pregnancy. Abortion methods were often used without many different specifics beyond general rules on timing but there were some techniques known.
Cleansing substances were often used on their own accord to induce abortions during the first or second trimester. Such agents were generally employed in a manner that promoted menstruation, purging of any embryonic matter, or expelling any embryo that had already formed. [21] In Medieval times, medical texts written by Persian physician Muhammad ibn Zakariya Razi) noted different methods for abortion between men and women with many physical similarities to the modern method. Abortion was allowed if there was not yet a soul inside the fetus according to 4th century Roman law.
Abortion procedures are described in the 7th-century BC Homeric Hymn to Apollo, which renders it an expiation. [22][23] Abortion is also mentioned in many other ancient sources, including the 6th century AD Code of Justinian and 9th-century Baghdad physician Al-Razi, who discussed techniques to induce abortions. [18] Abortion pills were usually used orally until they were replaced in the 1800s by safer drugs that could be taken vaginally. The exact moment when European women started using contraceptive devices is unknown.
Greeks and Romans are assumed to have practiced birth control because their philosophers wrote about it, but there’s no direct evidence . It’s possible that Greek women used absorbent pessaries made of wool or linen; Roman women used vaginal suppositories made with opium; cedar oil; or vinegar mixed with alum. [24][25] Abortion was also common throughout historical. Abortion methods were often used without many different specifics beyond general rules on timing but there were some techniques known.
Abortion was also well-known in ancient Greece, with medical writers recommending its use to physicians for clearing away birth matter or aborting a fetus. [19] Abortion methods were often used without many different specifics beyond general rules on timing but there were some techniques known. Cleansing substances were often used on their own accord to induce abortions during the first or second trimester. [21] The Catholic Church has generally condemned abortion, though some modern officials have begun to relax these restrictions.
Outside the West, early Jewish texts prescribed abortion if the pregnancy threatened the mother’s life; this prohibition was maintained into the 20th century even where religious sanction against abortion existed. Abortion providers in the West were not prosecuted in cases where it might have been obvious that they had performed an abortion to save a woman’s life. The earliest known law punishing an abortion provider was in the Code of Hammurabi, circa 1800 BC. [11] Abortion laws became more restrictive during Christianity’s influence. [26] Abortion was banned by ? lfric of Eynsham around 1000 AD because of Adam’s fall.
Even into the Middle Ages, women still held some relative power with midwives and other women who attended births, although men had exclusive rights over feminist issues (such as documents). [27][28] Around 1140 AD, Gilbertus Anglicus described how to abort a baby while preserving the mother’s uterus; this technique would be used for centuries, including during the Renaissance. [29] Abortion was often a more common alternative to life-birth under harsh conditions such as lack of food and shelter. 30% of children in orphanages were given to death, starvation, or exposure.
In 18th century England, it is estimated that about 50% of bastard children ended up dying before they reached adulthood because their mothers gave them over to the foundling wheel. [30] Abortion remained legal through most of Europe until 1803 when Congress outlawed it. Abortion became illegal in Britain in 1841; medical journals show this law was widely ignored. [31] “Sanger’s battle with censorship began almost immediately upon publication of her first book Family Limitation , which consisted of a series of articles that had originally appeared in her magazine The Woman Rebel between , were collected into a single volume.
Originally intended for sexual progressives, the publication was banned upon release and copies that did reach readers were confiscated by postal authorities on grounds of obscenity. Sanger dissociated herself from the work almost immediately due to its explicit nature. It is now considered an important feminist classic. “[32] Sanger’s publications pushed boundaries, including some personal conversations about sexuality which were not well received during her time period. This caused her to publish some essays anonymously under assumed names. [33]