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MEDICAL: PRACTICE & METHODS OF ABORTION Ancient period The first recorded evidence of induced Abortion is from a Chinese document which records abortions performed upon royal concubines in China between the years 500 and 515 BC. According to Chinese Folklore , the legendary Emperor Shennong prescribed the use of Mercury to induce abortions nearly 5000 years ago. There have been Archaeological discoveries which would seem indicate early Surgical attempts at the extraction of a Fetus ; however, such methods are not believed to have been common, given the infrequency with which they are mentioned in ancient medical texts. Many of the methods employed in early and Primitive Culture s were non-surgical. Physical Activities like strenuous labour, Climbing , Paddling , Weightlifting , or Diving were a common technique. Others included the use of Irritant leaves, Fasting , Bloodletting , pouring Hot Water onto the abdomen, and lying on a Coconut Shell which had been heated. Hippocrates , the Greek Physician whose famous Oath forbids abortion, nonetheless writes of having advised a Dancer and Prostitute who fell pregnant to jump up and down, touching her Buttock s with her Heel s at each leap, so as to induce miscarriage. Other writings attributed to him describe instruments, fashioned to Dilate the Cervix and Curette inside of the Uterus , which he used perform an abortion upon one of his patients. Tertullian , a 2nd Century Christian Theologian , also described surgical implements which were used in a procedure reminiscent of the modern Dilation And Evacuation . One tool had a "nicely-adjusted flexible frame" used for dilation, an "annular blade" used to curette, and a "blunted or covered hook" used for extraction. The other was a "copper needle or spike". He attributed ownership of such items to Hippocrates , Asclepiades , Erasistratus , Herophilus , and Soranus . Tertullian's description is prefaced as being used in cases in which abnormal Positioning of the fetus in the womb would endanger the life of the pregnant women. Saint Augustine , in '' Enchiridion '', makes passing mention of surgical procedures being performed to remove fetuses which have Expired In Utero . Aulus Cornelius Celsus , a 1st Century Roman Encyclopedist , offers an extremely detailed account of a procedure to extract a dead fetus in his only surviving work, ''De Medicina''. In Book 9 of ''Refutation of all Heresies'', Saint Hippolytus Of Rome , another Christian Theologian of the 3rd Century , wrote of women tightly binding themselves around the middle so as to "expel what was being conceived." Soranus , a 2nd century Greek Physician , provided some rather detailed suggestions in his work ''Gynecology''. He recommended that women wishing to abort their pregnancies should engage in violent exercise, energetic jumping, carrying heavy objects, and riding animals. Diuretic s, Emmenagogue s, Enemas , Fasting , and Bloodletting , were also prescribed, although Soranus advised against the use of sharp instruments to induce miscarriage due to the risk of organ Perforation . He also listed a number of recipes for herbal bathes, rubs, and Pessaries . Other botanical preparations are referred to as possessing abortive qualities in classical literature. In '' De Materia Medica Libri Quinque ,'' the Greek Pharmacologist Dioscorides describes something called "abortion wine." He listed the ingredients to the concotion but failed to provide the precise manner in which it was to be prepared. Pliny The Elder cited the refined Oil of Common Rue as a potent abortifacient. Serenus Sammonicus wrote of a concoction which consisted of rue, Egg , and Dill . Soranus, Dioscorides, Oribasius also detailed this application of the plant. Modern scientific studies have confirmed that rue indeed contains three abortive compounds. It is known that the ancient Greeks relied upon the herb Silphium as both a Contraceptive and an Abortifacient . The plant, as the chief export of Cyrene , was driven to Extinction , but it is suggested that it might have possessed the same abortive properties as some of its closest extant relatives in the Apiaceae Family . Cyrenian Coin s were embossed with an image of the plant. The Root of worm Fern , tellingly called "prostitute root" in the French , was used of old in France and Germany ; it was also recommended by a Greek physician in the 1st Century . In German folk medicine, there was also an abortifacient Tea , which included Marjoram , Thyme , Parsley , and Lavender . Other preparations of unspecificied origin included crushed Ants , the Saliva of Camel s, and the tail hairs of Black-tailed Deer dissolved in the Fat of Bear s. Such Folk Remedies , however, varied in effectiveness and were not without risk. Tansy and Pennyroyal , for example, are two Poisonous Herbs with serious Side Effects that have at times been used to terminate pregnancy. Middle period ]] An 8th Century Sanskrit text instructs women wishing to induce an abortion to sit over a pot of Steam or stewed Onion s. The technique of Massage abortion, involving the application of pressure to the Pregnant Abdomen , has been practiced in Southeast Asia for centuries. One of the Bas Relief s decorating the Temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia , dated circa 1150, depicts a Demon performing such an abortion upon a woman who has been sent to the Underworld . This is believed to be the oldest known visual representation of abortion. Japanese documents show records of induced abortion from as early as the 12th Century . It became much more prevalent during the Edo Period , especially among the Peasant class, who were hit hardest by the recurrent Famine s and high Taxation of the age. Statue s of the Boddhisattva Jizo , erected in memory of an abortion, Miscarriage , Stillbirth , or young childhood death, began appearing at least as early as 1710 at a Temple in Yokohama (see Religion And Abortion ). Recent period Nineteenth Century Medicine saw advances in the fields of Surgery , Anaesthesia , and Sanitation , in the same era that doctors with the American Medical Association lobbied for bans on Abortion in the United States and the British Parliament passed the Offences Against The Person Act . Access to abortion continued, however, as the disguised, but nonetheless open, advertisement of abortion services, abortion-inducing devices, and abortifacient medicines in the Victorian Era would seem to suggest. A few alleged examples of surreptitiously-marketed abortifacients include "Farrer's Catholic Pills", "Hardy's Woman's Friend", "Dr. Peter's French Renovating Pills", and " Lydia Pinkham 's Vegetable Compound". Patent Medicine s which claimed to treat "female complaints" often contained such ingredients as Pennyroyal , Tansy , and Savin . Abortifacient products were sold under the promise of "restor {Link without Title} female regularity" and "removing from the system every impurity." The 20th Century saw improvements in abortion technology, increasing its safety and reducing its side-effects. In 1971, Lorraine Rothman, a founding member of the feminist self-help movement, invented the Del-Em, a safe, cheap suction device that made it possible for people with minimal training to perform early abortions. In 1980, French researchers developed Mifepristone (RU-486), a drug which induces abortion by blocking Hormone action. LEGAL: HISTORY OF ABORTION LAW The history of abortion law dates back to ancient times and has impacted men and women in a variety of ways in different times and places. Historically, it is unclear how often the ethics of Abortion (induced abortion) was discussed, but under Christian influence the West generally frowned on abortion. In English common law and early American common law abortion was legal if performed before "quickening." By the late 19th century many nations had passed laws that banned abortion. In the later half of the 20th Century some nations began to legalize abortion. This controversial subject has sparked heated debate and in some cases even violence. Ancient (Prior to 476AD) There is anthropological evidence that Abortion has been practiced beginning in Ancient times. Some previous Civilization s are thought to have tolerated even late-term abortions. There were also opposing voices, most notably Hippocrates Of Cos and the Roman Emperor Augustus . In contrast to their pagan evironment, Christians generally shunned abortion, drawing upon the Bible and early Christian writings such as the Didache (circa 100 A.D.), which says: "... thou shalt not murder a child by abortion nor kill the infant already born." {Link without Title} Saint Augustine refers to Exodus when he says that abortion is murder:
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