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The history of abortion, according to Anthropologists , dates back to ancient times. There is evidence to suggest that, historically, Pregnancies were terminated through a number of methods, including the administration of Abortifacient herbs, the use of sharpened implements, the application of abdominal pressure, and other techniques. Abortion Law s and their enforcement have fluctuated through various eras. Many early laws and church doctrine focused on " Quickening ," when a Fetus began to move on its own, as a way to differentiate when an Abortion became impermissible. In the 18th–19th centuries various doctors, clerics, and social reformers successfully pushed for an all-out ban on abortion. During the 20th century abortion has become legal in many Western countries, but it is regularly subjected to legal challenges and restrictions by Pro-life groups. Frontline . (2005) The Last Abortion Clinic . MEDICAL: PRACTICE & METHODS OF ABORTION Prehistory to 5th century The first recorded evidence of induced abortion is from a , the legendary Emperor Shennong prescribed the use of Mercury to induce abortions nearly 5000 years ago.Christopher Tietze and Sarah Lewit, "Abortion", ''Scientific American'', 220 (1969), 21. Abortion, along with Infanticide , was well known in the ancient Greco-Roman world. Numerous methods of abortion were used, "the more effective of which were exceedingly dangerous". Several common methods involved either dosing the pregnant woman with a near-fatal amount of poison, in order to induce a Miscarriage , introducing poison directly into the Uterus , or prodding the uterus with one of a variety of "long needles, hooks, and knives". Stark, Rodney (1996). ''The Rise of Christianity.'' San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. Unsurprisingly, these methods often led to the death of the woman, as well as the fetus. There have been , 2006 . In primitive cultures, techniques developed through observation, adaptation of obstetrical methods, and Transculturation .Devereux, G. (1976). Techniques of abortion . In ''A study of abortion in primitive societies. Revised edition.'' New York: International Universities Press. Retrieved December 8, 2006. References in classical literature , 2006 . The Hippocratic oath has also been interpreted by medical scholars as prohibiting abortion in a broader sense than by pessary.John M. Riddle. (1992). ''Contraception and abortion from the ancient world to the Renaissance. '' Harvard University Press, 1992. One such interpretation is by Scribonius Largus , a Roman medical writer said, "Hippocrates, who founded our profession, laid the foundation for our discipline by an oath in which it was proscribed not to give a pregnant woman a kind of medicine that expels the embryo/fetus."Scribonius, '' Compositiones '' Praef. 5. 20-23 (Translated and cited in Riddle's history of contraception and abortion) The Stoics believed the fetus to be plantlike in nature, and not an animal until the moment of birth, when it finally breathed air. They therefore found abortion morally acceptable. |
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