History of abortion

The history of abortion examines how people have ended pregnancies and how societies have understood, regulated, and debated the practice across time.

Connect

Ebers Papyrus: An ancient Egyptian medical papyrus containing prescriptions, including methods intended to end pregnancy. It preserves an early written record of pregnancy-ending remedies.
Abortion in ancient Egypt: The practices and records concerning pregnancy termination in ancient Egyptian society. Papyrus evidence places pregnancy-ending remedies among early documented medical practices.
Anthony Comstock: An American anti-obscenity campaigner whose advocacy led to federal restrictions on reproductive information and materials. His campaigns helped establish legal limits on abortion-related information in the United States.
Abortion law: The body of laws governing the circumstances, provision, and regulation of abortion. Legal rules are a major historical force shaping who could obtain abortion and under what conditions.
Hippocratic Corpus: A collection of ancient Greek medical writings associated with Hippocrates and his followers. Its oath and medical texts shaped later debates about physicians and abortion.
Abortion in ancient Greece: The practices and ideas about pregnancy termination found in ancient Greek medicine and society. Greek medical writings offer influential early discussions of abortion and its risks.
Margaret Sanger: An American birth-control activist who founded organizations that became part of Planned Parenthood. Her work linked contraception advocacy with the broader history of reproductive rights.
Abortion rights movements: Social and political movements seeking to secure or expand legal access to abortion. Organized campaigns challenged restrictions and changed public and legislative debates.
Comstock laws: United States federal and state laws restricting the mailing of materials deemed obscene, including information about contraception and abortion. They show how nineteenth-century moral campaigns turned reproductive information into a legal target.
Abortion in ancient Rome: The practices and legal and moral views concerning pregnancy termination in Roman society. Roman evidence illustrates how abortion was judged within family, inheritance, and social structures.