How were abortions performed in ancient times?
Lesson Plan
Laurie Swede
Unwanted pregnancies have been a common topic throughout history and the methods used as technology and civilizations develop are each unique to the culture and society of the times. The use of certain ancient methods have strongly influenced the culture around abortion and our modern-day views on abortions. Unwanted pregnancies and the methods to deal with them have been studied by many historians and date back as far as ancient Egypt. Even in these ancient days with less developed technologies, abortions were still prominent and being performed. There was a much higher mortality risk due to the underdeveloped technology at the time, but it was a risk women were willing to take to rid themselves of their pregnancies. The ancient Egyptians used many methods such as toxins and herbs to get rid of the fetus as well as the Greeks and Romans who resorted to different kinds of extraction tools as well as natural remedies in order to rid a woman of pregnancy.
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Ancient Egypt performed abortions by using concoctions of toxins, herbs, and drugs to rid the host of the unwanted pregnancies: “an ancient Egyptian medical text from 1550 BCE that provides a recipe for abortifacients, which refers to drugs, herbs, or other agents used to induce an abortion” (“Abortion”). Due to the technological and scientific disadvantages of the time, the method of putting these abortifacients into women’s bodies was very unsafe and resulted in many deaths. There are many documents and writings, such as the Ebers Papyrus, which detail the abortion process used during this time (“Ancient Egypt”). Ancient Egyptian abortion methods, as stated in the Ebers Papyrus, were comprised of plant-fiber tampons that were covered with a mixture that included crushed up dates, honey, and herbal abortifacients such as extinct Silphium which both induce abortion (“Ancient Egypt”). The Kahun Papyrus, which is in fragments, illustrates many Gynaecologist processes, such as inspection and treatment of diseases. The treatments detailed in this papyrus entailed, “fumigation, massage, drinking asses milk or eating its liver” (“Ancient Egypt”). Both of these ancient documents are vital to the understanding of ancient abortion methods without the use of advanced science and technology. The research that was recorded in these documents concerning women’s health and procreation helps present-day scientists thoroughly comprehend the viability of abortions and how they have always been part of society.
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In addition to ancient Egypt, unwanted pregnancies have been terminated since the early Greeks and Romans where philosophers took a special interest in the theory of “ensoulment.” This theory is focused on the concept of the point in a pregnancy that the fetus becomes an actual viable human with a soul (“Abortion”). This issue of when the fetus becomes a viable human being is still being addressed in today’s society. The opposing viewpoints being pro-life supporters believing that God has planned out every single life and humans should not have the ability to destroy life as opposed to the pro-choice supporters who believe in women’s right to their bodies and to privacy.
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Ancient Greeks share the view that abortion is amoral, but there were no restrictions placed on abortions. This idea was supported by prominent Greek philosophers, “Aristotle (384-322 BC) encouraged abortion because he feared population explosion” (“Ancient Roman”). Due to overpopulation, Aristotle supported abortion and condoned it, but Augustus Caesar, on the other hand, thought that low birth rates were due to abortions and homosexuality and threatened the stability of the Roman State (“Ancient Roman”). The contradiction of Aristotle’s fear of overpopulation and Caesar’s fear of low birth rate impacting the stability of the Roman state displays the impact which abortion has on a community and how it is blamed for causing low birth rates. Plato brought a new idea to the table to abate overpopulation: “in The Republic, 461a-461c Plato argues that in the ideal state governed by Philosopher Kings, women should be forced to have an abortion when the city-state becomes too populous” (“Ancient Roman”). This is another example of men stripping the freedom of choice from women with forced abortions when there is overpopulation. This issue of when the fetus becomes a viable human being is still being addressed in today’s society with pro-life supporters believing that God has planned out every single life and humans should not have the ability to destroy life as opposed to the pro-choice supporters who believe in women’s right to their bodies and to privacy.
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Abortion in Ancient Rome was practiced by all social classes but was considered amoral even though there was no explicit law restricting abortions. Instruments were the common method of abortion during this time. Some instruments used to perform abortions would open the uterus, dissect the libs with a blade, and use a hook to pull the remnants of the fetus out, delivering it (“Ancient Roman”). Certain instruments would be inserted into the uterus to kill the fetus by crushing its skull and then extract the fetus.
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No strict laws and a lesser stigma resulted in women being able to choose for themselves about what should happen with their own bodies. With no restrictions on abortion, women were free to choose whether or not they needed or wanted one. This is the idea of self-governance or personal autonomy, which is not viable in the modern-day United States due to the restrictions being placed on abortion access within individual states, which is vital to progressing gender equality. This idea of abortion being amoral but not restricted compares to the present-day United States which has the stigma of abortions being amoral but is becoming destigmatized in modern society although there are still restrictions being placed on abortion in today’s society.
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Not only were the Greeks and Romans struck by this dilemma, but also the early Christian Chruch had also debated abortion and ruled that human life was sacred: “The early Christian Church...distinguished between abortions involving inanimate, or "unformed," fetuses, which theologians accepted, and abortions involving animate, or "formed," fetuses, which they considered murder” (“Abortion”). The main idea within the early Christian belief is the precarious difference between murder and acceptable abortion. Christian’s views on abortion usually fall under the category of pro-life supporters because of their views regarding abortion being a sin and how strictly certain Christians cling to the Bible as a source of reference, basing their lives and morals around this document.
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The ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks each had their own ideas regarding the morality of abortions, but they were performed in each of these cultures. With less developed technology, these people learned how to actively perform abortions with natural tools such as poisonous plants, toxins, and crude instruments. Each of these cultures had their own opinions regarding abortions: the Egyptians had no stigma around abortion but it started becoming stigmatized around the time of the ancient Romans and Greeks due to developing opinions of people and emerging religions. Along with these great civilizations, the Christian church had mostly dissenting views regarding abortion due to the sanctity of all life within their beliefs.
Annotated Bibliography
"Abortion." Gale Global Issues Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Gale In Context: Global Issues, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CP3208520001/GIC?u=va_p_wakef_s&sid=GIC&xid=9c2e3b03. Accessed 17 Sept. 2019.
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This document provides a thorough overview of abortion and the process which women have to go through. This article also allows the reader to dive into the history of abortion and what certain cultures such as the Egyptians used to rid women of unwanted pregnancies. It proceeds to follow the history of abortion until the present day and provides great information. This article has been very useful within my research and has assisted the strength and fluidity.
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“Ancient Egypt Abortion: Methods, Techniques, Herbs for Birth Control.” Facts About Ancient Egyptians, ancientegyptianfacts.com/ancient-egypt-abortion.html.
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This website focuses solely on Egypt and its practices regarding abortions. With limited technology during ancient times, Egyptians mainly resorted to poisonous plants to get rid of the pregnancy. This document has been very useful in the writing of this paper and will potentially help me in the future.
“Ancient Roman Abortions & Christians.” EARLY CHURCH HISTORY, earlychurchhistory.org/medicine/ancient-roman-abortions-christians/.
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This website helps the reader thoroughly understand how the ancient Romans performed abortions. The ancient Romans usually resorted to instruments to extract the fetus instead of poisonous plants like the Egyptians. This article was very helpful in understanding how they performed abortion and with what tools they used.