History of Abortion – A Look
In abortion, a pregnancy ends without the birth of babies. Abortion is different from miscarriage, as miscarriage occurs naturally. When pregnancy is ended on purpose before birth takes place, it is known as induced abortion.
Abortion is considered illegal in many countries, but in cases such as severe fetal defects, incest and rape, abortions are permitted.
What scientific techniques are used?
Abortion techniques are highly varied these days and which technique is used depends on the context. The attitude towards abortion has been changing. Even when it was illegal, abortion was practiced widely.
According to the World Health Organization, there are an estimated 40-50 million abortions every year. This corresponds to 125,000 abortions per day approximately.
In the USA alone, four out of ten unwanted pregnancies are terminated.
A look at history…
In ancient Rome and Greece, abortion was accepted. They were cytotec santa cruz not much concerned about protecting the unborn. Surviving texts from the ancient Greco-Roman world reveals that ancient people were well-acquainted with the abortion process. Of course, the process then was carried out in a different way than it is today.
You might ask then, what are the methods used in the primitive era?
Well, many methods used in the early and primitive cultures for abortion were non-surgical. Physical activities like climbing, strenuous labour, padding, weight lifting were the commonly used methods. Other methods included fasting, lying on hot coconut shell and pouring hot water onto the abdomen. The Chinese used mercury to induce the abortion.
Here is something else that is interesting.
An 8th-century Sanskrit text instructs women to sit over a pot of stewed onions or steam to induce abortion. A root of ‘worm fern’, also called as ‘prostitute root’, was used in Germany and France for the abortion. The use of this ‘prostitute root’ was also recommended by the physicians in Greek in the 1st century. The abortifacient tea, which included thyme, parsley, marjoram and lavender was used in German folk medicine in the abortion process as well. These days, the process has undergone a lot of change and women wishing to go through the process just needs to visit a clinic.
The 20th century saw technology improve, increasing the safety and reducing the side-effects. Now, to terminate the pregnancy, two types of abortions are available.