Abortion

Abortion tecniques are described in the oldest known medical texts. 1 The acient Chinese and Egyptians had their methods and recipes to cause abortion, and Greek and Roman civilizations considered abortion an integral part of maintaining a stable population. Acient instruments, such as the ones found in Pompeii and Herculaneum, were much like modern surgical instruments. The Greeks and Romans also had various poisons administered in the various ways, including through tampons. .
             Even after criminalization of abortion, women continued to have abortions in roughly the same proportions. Abortion simply went underground, and became clandestine and therefore a much more dangerous operation for the women to undergo. .
             Attitudes toward sexuality and procreation were changing in the twentieth century, which was contributing to the legalization of abortion. Reduced influence of religious institutions was also a related factor. In some countries rubella epidemics and thalidomide created awareness of the need for legal abortion, and in other countries there was concern about population growth. The major reason for legalization was that women were being injured or dying from unnecassarily dangerous illegal abortions. .
             Regardless of the law, abortions are carried out in every country in the world today. World-wide, it is estimated that 50 million abortions occur each year, where more than 1/3 are illegal abortions occuring mainly in developing countries. Clandestine and illegal abortions in countries such as Muslim Asia, Latin America and Africa, where abortion remains prohibited or restricted, remain a serious health problem. A major problem in countries where abortion is illegal, is maternal deaths. The estimate number of women who die from clandestine abortion ranges from less than 100,000 to as many as 200,000 women a year, and for every women who dies from an illegal abortion, many more suffer serious, and often lifelong, health problems such as haemorrhaging, infection, abdominal or intestinal perforations, kidney failure and infertility.