The history of abortion rights

Eloïse Bertil 8:00 a.m., September 28, 2022

PODCAST

In ancient Rome, the authority of the father

Until the third century AD in the history of antiquity, there is no legislative text that condemns abortion.

This is the first element of analysis that historian Jean-Christophe Courtil wishes to recall.

While the debate on abortion has been revived in the United States, in particular with the revocation by the Supreme Court of the Roe v.

Wade, this historian specifies that in ancient Rome, the practice of abortion was frowned upon.

But any decision then belongs to the father, the sole holder of parental authority.

"The father of the family is responsible for deciding whether or not to have an abortion at his wife's, so there is no need for a law," he explains.

“Each father also has the right to sell his child, to prostitute him, and he has the right to life or death over him.

Even in adulthood."

At the time, a woman who terminated her pregnancy was seen as depriving the father of his right to his lineage.

The historian affirms: "the father can punish her in the same way as one could punish a brigand who stole something from him".

Still, if abortion is condemned in ancient Rome, it is however very widespread.

Jean-Christophe Courtil adds that “it is not only a practice reserved for the lower classes, the imperial family also uses it”.

In the Middle Ages, God's decision

With the transition to Christianity, we observe a change of model: it is no longer the father who has the monopoly of power, but God.

"As in the myth of Abraham, it is God who decides on the survival of the children", specifies the historian.

More specifically, abortion "is condemned by theologians from the moment the fetus is animated, that is to say endowed with a soul and sensations", further details Jean-Christophe Courtil. "Before the fortieth day for a boy and the ninetieth day for a girl, an abortion can therefore be performed.

But then it is considered 'contraception'.”

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With Napoleon and the Empire, the return of patriarchy

With the Civil Code of 1804, the role of the "father" took precedence over the figure of God.

As the historian Virginie Girod in turn points out, the law stipulates that "the child belongs to the husband of the woman like the apple to the owner of the apple tree" and that "the woman is given to the man so that she may have children”. 

"With the return of the pater familias model, Napoleon I drew on Antiquity for what suited him well", summarizes Jean-Christophe Courtil.

>> Also discover: the interview with historian Stanis Perez on pandemics throughout history

With the Simone Veil law, the problem of maternal mortality

In 1975, the law carried by Simone Veil constitutes a real historic break in the vision of the right to abortion.

For the first time in history, abortion is treated as a public health issue.

“Since antiquity it was something that had been gradually forgotten, because over the centuries the problem has always been seen from the point of view of the man, the husband, and not the mother who risks his life", analyzes Jean-Christophe Courtil.

>> Do you want to know more about the debate around abortion throughout history?

To better understand what the Hippocratic oath says about abortion or to learn more about the methods of termination of pregnancy used throughout the ages, listen to the episode in its entirety!