You might be forgiven for thinking of abortion as a particularly modern phenomenon. But there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that abortion has been a constant feature of social life for thousands of years. The history of abortion is often told as a legal one, yet abortion has continued regardless of, perhaps even in spite of, legal regulation.
A brief history of abortion—from ancient Egyptian herbs to fighting stigma today
Submitted 1 year ago by recreationalplacebos@midwest.social to anthropology@mander.xyz
https://phys.org/news/2023-09-history-abortionfrom-ancient-egyptian-herbs.html
sj_zero 1 year ago
The Japanese had a certain time period where after birth it was considered acceptable to kill a baby post-birth. It was considered the duty of parents to only allow babies who they could support and who were healthy enough to survive to adulthood. Babies younger than a certain age were considered to be something less than human, something with one foot in the physical world and one foot in the spiritual world, so killing the baby wasn't quite the same as killing what was considered to be a fully human being. It was called Mabiki, and about 20% of kids were killed by this method in the Edo period.
Something else that has been a constant feature of social life for thousands of years is chattel slavery and our more modern eyes don't think that's such a good thing, after all.
Despotism and feudalism were both major forms of government for a very long time, and instead we've all collectively decided that democratic republics or constitutional monarchies are the most just forms of government despite all that history. Ancient Egypt featured a god-king as its head of state for longer than Christianity has existed, but most people today would be appalled at the idea of living under such a regime. Empires such as Akkad in Mesopotamia celebrated forcing a father from an enemy camp being forced to grind the bones of his wife and children into dust.
Another way that the ancient world could be considered much different than the world today and thus we must be careful of using it as a model is that often it was extremely patriarchal. At the worst of times, it might be legally and even socially be considered perfectly acceptable for a man to kill his wife and kids if circumstances called for it. In ancient Rome, the concept of "pater familias" granted the male head of the family extensive authority over his household, including the power of life and death over his wife, children, and slaves.
The key is to learn history, and to learn from history, but don't become a slave to antiquity. Also don't become a slave to novelty, just because it hasn't been tried doesn't mean it's good either. And the opposite is true as well, just because something is old or new doesn't mean it's bad either. It's essential to think for yourself and make your own decisions, and to be willing to change your mind if you realize you were wrong whatever that outcome is.