Is Abortion A Controversial Issue - 1930 Words

Joseph Thielemann Professor Alesky Research Paper 7 May, 2015 Abortion Abortion is a highly debated topic in today’s society, but many do not know about it’s origins. An abortion is defined as †The intentional termination of a pregnancy after conception.† Over the course of this paper I will shows the pre-modern world, and the brutal methods of abortion they had during that time, abortion around the world, the Greek and Roman world and Japan, and the early attitude of abortion, it was â€Å"double edge sword† because women were shunned for having an abortion, but also shunned for having a child out of wedlock. Abortions dates back all the way to some of the first written evidence of abortion was in the Code of Hammurabi in 1760 BCE. It†¦show more content†¦Many of the citizens did not care about protecting the unborn, but when they did, it was primarily because the father felt entitled to his future child. Many philosophers argued that the fetus was not alive until 40 days after conception, for a male, and 8 0 for a female. Aristotle thought this because although females fetuses developed slower in the womb, they made up for it by their brain developing faster than males. During the Edo period in Japan, documents of induced abortion became increasingly prevalent. This was most notable with peasants, who were troubled the worst by famines and high taxes and would not be able to feed their future children. Statues of the enlightened buddhist monk, Jizo, were erected in the 18th century in memory of abortion, miscarriage, stillbirths, and young childhood death. The early views of abortion were closely related to status and value. Many women were shunned for having a child out of wedlock, but also were sometimes called whores for having abortions. The Stoics, a group of early philosophers, believed the fetus to be plantlike and not an animal until â€Å"when it finally breathed air.† due to this, they believed abortion to be morally acceptable. Aristotle, a famous greek philosopher , wrote that â€Å"The line between lawful and unlawful abortion will be marked by the fact of having sensation and being alive. before this statement however, he