Depressing to read that the Ancient Greeks took a more logical and enlightened approach to abortion care than many places today!
However, it’s an important message that is worth considering in today’s climate when the toxicity of the ‘debate’ has completely obscured actual practices and history.
An important and engaging read that delves into important topics around abortion history, tracing its ties to social and political history. It was really eye-opening to see how much healthcare for women has been tied up with moral panics about women and their autonomy. When societies wanted to punish women, when they worried about women’s independence, they clamped down on abortion care.
At the same time, the history of abortion is not what you necessarily expect, full of twists and turns and contradictions. Fissell does a good job of taking you through this complex history.
It’s not fully comprehensive, but how could it be with such a vast topic?
An important piece of social history!
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