The History of Birth Control and Society Essay - 1997 Words

The History of Birth Control and Society People have been desperate to control how many children they have and abstinence is not really an option adults want to choose. Some ancient forms of birth control include: animal skins and intestines for condoms, lemons as barriers to protect from pregnancy, poisonous cocktails to cause abortion, and animal dung cocktails as spermicides. When those measures failed, women turned to abortions. (Rengal intro ix) Humankind has been trying to have sex without pregnancy since ancient times. Birth control methods have been around for centuries, the types and safety have varied over the years. The womens right revolution was a vital part in developing safe methods. Even though some people still†¦show more content†¦Most ancient forms of abortion have serious risks to the mother; if she ingests the wrong amount of poison it could kill her. â€Å"The ancient Greeks wrote extensively on medicine and gynecology, and they included frequent references to abortions.† (Salisbu ry 1) The Greeks did not value infant life; if a child was born unwanted they would leave it exposed to the elements to die. Roman physicians built on Greek medicine practices, there were only two reasons they would not help a woman abort a child. The first reason was if the child was conceived from adultery and the second reason was to preserve her beauty. I find this ironic since these seem to be popular reasons for having abortions today. According to Joyce Salisbury author of The Encyclopedia of Women in the Ancient World, society initially only made rules against abortion to control women, it was not until the third century A.D. that Christians made the issue about the unborn baby (1). The only sure way to prevent pregnancy now and in ancient time was by abstaining from sex. The easiest way to prevent pregnancy with intercourse was the withdrawal method. This is mentioned in the Christian bible as the â€Å"sin of Onan.† (Salisbury 68) â€Å"Roman physician, Soranus, recommended the woman take responsibility for withdrawing at the moment of orgasm. He said that when she guessed that the man was about to ejaculate, sheShow MoreRelatedEugenics and Planned Parenthood Essay1405 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican Eugenics Society, founded in 1923, proudly proclaimed that men with incurable â€Å"conditions† should be sterilized. 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