# On the history of abortion from antiquity to the present day, with a focus on Central Europe and Germany

## TL;DR

This paper explores the history of abortion from ancient times to modern Germany, highlighting cultural, legal, and medical changes over time.

## Contribution

The paper provides a historical overview of abortion in Central Europe and Germany, emphasizing its evolving ethical and legal context.

## Key findings

- Abortion practices and regulations have changed significantly over time and across cultures.
- The paper highlights the influence of medical, legal, and religious factors on abortion history in Germany.
- Similar ethical discussions about abortion likely occurred in other parts of the Western world.

## Abstract

The question of how to deal with a pregnancy, whether desired or unwanted, is a complex biological, ethical, social, and medical issue going back for millennia. Every form of regulatory approach to this issue is culturally and temporally specific and is therefore subject to continuous change. Our look at its history and the medical, legal, and religious background begins in ancient times, progresses through history, and ends with a focus on the second half of the nineteenth century and especially the twentieth century in Germany. These ethical, moral, and medical questions are likely to have been discussed in a similar way in other parts of the Western world.