Petite histoire de l'avortement | Décod'Actu | Lumni

✊ Long prohibited, abortion became a right over the course of the 20th century. From ancient Egypt to the present day, #DecodActu traces the history of a very ancient practice, often clandestine and underestimated. Discover other #DécodActu videos 👉 https://bit.ly/decod_actu Subscribe! 👉 http://bit.ly/2QLeh5V#DécodActu Abortion, an ancient practice Historical research shows that it is an ancient practice. Even in ancient Egypt, medical treatises contained prescriptions for abortion. Other texts, such as the Assyrian Code in ancient Mesopotamia, reveal that this act was also prohibited very early on. In the Middle Ages in Europe, as Christianity grew in popularity, it continued to be frowned upon. In the 19th century, even though abortion was considered a crime by the penal code, women increasingly resorted to it. At the time, the desire to have fewer children was growing in society, but contraception did not exist. Since when has abortion been legal? It was not until the 20th century that states legalized abortion and provided genuine medical care for women. The first to do so was the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1920. A few European countries followed in the 1930s, but overall, abortion remained illegal. Women resorted to it clandestinely, risking their health and lives. In the 1970s, feminist movements improved abortion techniques and campaigned for women's right to control their own bodies. On the European continent, laws were then passed to authorize it or remove sanctions. This was the case in France, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. Since the late 1990s, this right has continued to progress. Some fifty countries have expanded access to abortion. Where do we stand today? In 2022, abortion is legal in 75 countries, at the woman's simple request. Only the maximum number of weeks of pregnancy varies. About a hundred states allow it under certain conditions: for example, if the woman has been a victim of incest or rape, or for health reasons. Finally, about twenty countries prohibit it. In El Salvador and Malta, women even risk imprisonment. The decision in 2022 by the United States Supreme Court to remove this right from the Constitution, however, shows that nothing is certain. Opponents of abortion Religious institutions still oppose this act, which justifies the position taken by some countries. Lobby groups also actively campaign against this right, particularly in the United States. Doctors can assert their conscientious objection and refuse to perform abortions, even if they are legal. This is the case in France, but also in Italy, where 70% of gynecologists are against it. Finally, a lack of resources is sometimes added. In France, abortion centers have closed in recent decades. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), progress still needs to be made. 39,000 women still die each year worldwide as a result of unsafe abortions.