In the Medieval world, as in the modern one, abortion and contraception were a part of life. The fact that abortions were performed, and the methods used to perform them, are evident in legal, religious, and medical documents, both textual and visual. Those who administered them, as well as those who underwent them, came from all walks of life, and in either case, did so with significant risk. Tracing the practice of Medieval abortions is difficult, and the evidence is not always forthcoming. But finding it allows us to trace silent networks of solidarity, agency, and care.

Then as now, not everyone saw the termination of pregnancy as a legitimate thing. On a theoretical and moral level, we see questions like: Who has the authority to control the progression of a pregnancy? When does a foetus become a person? Who is the main person affected by an act of abortion? The answers to these questions were far from unanimous. This lecture will introduce both the discussion on and the reality of abortions in the European Middle Ages. It will ask what we can learn about the attitudes towards women, sexuality, and authority from these debates and practices. It will also challenge the concept that the growing threat in the global North of restricting access to abortions or forbidding them altogether is “Medieval”, as it is so often referred to. These practices are not without their historical precedents, but their contemporary manifestation, especially in the US, is completely modern, and in many ways significantly more extreme than their assumed Medieval roots.

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