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Since the dawn of medicine, medical rights and ethics have always been one of mankinds
concerns. In any civilisation, attention paid to medical laws and ethics depends on the pro-
gress of human values and the advancement of medical science. The history of various civ-
ilisations teaches that each had its own views on medical ethics, but most had something in
common. Ancient civilisations such as Greece, Rome, or Assyria did not consider the foetus
to be alive and therefore to have human rights. In contrast, ancient Persians valued the foetus
as a living person equal to others. Accordingly, they brought laws against abortion, even in
cases of sexual abuse. Furthermore, abortion was considered to be a murder and punish-
ments were meted out to the mother, father, and the person performing it.
Mg{ yqtfu< Abortion; ancient Persia; human rights; history of medicine
l
Student Research Committee, Shiraz Iniversity ol Medical Sciences, Shiraz, lran
2
Research Cmce lor the History ol Persian Medicine, Shiraz Iniversity ol Medical Sciences,
Shiraz, lran.
3
Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center and Iepartment ol Traditional Pharmacy,
Faculty ol Pharmacy, Shiraz Iniversity ol Medical Sciences, Shiraz, lran.
4
School ol Literature and Humanity Sciences, Shiraz Iniversity, Shiraz, lran.

P.C. Box 74l2, Laguna Niguel, C/ 92607, C/ 92607, IS/.

Correspondence: /rman Zargaran, Research Cmce lor the History ol Persian Medicine,
North Ghaani Street, Shiraz, lran. Postal Code: 7l39748479. Tel. (mol): +98 9l2 206088l,
Fax: +98 7ll 2304279, Email: zargarana(sums.ac.ir.
Pregledni rad Acta med-hist Adriat 2013; 11(2);291-298
Review article UDK: 61:618.39:17(091)(35)
4;3
l1nobic1io
Since the dawn ol medicine, medical rights and ethics have always leen
one ol mankinds concerns. ln any civilisation, the amount ol attention paid
to medical laws and ethics depends on the progress and level ol human val-
ues and the advancement ol medical science. Therelore, the state ol devel-
opment ol medical laws and ethics in any given period ol time renects which
ideas are promoted in a specinc civilisation.
/lortion has always leen a controversial issue in medical ethics.
Iinerent cultures had dinerent opinions alout it, and conseguently, every
society made its own laws and adhered to them. Medical methods related to
alortion have a long history and can le tracked down to civilisations such as
ancient China and Egypt |i,.|. The nrst documented alortilacients in China
date lack to ,cc years ago |i|, lt seems that the Chinese did not consider the
loetus to le alive and did not prohilit alortion |,|. /lthough we can nnd a
lot ol evidence alout alortilacients in ancient Egyptian papyruses, no reler-
ence to alortion laws has leen preserved |,,|. The nrst alortion laws appear
in the Code ol Hammurali (i. BC) and the Cld Testament, where pun-
ishments have leen denned lor harming a pregnant woman or her loetus
|6,|. /ccording to these laws, il the in]ury to a pregnant woman resulted in
miscarriage, the guilty person would le nned, and il the in]ury resulted in
the death ol the mother, the guilty person (in the Cld Testament) || or his]
her daughter was sentenced to death (in the Code ol Hammurali) |6|. These
punishments suggest that the loetus did not have egual value as a living per-
son, moreover, the law was mainly designed to compensate the grieving lam-
ilies lor their sunering. Neither ol the looks relers to intentional alortion.
The nrst mention ol a punishment lor intentional alortion ly a pregnant
woman appears in the Code ol Hammurali in /ssyria |$|, where harsh pun-
ishments such as impalement with no lurial rights were used to deter moth-
ers lrom wrongdoing. Surprisingly, this law was implemented in a society
where a lather had the right to kill an unwanted newlorn |.|, so it is clear that
the law was not intended to protect the loetus, lut rather to entitle the lather
to decide whether the loetus or the newlorn deserved to live or die.
/ncient Greece and later Rome are usually relerred to as the lirthplaces
ol medical science. The role ol another great contemporary civilisation, an-
cient Persia, is less known due to a lack ol investigation. / review ol current
literatures (indexed in Google scholar and PulMed) shows that alortion in
ancient Persia has not leen studied in detail.
4;4
/ncient Persia lelongs to pre-lslamic Persian civilisations that existed
lelore the /ral invasion ol 6, /I. Three main great dynasties ruled Persia
in that period, including the /chaemenid (,,c-,,c BC), Parthian (. BC-
.. /I), and Sassanid (..-6, /I) ||.
This article seeks to shed light on the alortion laws and ethics in ancient
Persia through ancient lranian sources such as Avesta and Vendidd, and lat-
er studies on this sul]ect. \e also compare Persian laws on alortion with its
great contemporaries, ancient Greece and Rome.
/non1io i~vs i ~cii1 Gniici
/lthough Greek city-states did not have a unilorm code ol law, written
documents such as Platos (.$-,$ BC) recommendations alout alortion in
women over c years ol age |ic| and /ristotles (,$-,.. BC) recommenda-
tions alout alortion as a way ol lamily planning |ii| suggest that alortion was
accepted as legitimate ly many city-states. /mong ancient Greek schools,
only the Pythagoreans opposed any type ol alortion lecause they lelieved
that human soul entered the lody at the time ol lertilisation and regarded
alortion as an act ol murder |$|. /nother exception is the Hippocratic Cath
(6c-,c BC), ly which doctors swore not to provide a pessary to a pregnant
women to induce miscarriage |i.|. Some researchers doult whether this pro-
vision lelongs to Hippocrates at all |$| or had leen added later under the in-
nuence ol Pythagorean philosophy |.|. They argue that Hippocrates denied
the loetus a soul]lile at the time ol lertilisation, at least not until the male
loetus reached c days and the lemale loetus c days.
/non1io i~vs i ~cii1 Roxi
ln ancient Rome, people did not consider the loetus a living human, and
alortion was not a crime ||. The husland had the right to permit his wile to
end her pregnancy, lut il she had an alortion without her huslands permis-
sion, the husland could either punish or divorce her |i,|. lt seems that alor-
tion was allowed in ancient Rome mainly lor social and economic reasons,
some scholars even saw it as a therapeutic method. For instance, Soranus (.
nd

century /I.) states that alortion should le prescriled to prevent lurther
risks at lirth il the uterus is small and incapalle ol developing lully, or il the
uterus has knolly swellings and nssures at the orince, or il some medical
dimculty is involved |i|. Iespite Christian opposition, alortion was widely
popular in ancient Rome until , /I (.). Christian sources clearly witness
4;5
that church elders such as Tertullian (i,,-... /I), Cyprian (.cc-.,$ /I),
and Saint Basil (,.c-, /I) opposed alortion. Eventually, at the church
council held in /ncyra in ,i /I, this opposition resulted in the church
condemning any woman who attempted alortion to a ic-year-atonement |.|.
/non1io i~vs i ~cii1 Pinsi~
/ncient texts suggest that Persians were lamiliar with alortilacient
medications such as Bang (Hyoscyamus niger L.), Shata (unknown), Ghnna
(unknown), and Fraspta (unknown). /ll ol the alove are mentioned in the
Avesta, the holy look ol Zoroastrians. Zoroastrianism was the omcial reli-
gion ol lran predating lslam |i,,i6|. Vendidd (properly v-dav-dta or the
/nti-demonic Law), the only completely preserved chapter ol the Avesta,
mentions a woman named Hana, who was lamiliar with the technigues ol
alortion |i,|. \hile some people denne the word hana as a midwile or a
nurse, most historians denne it as an old white-haired lady |i|, which had
a negative connotation in ancient Persia, especially during the Sassanid peri-
od in which the text was written, as leing old and white-haired was deemed
a satanic guality |i$|.
ln general, ancient Persians considered alortion as an act ol severe ol-
scenity and condemned it. /ncient Persian customs and the religions view
alout alortion can le lound in many ol the remaining Avesta texts, and the
Pahlavi texts such as Ard Wrz-nmag (The Book of Ard Wrz) |i,.c|, in
which they all condemn alortion, citing the many sins ol it and loretelling
harsh punishments in the alterlile. /ncient Persians saw alortion as cutting
on the roots ol lile and the most important llessing ol God |.i|. Therelore,
in their view, alortion egualled murder, and loth doctors and priests con-
demned it |.i|.
Little is known alout the alortion laws and rights during the /chaemenid
dynasty, lut some inlormation has leen preserved lrom the Sassanid and, to
a certain degree, lrom the Parthian dynasties. The little that we know alout
these times comes lrom the religious laws comprised in the Vendidd collec-
tion. ln the section discussing medical laws and rights ol alortion the act ol
alortion is considered as a willul murder. /ll guilty parties are sentenced to
death |..|. lnterestingly, this law was not specinc to the mother, lut included
all involved parties. Clauses i, and i ol Fargard (chapter) i, ol the Vendidd
says: ll a man come near unto a damsel, either dependent on the chiel ol the
lamily or not dependent, either delivered |unto a husland| or not delivered,
4;6
and she conceives ly him, and she says: l have conceived ly thee, and he
replies: Go then to the old woman and ask her lor one ol her drugs, that
she may procure thee miscarriage, and the damsel goes to the old woman
and asks her lor one ol her drugs, that she may procure her miscarriage, and
the old woman lrings her some Banga, or Shata, or Ghnna, or Fraspta, or
some other drugs that produce miscarriage, and |the man says|, Cause the
lruit to perish! and she causes her lruit to perish, the sin is on the head ol all
three: the man, the damsel, and the old woman. |..|.
/s regards the type and the severity ol punishment and the involvement
ol all parties, it seems that in ancient Persia prevention was the main aim ol
these harsh laws and punishments. /ncient Persian texts reveal that lesides
heavy punishments to prevent alortion, other measures had leen arranged
to eliminate or at least to minimise issues that could encourage alortion,
which was almost unigue in the ancient world. The lollowing section ex-
plains these preventive measures.
Pnivi1ivi i~vs ion voxi binio inio~cv,
cniibnin1n, ~b ioiiovio cniibnin1n
/mong the lactors that could lead to alortion were the prollems associ-
ated with pregnancy and lirth. The lollowing laws were enacted to minimise
these issues:
Rtgrctvwo ycvej< / guardian was appointed to take care ol the mother
and her loetus. The guardian was personally responsille lor the health and
the wellleing ol loth, until childlirth. ll the mother or her child laced any
harm due to the lault ol their guardian, the guardian was to le punished |..|.
Furthermore, the husland, the mother, or any other person responsille lor
the pregnancy also had to take responsilility lor the wellleing ol the mother
lelore and during delivery |..|. ll any ol the alove mentioned persons were
unavailalle at the time ol delivery, this responsilility was on the shoulders
ol any household or any person who was nearest to her. For example, il the
lather was unavailalle at the time ol lirth, the nearest neighlour was re-
sponsille lor taking care ol the mother and child |..|.
Rquvrctvwo ycvej< /lter giving lirth, a guardian was appointed to take
care ol the mother and child (i). ll, lor any reason, the lather was not present
at the time ol delivery, the person who was present at the delivery had to take
care ol the mother and the child until it reached years ol age |..|.
4;7
Generally, il any harm, including intentional alortion ly the mother,
threatened the lile ol the mother and]or the loetus]child due to lack ol atten-
tion and poor service provided ly the guardian, he]she would le sentenced
to a punishment egual to that ol intentional alortion |..|. ln Zoroastrianism
loetal lile was deemed to legin with lertilisation, and guardians were sup-
posed to look alter the mother lrom as soon as her pregnancy was known.
Govinxi1 sinvicis ion xo1nins ~b 1niin cniibni
}udging lrom the Persian lortincation tallets ol Persepolis lrom the
/chaemenid dynasty, arrangements were made lor the wellleing ol loth
mothers and their newlorns. These arrangements included nve month lood
allowances and maternal leave lor government employees, the option to
work part-time alter maternal leave, and the possilility lor lathers to work
extra hours during maternal leave, which was all aimed at providing more
comlort lor the lamily and reducing the economic lurden ol having a new
child |.,|. /s lar as work was concerned, women seem to have leen egual to
men and independent.
Pnonini1io oi inos1i1i1io
Cne ol the causes ol unwanted pregnancy and alortion was prostitution.
/ncient Persians were extremely repulsed ly prostitution and made it pun-
ishalle ly death. But il she lecame pregnant, the punishment delayed until
childlirth to preserve loetus lile. Moreover, they considered prostitution an
unlorgivalle sin that would entail an awesome punishment in the alterlile
|..|.
Pnio~cv bii 1o six ~nisi
ln situations ol pregnancy due to sex aluse, measures had leen taken to
prevent alortion ly the mother or her lamily. ln these situations, the lather
ol the loetus had to summon the mothers lamily, explain what happened,
show remorse, and accept the responsilility ol taking care ol the mother and
her loetus]child. ln return, the mothers lamily had to stop llaming the man
and prevent alortion. ll the loetus was threatened lecause either the lathers
or the mothers lamily did not lulnl their olligations, the government would
severely punish all ol the guilty parties |..|.
4;8
Cociisio
This review ol ancient documents clearly shows that dinerent civilisa-
tions knew dinerent methods ol alortion. \hile in some ol these great civ-
ilisations, such as some ol the Greek states and Rome, alortion was a legiti-
mate method to control population, others had strict laws against it. Even so,
their aim was not to protect the lile ol the loetus, lut rather empower lathers
to make the decision as a way ol compensating lor the damage done.
ln contrast, in ancient Persia, even the loetus had the right to live, and
governments designed strict laws to protect it. Severe and egual punishment
lor all persons involved in alortion and the measures as well as supporting
laws to protect the wellleing ol the mother and child suggest that the aim
ol Persian legislation was to prevent alortion lor preserving loetus lile as a
\ight as well as the mothers lile, which in itsell was unigue, or at least rare
in the ancient world.
Riiinicis
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2. Bullough \L. Encyclopedia ol Birth Control. Calilornia: /BC-CLlC, 200l,
pp.l,l8, 20.
3. Nie }B. Medical Ethics in China: / Transcultural lnterpretation. New York:
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4. Riddle }. Contraception and /lortion lrom the /ncient \orld to the
Renaissance. Camlridge, Mass: Harvard Iniversity Press, l994, pp 62, 7l-3.
. Calot /N. History ol /lortion Law. /riz St L} l980,l980:73.
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37.
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8. Reiman }H. /lortion and the \ays \e value Human Lile. Lanham: Rowman
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lnternational, 200, p. 42l.
ll. /ristotle. The /thenian Constitution. Translated ly Rochham H. Camlridge:
Harvard Iniversity Press, l99, p. 623.
4;9
l2. \eatch RM. Cross Cultural Perspectives in Medical Ethics. Boston: }ones
Bartlett Pullication, 2000, p. 3.
l3. }ones I/. The Soul ol the Emlryo: /n Enguiry into the Status ol the Human
Emlryo in the Christian Tradition. Second ed. London: Continuum, 200, p.
42.
l4. Temskin C. Soranus Gynecology. Baltimore: The }onh Hopkins Press, l96, p
63.
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p. l7.
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woerterluch. Tehran: /satir,2004, p. l769.
l8. Iadegi F. Bundahin: Zoroastrische Kosmogonie und Kosmologie. Edited ly
Pakzad F. Tehran: Center lor the Great lslamic Encyclopedia, 200, p. 7l.
l9. Gignoux P (ed). Le livre I/rda \iraz. Translated ly /mouzegar }. Tehran:
lnstitut Francais de recherche en lran et edition Moin, l984, p. l3.
20. Gignoux P. /rd \rz. ln: Yarshater E, ed. Encyclopedia lranica, l986.
/vailalle at: http:]]www.iranicaonline.org]articles]arda-wiraz-wiraz. /ccessed
in 20.3.20l3
2l. Elgood C. / Medical History ol Persia and the Eastern Caliphate. Camlridge:
Camlridge Iniversity, 20l0, p. 7.
22. Iarmesteter }. The Zend-/vesta: The \endidad. Cxlord: Cxlord Press, l880, p.
l74-9, 20l.
23. Koch H. /z Zaln-e Iriu. Translated ly Ra]ali P. Tehran: Nar-l Krang,2006,
p. 60.
S~zi1~i
Od samih poetaka medicine, ovjeanstvo se bavilo medicinskim pravima i etikom. Svaka je
civilizacija posveivala onoliko panje medicinskim zakonima i etici koliko je bila napredna
u potivanju ljudskih vrijednosti i medicinskoj znanosti. Povijest civilizacija ui nas da je sva-
ka imala vlastite poglede, ali su u mnogoemu oni bili zajedniki. Antike civilizacije poput
grke, rimske ili asirske, fetus nisu smatrale ivim biem pa mu stoga nisu davale ni ljudska
prava. Za razliku od njih, Perzijanci su fetus smatrali ivom osobom s jednakim pravima
kao i drugih ljudi. Stoga su zabranjivali abortus, ak i u sluajevima spolnog zlostavljanja.
tovie, abortus se smatrao umorstvom, a kanjavali su se i majka i otac i osoba koja bi
obavila postupak.
Mnlw9pg tklg9k< abortus, Stara Perzija, ljudska prava, povijest medicine
4;: