In a paper still in progress, I explore several strategies that the ancient
Greeks for birth control. The premise of the project is that the fundamental
issues that informed ancient debates on abortion, contraception, and family
planning are much the same as the ones that form the boundaries for modern
discussions. By examining the same issues in a context different from our own,
perhaps we can gain a better perspective on human life, one that transcends the
particularities of culture.
I propose to explore these issues by looking at the ways in which several writers (Plato, Aristotle, Galen, and Hippocrates, among others) engage the following questions:
* The underlying rationale behind family planning and birth
control
* The relation between the level of an individual's contribution to society and
her moral worth
* The moral status of the human embryo, and the level of protection that must
be accorded it
* The value of children, and the distinction (or lack thereof) between the
moral worth of a fetus and that of an infant
* The correct response to unwanted children (exposure, infanticide, adoption,
and slavery were live options)
* The role of the physician in administering birth control, especially with
respect to professional ethics
Finally, I hope to survey the response of the Greek Church fathers (e.g., John Chrysostom, Gregory of Nyssa, and Clement) to these questions, gaining a sense of the place of religion in early dialogues on abortion.