Resumen de The prohibition of abortion and medical oaths of hippocratic stemma

Ana María Rancich, Sabrina Fernanda Merino, Eugenia Aruanno, Marta Lucía Pérez, Martín Donato, Ricardo Jorge Gelpi

• The prohibition of abortion and medical oaths of Hippocratic stemma Purpose: The aim is to analyse and compare how the commitment of the prohibition of abortion varied in medical oaths with Hippocratic stemma from different ages and religions.

  Methods: Fifteen oaths: 4 Medieval, 2 Modern and 9 Contemporary were studied and divided into those expressing the prohibition like the Hippocratic Oath. Those that may be interpreted as including it, and those not mentioning it.

  Results: Out of the total, 7 express the prohibition explicitly. Six may imply it and two do not. Only Medieval and Modern oaths specify if pessaries or drugs were forbidden.

  Conclusions: Medieval and Modern oaths tend to maintain the prohibition of abortion, expressed similarly to the Hippocratic Oath, possibly due to religious and Hippocratic/Galenic influences. Contemporary oaths use ambiguous terms, often leaving commitment subjected to reader’s interpretation, perhaps due to the abortion debate