ABSTRACT
During the nineteenth century most countries of Europe tightened up their provision of abortion. A law was introduced in Belgium, as in France, in 1810; the German law, based on the Prussian Penal Code of 1851, was adopted by the German Reich in 1871; Portugal also made abortion illegal in 1854 and Holland in 1886. The Lancet points out that for a woman quick with child the administration of a 'noxious or destructive substance' was made a capital felony. In January 1907, the journal Critic and Guide published an article directed towards new medical graduates which pointed out that they would be asked to carry out abortions very early in their careers. Although the Malthusians were radical on contraception, in the period up to 1915 they were totally opposed to abortion. The Malthusians maintained that abortion resulted in the removal of potential life.
