form of murder. "is a precipitation of murder; nor does it matter one take away a life when formed, or drive it awa forming. He also is a man who is about to 1 Even every fruit already exists in its seed. Augustine, again, makes a distinction between an which has already been formed, and an embryo unformed. From the creation of Adam, he s appears that the body is made before the soul. the embryo has been endowed with a soul it is an informatus, and its artificial abortion is to be p with a fine only; but the embryo formatus is an being, and to destroy it is nothing less than mu crime punishable with death. This distinction b an animate and inanimate fetus was embodied Canon and Justinian law, and passed subsequen various lawbooks." And a woman who destroy animate embryo was punished with death."

"Prevention of birth," says Ter

3

4

The criminality of artificial abortion was increa the belief that an embryo forma.us, being a person e with an immortal soul, was in need of baptism salvation. In his highly esteemed treatise D written in the sixth century, St. Fulgentius says, be believed beyond doubt, that not only men who a to the use of reason, but infants, whether they die mother's womb, or after they are born, without

1 Tertullian, Apologeticus, 9 (Migne op. cit. i. 319 sq.).

2 St. Augustine, Questiones in Exodum, 80; Idem, Questiones Veteris et Novi Testamenti, 23 (Migne, op. cit. xxxiv.-xxxv. 626, 2229).

3 Gratian, Decretum, ii. 32. 2. 8 sq. 4 As regards the time from which the fetus was considered to be animate a curious distinction was drawn between the male and the female fetus. The former was regarded as animatus forty days after its conception, the latter eighty days. This theory, howeverwhich was derived, as it seems, either from an absurd misinterpretation of Leviticus, xii. 2-5, or from the views of

Aristotle (De animalibus h 3; cf. Pliny, Historia natur -was not accepted by the the Justinian Code, who fir mation of the female, as we male, fetus at forty days a ception; and this view was later jurists (Spangenberg Archiv des Criminalrechts, 5 von Fabrice, op. cit. Berner, op. cit. p. 501. W p. 720 sqq.

6 Fleta, i. 23. 12 (Englan V.'s Peinliche Gerichts O 133. Spangenberg in N des Criminalrechts, ii. 16.

ertullian, whether way while

be one. 1."1 St. embryo To as yet says, it

Before n embryo punished animate murder, a between both in ntly into oyed her

eased by endowed 1 for its

De Fide, "It is to

are come in their

baptism,

istoria, vii. valis, vii. 6) glossarist of xed the aniIl as of the fter its conadopted by in Neues ii. 37 sqq.). p. 202 sq. Ida, op. cit. d). Charles inung, art ues Archi

in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are punished with everlasting punishment in eternal fire, because though they have no actual sin of their own, yet they carry along with them the condemnation of original sin from their first conception and birth." And in the Lex Bajuwariorum this doctrine is expressly referred to in a paragraph which prescribes a daily compensation for children killed in the womb on account of the daily suffering of those children in hell. Subsequently, however, St. Fulgentius' dictum was called in question, and no less a person than Thomas Aquinas suggested the possibility of salvation for an infant who died before its birth. Apart from this, the doctrine that the life of an embryo is equally sacred with the life of an infant was so much opposed to popular feelings, that the law concerning feticide had to be altered. Modern legislation, though treating the fetus as a distinct being from the moment of its conception, punishes criminal abortion less severely than infanticide. And the very frequent occurrence of this crime is an evidence of the comparative indifference with which it is practically looked upon by large numbers of people in Christian countries.

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