A pioneer medieval discussion on medical ethics: The Quaestio an sit licitum provocare aborsum by Gentile da Foligno
Abstract
The issue on the moral lawfulness of therapeutic abortion was well discussed during the Middle Ages. One of the first physicians to bring up the debate from the point of view of clinics and professional ethics was Gentile da Foligno (1272-1348), a physician and investigator from Perugia, who in the Quaestio an sit licitum provocare aborsum (ca. 1340) explained the conditions by which it is or not lawful to cause an abortion as a therapeuticmeasure. The Quaestio is divided into three parts: the first one explains what abortion is, the second explains the issue in a practical way: when or not to turn to therapeutic abortion, it also mentions some classical and contemporary authorities. On the third section the author gives his own opinion and solves the issue according to two criteria: the completeness of the fetus and the therapeutic utility of abortion for the mother’s life.References
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