Illegal Termination of Pregnancy: Evolution of Incrimination in the History of Serbian Criminal Legislation

Abstract

Artificial termination of pregnancy is a phenomenon that has a legal, sociological, psychological, medical and even an economic and political dimension. Due to its many-layered complexity, a lot of attention has been paid to this issue in science. There are various factors that result in an abortion – it can be spontaneous, or artificial and violent; permissible and legal, or punishable and illegal. The regulations on permitted medical termination of pregnancy give women the right to terminate a pregnancy, but only under certain conditions and within limited deadlines, upon request, in a prescribed procedure, through a surgical intervention performed by a doctor. On the other hand, illegally performed abortions fall within the realm of criminal legislature and the science of criminal law. By regulating the procedure of permitted abortion, and especially by prescribing illegal miscarriage as a criminal offense, the lives, bodies and health of women are protected from the consequences of illegal and ignorant medical procedures on the body during pregnancy. Therefore, this paper provides an overview and an interpretation of the evolution of abortion from a legal, impartial point of view, as a criminal offense regulated by domestic criminal law from the Middle Ages to the present day.