Two Lectures At U.Va. On The History Of The Criminalization Of Abortion

Nov. 11, 1999 -- Looking at abortion from historical perspectives, Wolfgang Müller, assistant professor of medieval history at the University of Kansas, will give two lectures at Jefferson Hall at the University of Virginia on Monday, Nov. 22.

The lectures are sponsored by the History Department, Women’s Studies Program and Brown College.

Müller’s 4 p.m. lecture, "When Abortion Became a Crime," will look at the methodological problem of how a modern historian reconstructs the origins of a law and its practical function in the Middle Ages, a time when no system of law existed. He will look at abortion in light of the medieval scientific system of law that gained gradual acceptance through the 17^th century across Western Europe.

At 7 p.m. Müller will lecture on "Abortion: Lessons from History." In this discussion of the criminalization of abortion in late medieval society, he will argue that we may discover new and important explanations as to why abortion evokes so much debate today by looking at the historical roots.

Müller is author of the recent book, "Abortion: The Origins of a Crime, 1140-1650."

For more information contact Dominique Surh at (804) 243-2310 or domisurh@virginia.edu.

Contact: Jane Ford, (804) 924-4298

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: please contact the Office of University Relations at (804) 924-7116. Television reporters should contact the TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.
SOURCE: U.Va. News Services

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