Contraception

A Complex Issue

Historical Notes: Limiting Population Size

N. Poussin: Moses saved from the river (detail), 1654 Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK

Throughout history, there have been attempts to limit the growth of populations. Sometimes these measures pursued certain political aims, but most often the reasons were insufficient food or a lack of space. In ancient Greece, two drastic methods were infanticide and exposure of the newborn to the elements. Both of these methods were also known in ancient Egypt. For example, as the Bible tells us, at one point the Pharao ordered the midwives to kill all male children of the Israelites. Thus, the baby Moses was put in a basket to float down the Nile. His mother secretely hoped he would be found, but he was saved only by accident (Exodus 1:16 and Exodus 2: 3-5). Quite another method was employed by the island of Crete. As the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle reports in his book "Politics" (II, 10), the Cretan government prevented overpopulation by encouraging homosexuality.