ABO ABORTION death at the hand of Joab, David 1 s captain, who was probably moved with jealousy at the influence of so powerful a rival for the king's favor, though Joab alleged that the object of the assassination was to avenge the death of his brother Asahel. David was, or, as inti- mated by Josephus, pretended to be, deeply afflicted at the death of Abner, and lamented him in a sort of funeral dirge. ABO (Swed. Abo), a city of Russia, in Fin- land, capital of the government of Abo-Bjor- neborg, built on both sides of the Aurajoki, not far from where' it flows into the gulf of Bothnia, 260 m. W. by N. of St. Petersburg ; pop. in 1870, 21,830.' It was founded in 1157 by the Swedes, and was the capital of Finland till 1819. A bishopric was established here in the 13th century. In 1827 the greater part of the city was destroyed by fire, including the university buildings and the library, contain- ing 40,000 volumes. The university was re- built in Helsingfors, the new capital of the province. Abo is still the seat of considerable trade. The peace of Abo, concluded Aug. 17, 1743, between Sweden and Russia, terminated the struggle between those countries com- menced in 1741, at the instigation of France, in order to prevent Russia's participation in the war of the Austrian succession. During this contest, the blunders of the Swedish gen- erals enabled the Russians to take possession of Finland. The empress Elizabeth offered to restore the greater part of the province, on condition that Sweden should elect Prince Adolphus Frederick of Holstein-Eutin succes- sor to the throne. This demand Sweden com- plied with July 4, 1743. ABO-BJORNEBORG, one of the governments of the grand duchy of Finland, situated on the Finnish and Bothnian gulfs ; area, 9,869 sq. m. ; pop. in 1867, 319,784, nearly all Lutherans. Capital, Abo. ABOMEY, the capital of the kingdom of Da- homey, Africa, in lat. 7 59' N., Ion. 1 20' E., 100 m. N. N. W. of Badagry ; pop. about 50,- 000. It is about eight miles in circumference, surrounded by a ditch, and entered by six gates, all of which are ornamented with human skulls. It contains three royal palaces of two stories each. Within the palaces are barracks, in which the 5,000 Amazons of the king's army live in celibacy, guarded by eunuchs. ABORIGINES. See AMERICAN INDIANS. ABORTION (Lat. abortus, a miscarriage), the premature expulsion of the foetus or embryo, at so early a period that it is incapable of living, and the pregnancy is consequently un- fruitful. In the human species, a child may often continue to live and be reared if born as early as the seventh month of pregnancy ; and these accordingly are said to be cases of "pre- mature birth." * Nevertheless, if a child born after the seventh month and before the natural term of parturition should at once die in con- sequence of such premature birth, this would
- Iso be a case of abortion. In the earlier and
middle periods of pregnancy, the death of the foetus sometimes takes place from internal causes, and it is soon afterward discharged from the uterus, to which it has become a source of irritation. Thus, whether the foetus die in consequence of premature delivery, or whether the premature delivery be a conse- quence of the death of the foetus, all such cases are generally included under the term abor- tion. Abortion is sometimes produced, by various means, with the criminal intent of getting rid of the product of conception, and thus preventing the birth of a living child. All such means are dangerous to the mother, and may readily lead to a fatal result. The pro- duction of abortion for this purpose is there- fore doubly criminal, since its first object is the destruction of the life of the foetus or child ; and this object is furthermore accomplished at the risk of death to the mother. The legal and medical sciences are not quite in accord upon the matter. The increasing frequency of this practice of abortion in the most en- lightened communities at the present day has attracted to it the particular attention of phy- sicians ; and they urge that the evil cannot be suppressed without the enactment of laws not only more severe but of a different character from those which have hitherto existed. They insist that, as the first and most essential step in the course of a reform of the law, the legis- lature must not only abandon the old idea that the quickening of the child is the commence- ment of its life, but must proceed directly upon the fact, especially emphasized by modern medical science, that the life of the future human being begins at the very instant of con- ception ; that not only therefore must the old criteria of criminality which depended upon quickening be abandoned, but the protection of the foetal life must be the direct object of the law, no less than the protection of the life or well-being of the mother, or the general conservation of public morality and decency. It will be seen on an examination of the later statutes that a substantial advance toward these positions has been made by legislation during the last 20 years. For the purpose of an intelligent view of the existing law, and in anticipation of still further legislation, some facts upon the physical side of the subject may be well kept in mind. The foetus cannot be properly regarded at any period of its existence as merely pars viscerum matris, as the phrase is; that is to say, as an essential constituent part of the mother. The ovum does not origi- nate in the uterus, but after impregnation is lodged there, being totally disconnected from the organism of the mother during the transi- tion ; and it is attached to the uterus for the simple purposes of shelter and nutrition. The human form is developed and is visible in the foetus even before the period of its quickening. This term quickening is the name given to those phenomena of different sorts by which action in the foetus is manifested to the mother.
