Joe,
I haven't read this, but I understand it's quite thorough.
Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance. John Riddle. Harvard University Press, 1992.
As to the US, prior to 1800, there is a lot of controversy as to how it was viewed. (I think CT in 1810 or so was the first state to formally codify it as illegal). But by the mid-1800s - about 1850, it was generally outlawed. It became across-the-board illegal when the Comstock Act outlawed both it and birth control around 1900.
The same author also wrote Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West. Harvard University Press, 1997.
My understanding is that the latter work has gotten much more critical reviews. I've read commentary that says the author relied much too heavily on "probably", "could have", etc., versus hard facts that can be documented historically with references.
Riddle is an academician, although I can't remember from whence he hails - not Harvard, as I recollect.
Many years,
Neil
