Cesarean section is the removal of an unborn child from the uterus by means of surgical incision through the abdominal wall. Originally practiced only on dead women, cesarean section today is a common and relatively safe birth experience.

Surgical removal of a fetus from a dead or dying mother was mandated for religious purposes by several ancient cultures--in Egypt in 3000 b.c. and in India in 1500 b.c. in order to provide separate burial for the two individuals. The ancient Roman law code, known as lex caesaria, mandated this procedure in an attempt to save the baby and is the probable source of the operation's name (not the legend about the unlikely surgical birth of Julius Caesar (100-44 b.c.), whose mother lived for many years after his delivery).

Sporadic attempts to perform cesarean section as a means of saving both mother and baby seem to...