This article aims to show that the behavior of those who perform or allow abortion is regulated by many factors such as religious beliefs, cultural beliefs and, often, by the State, who usually regulate their consequences, especially penal ones. The text focuses on the regulation of the Colombian Penal Code of 1890 and its articulation with legal medicine, in force during a very traditional period of the country since it was ruled by the political group known as Regeneration. This work shows that the punishability of abortion responds to some historical interests.