Juniper tree ("Juniperus phoenicea") is applied in dotted patterns on bisque drinking cups. Gitran makes the water more fragrant and is said to be good for the teeth. Some Indigenous peoples, such as the Dineh, have traditionally used juniper for diabetes. Native Americans have also used juniper berries as a female contraceptive. The 17th Century herbalist physician Nicholas Culpeper recommended the ripened berries for conditions such as asthma and sciatica, as well as to speed childbirth. The plant was long used as an arbortifacient and was known as 'bastard killer' in the UK. Juniper is one of the plants used in
Religion and abortion or karmic consequences. There is scholarly disagreement on how early Christians felt about abortion, and no explicit prohibition of abortion in either the "Old Testament" or "New Testament" books of the Christian Bible. Some scholars have concluded that early Christians took a nuanced stance on what is now called abortion, and that at different times, and in separate places, early Christians have taken different stances. Other scholars have concluded that early Christians considered abortion a sin at all stages; although there is disagreement over their thoughts on what type of sin it was and how grave a sin it was