Abortion

Abortion is the termination of pregnancy before birth, resulting in,

or accompanied by, the death of the fetus. Some abortions occur

naturally because a fetus does not develop normally. Or because the

mother has an injury or disorder that prevents her from carrying the

pregnancy to a full term. This type of abortion is commonly known as a

miscarriage. Other abortions are induced. Induced abortions are

intentionally brought on, either because a pregnancy is unwanted or

presents a risk to a woman’s health. Induced abortion has become one of

the most ethical and philosophical issues of the late 20th century.

Modern medical techniques have made induced abortions simpler and

less dangerous. But in the United States, the debate over abortion has led

to legal battles in the courts, in the Congress of the United States, and

state legislatures. It has proven to be spilled over into confrontations,

which are sometimes violent, at clinics where abortions are performed.

There are many different methods in having an abortion. Induced

abortions are performed using one of several methods. The safest and

most useful and appropriate method is determined by the age of the

fetus, or the length of pregnancy, which is calculated from the beginning

of the pregnant woman’s last menstrual period. Most pregnancies last an

average of 39 to 40 weeks, about 9 months. This period of time is broken

up into three parts known as trimesters. The first trimester is the first 13

weeks, the second trimester is from the 14 to 24 week and the third

trimester lasts from the 25th week to birth. Abortions in the first

trimester of pregnancy are easier and safer to perform, that is because the

fetus is smaller. Abortions in the second and third trimesters are more

complicated procedures, which present greater risks to a woman’s health.

In the United States, a pregnant woman’s risk of death from a

first-term abortion is less than 1 in 100,000. The risk increases by about

30 percent with each week of pregnancy after 12 weeks. Although it is so

dangerous many women continue to have abortions. There are even

some drug medications used to terminate a woman’s pregnancy. In a

method commonly referred to as the morning-after pill, a woman is given

large doses of estrogen which is a female hormone within 72 hours of

unprotected sexual intercourse and again 12 hours later. This high dose

stops the fetus from any further development at the earliest stages after

conception. Or the point when a man’s sperm fertilizes a woman’s egg.

Typical side effects of the morning-after pill may include nausea,

headache, dizziness, breast tenderness, and sometimes fluid retention.

During the first seven weeks of pregnancy a combination of two

drugs can be given in pill form to make a fetus. A pregnant woman first

takes a drug which blocks progesterone, which is a hormone needed to

maintain pregnancy. About 48 hours later she takes another drug which

is a hormone like chemical produced by the body that causes

contractions of the uterus, the organ in which the fetus develops. These

contractions expel the fetus. Misoprostol, which is another kind of drug

can also induce abortion when it is mixed with a different