Abortion is the termination of pregnancy before birth, resulting in,or accompanied by, the death of the fetus. Some abortions occurnaturally because a fetus does not develop normally. Or because themother has an injury or disorder that prevents her from carrying thepregnancy to a full term. This type of abortion is commonly known as amiscarriage. Other abortions are induced. Induced abortions areintentionally brought on, either because a pregnancy is unwanted orpresents a risk to a woman's health. Induced abortion has become one ofthe most ethical and philosophical issues of the late 20th century.Modern medical techniques have made induced abortions simpler andless dangerous. But in ...view middle of the document...
The risk increases by about30 percent with each week of pregnancy after 12 weeks. Although it is sodangerous many women continue to have abortions. There are evensome drug medications used to terminate a woman's pregnancy. In amethod commonly referred to as the morning-after pill, a woman is givenlarge doses of estrogen which is a female hormone within 72 hours ofunprotected sexual intercourse and again 12 hours later. This high dosestops the fetus from any further development at the earliest stages afterconception. 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 twodrugs can be given in pill form to make a fetus. A pregnant woman firsttakes a drug which blocks progesterone, which is a hormone needed tomaintain pregnancy. About 48 hours later she takes another drug whichis a hormone like chemical produced by the body that causescontractions of the uterus, the organ in which the fetus develops. Thesecontractions expel the fetus. Misoprostol, which is another kind of drugcan also induce abortion when it is mixed with a different drug thatinterferes with cell division. A doctor first injects a pregnant womanwith one kind of drug and about a week later the woman takes anotherdrug to induce contractions and to expel to fetus. When you combinethese two kinds of drugs it usually ends pregnancy effectively accordingto the 95 percent of the woman who have taken them. Although, somewoman experience cramps, bleeding and nausea. Some of the cases aremore serious, such as pneumonia, edema, arrhythmia and they effect theheart and lungs which may cause death.After the first 16 weeks of pregnancy , abortion becomes moredifficult. One method that can be used during this period is calleddilation and evacuation. Which requires greater dilation of the cervixthan other methods. It also requires the use of suction of a large curetteand a grasping tool called a forceps to remove the fetus. Dilation andevacuation are complicated procedures because of the size of the fetusand the thinner wall, which usually stretch to accommodate a growingfetus. Bleeding in the uterus often occurs. Dilation and evacuation mustbe performed under general anesthesia in a clinic or hospital. It istypically used in the first weeks of the second trimester but can beperformed up to the 24th week of pregnancy. Intact dilation andextraction, also referred to as a partial birth abortion, consists of partiallyremoving the fetus from the uterus through the vaginal canal, feet first,and using suction to remove the brain and spinal fluid from the skull.The skull is then collapsed to allow complete removal of the fetus fromthe uterus.Abortion has become one of the most widely debated ethicalissues. On one side there are individuals who are for woman'sreproductive rights, including the right to ch...
