Abortion :: essays research papers

AbortionThe loss of a fetus before it is able to live outside the uterus is calledabortion. When abortion occurs spontaneously, it is often called a miscarriage.Abortion can also be intentionally caused, or induced. Induced abortion isregarded as a moral proceeds in some cultures. In others it is seen as anacceptable way to end unplanned pregnancy. Abortion is a relatively simple andsafe procedure when through by trained aesculapian workers during the first threemonths (first trimester) of pregnancy. Abortion is slight safe when performedafter the 13th week of pregnancy. Before the right of a adult female to obtain anabortion was affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in the 1973 ruling onRoe vs. Wade, many abortions were performed illegally and in lowly ways.This caused the deaths of many women from infection and bleeding. It also causedmuch sterility, or the permanent inability to have a child. The usual surgicaltechnique of abortion during the first trimester is to pre mise a metal or plastictubeinto the uterus through its opening, the cervix. A spoonlike instrument atthe end of the tube is used to gently scrape the walls of the uterus. A suctionmachine at the other end of the tube removes the contents from the uterus. Thisprocedure is called nothingness aspiration and is done primarily in a medical clinicor doctors office using a local anesthetic for the cervix. During the secondtrimester, abortions are usually done by means of dilation and evacuation. Thisprocedure uses forceps, curette, and vacuum aspiration. Although rarely sought,third-trimester abortions may be performed when the fetus has severe geneticdefects or because continuing the pregnancy would be a threat to the womanshealth. A controversy began in 1988 over a drug, developed in France, calledRU 486, which, when taken during the first 7 weeks of pregnancy, causes theembryo to become detached from the uterus. The drug was reported to be safer andless expensive than surgical abortion . Antiabortion groups in France succeededin temporarily halting the sale of the drug, although the government laterordered it to be made available. The use of RU 486 was back up by family-planning agencies in the United States, France, and elsewhere and by the WorldHealth Organization and the World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Thelong-term effects of RU 486 on womens health were unknown. Abortion as a wayto end unplanned pregnancy is practiced in many countries. In Europe by 1992only Ireland had a complete ban on abortion. In the United States the legality