Abortion has been a major topic of debate based on morality and civil rights throughout history. Citizens have opposed each other’s ideas of how to address abortion for decades. Many people believe that human life begins at conception and they view abortion as murder of an unborn child. Others believe that a fetus only gains the rights and privileges of personhood at birth. The morality and constitutionality of abortion remains a topic of fierce debate, but many countries, including the United States, have passed laws legalizing abortion. As a result, women can now receive abortions under the care and supervision of medical professionals in sterile settings. This has only caused the debate to increase in fervor.
The two most commonly used methods for aborting a first trimester pregnancy, which is the first three months after conception, are medical and surgical abortions (Trupin).
Most women who chose a medical abortion felt slightly more satisfied with their results. Medical abortion is a term used to describe a method of abortion that is brought about by medication taken to induce it; this can be accomplished with a variety of medications taken in one pill or a variety of pills (Trupin).
Surgical Abortions are the surgical removal of the contents of the uterus (Trupin).
These procedures are slightly riskier, yet much less time consuming.
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1. Problem Statement Approval of the abortion pill RU-486, also recognized as mifepristone, has put abortion back into the spotlight. This has stirred up controversial issues of reproductive rights in America, and a growing concern for the potential impact of RU-486 on the well being of our society's morals and values. 2. Facts and Analysis A Brief History Mifepristone, formerly known as RU-486, ...
First trimester medical abortions are accomplished with a pill called misoprostol alone, methotrexate-misoprostol combination regimens, or Mifeprex with or without misoprostol (Trupin).
Medical abortions are usually administered to women who are also willing to undergo a surgical abortion if the medical abortion fails. Medical abortions are usually done when the fetus’s gestational age is less than 42-49 days, or up to 63 days in certain situations (Trupin).
Depending on the gestational age of the fetus the procedures will change.
Surgical abortions are less common during the first trimester of the pregnancy. Cervix dilation is rarely necessary during the first trimester of the pregnancy, if required the patient will have an instrument resembling a stick called a laminaria placed in her cervix for many hours or even overnight (Trupin).
After the cervix is dilated the content of the uterus is allowed to drain out (Trupin).
Another way to surgically abort an unwanted pregnancy is a manual or vacuum aspiration. In a manual aspiration a syringe is used whereas in a vacuum aspiration a plastic cannula connected to a suction machine is used (Trupin).
The syringe or cannula is placed in the patient’s cervix, and then suction is applied to remove the uterus content (Trupin).
For first trimester surgical abortions, there is also a procedure called dilation and curettage (Trupin).
In this procedure the sharp metal curette is used to empty the uterus (Trupin).
This procedure is more dangerous than the aspirations because the metal is much less flexible than the plastic cannula or syringe.
Second trimester abortions are not as safe and give women a limited amount of options. The second trimester is the second three months, or months 4-6, of the pregnancy (Trupin).
In the second trimester a different type of medical abortion is available, and two very similar types of surgical abortions can also be obtained.
Labor induction is a somewhat combination of medical and surgical procedure, but is commonly referred to as a medical abortion. Pills to induce labor are given to the patient, then once labor has begun, a process similar to aspiration is used (Trupin).
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Abortion is one of the most controversial issues in the United States today. One out of every three pregnancies never come to term because a woman has an abortion (Flanders 3). It is understood that a new individual human begin growing in the mother? s uterus at fertilization (? When Does Life Begin? ). The term abortion refers to any premature expulsion of a human fetus. Approximately 93 percent ...
One of the surgical options is dilation and evacuation; this process is the safest and most common method of second trimester surgical abortion. The same instrument used for first trimester cervix dilation procedures, called the laminaria, is again placed in the woman’s cervix and forces it to dilate, once dilated enough a combination of suction curettage and manual evacuation of the fetus and placenta (Trupin).
The other type of surgical abortion is much less common and is usually only used when the mother’s life is in danger or serious medical problems with the fetus. In this procedure the cervix is prepared very similarly to the dilation and evacuation, but instead the fetus is passed through the cervix intact (Trupin).
This is one of the more controversial methods.
Third semester abortions are the least common and most controversial types of abortion because the fetus has now formed brain and heart cells. The third trimester is the last three months, or months 7-9, of the pregnancy (Trupin).
Medical abortions cannot be performed on a fetus in its third trimester; all third trimester pregnancies must be surgically aborted (Trupin).
Dilation and extraction is the safest and most common form of third trimester abortions. Also known as partial birth abortion the cervix is dilated, then forceps are used to remove the fetus’s arms legs and shoulders through the birth canal, once removed an incision is made at the base of the skull and is allowed to drain until the skull collapses and the rest of the fetus is safely removed (Trupin).
These methods were developed in order to avoid an overnight hospital stay.
Abortion has been around since ancient times, although it is a provocative topic of debate today, it has not always been. Until the late 1800’s abortion was totally acceptable (22).
When the demand for abortion rose, many women were making and self-prescribing home remedies (24).
When the doctors realized this they tried to control it by controlling abortion, which quickly led to the ban of abortion altogether (25).
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When abortion was illegal in America, many women died or suffered serious medical problems from either self-induced or illegal, back-alley abortions. Women streamed into emergency rooms with punctured wombs, massive bleeding, and rampant infections. Thanks to the Roe v. Wade (1973) Supreme Court decision, women today have access to safe abortions by medically trained professionals under sanitary ...
Finally when women couldn’t take it anymore they did anything to get abortion back which consequently drove it into an underground industry (29).
The history of abortion is one of the main reasons for is major controversy.
Supporters of legalizing abortion, or prochoice campaigners, have argued for decades the importance of abortions. On the other hand those opposed to the idea of legalizing abortion, or prolife campaigners, have struggled to let the world see their point of view as well. Both sides of the argument have equally sensible and solid arguments, although a happy medium has yet to be settled upon.
Prolife campaigners have stated that unborn babies are innocent human beings from the moment of conception (Should).
They have a fundamental and constitutional right to life, which must be protected (Should).They also have made the argument The Sixth Commandment of the Bible’s Old Testament (Exodus 20:13) is “Thou shalt not kill.” Abortion involves killing a human being and defies a commandment from God (Should).
Although prolife campaigners make many convincing points, prochoice supporters have many strong counterarguments.
Prochoice supporters argued that a fetus is not a yet human being (Should).
Personhood at conception is not a proven fact; personhood begins at time of birth (Should).
They also debated that making abortion illegal on grounds of religion would be infringing on the vital separation of church and state (Should).