Abortion Essays (2706 words) - Fertility, RTT, Abortion,

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 drug that interferes with cell division. A doctor first injects a pregnant woman with one kind of drug and about a week later the woman takes another drug to induce contractions and to expel to fetus. When you combine these two kinds of drugs it usually ends pregnancy effectively according to the 95 percent of the woman who have taken them. Although, some woman experience cramps, bleeding and nausea. Some of the cases are more serious, such as pneumonia, edema, arrhythmia and they effect the heart and lungs which may cause death. After the first 16 weeks of pregnancy , abortion becomes more difficult. One method that can be used during this period is called dilation and evacuation. Which requires greater dilation of the cervix than other methods. It also requires the use of suction of a large curette and a grasping tool called a forceps to remove the fetus. Dilation and evacuation are complicated procedures because of the size of the fetus and the thinner wall, which usually stretch to accommodate a growing fetus. Bleeding in the uterus often occurs. Dilation and evacuation must be performed under general anesthesia in a clinic or hospital. It is typically used in the first weeks of the second trimester but can be performed up to the 24th week of pregnancy. Intact dilation and extraction, also referred to as a