Abortion: What Do You Think?

Abortion: What do you think?

I chose abortion as the topic of my research paper because it is a very important and controversial subject, and although I have always leaned heavily toward pro-choice, I really hadn't done much reading about it and wanted to support my position.

The definition of abortion is "expulsion of the fetus from the uterus, due to any cause, before the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy." Abortions are broken down into the following six categories:

(1) Habitual abortion, the tendency in some women for pregnancies to end in spontaneous abortions.

(2) Incomplete abortion, one in which the fetus is expelled[...]dilation may be required to empty the uterus.

(3) Induced abortion, intentional termination of pregnancy by a surgical procedure.

(4) Septic abortion, abortion accompanied by bacterial infection of the uterus.

(5) Spontaneous abortion, one which has not been deliberately induced. Spontaneous abortions are often preceded by fetal death.

(6) Therapeutic abortion, termination of pregnancy in order to safeguard the health of the mother."

Although abortion is considered one of those things that is terrible to do, some mothers-to-be feel it is the best option for them and others feel it is not an option at all. It appears there are many different reasons that a woman would get an abortion. Some seem like they should not be done, but others are very understandable. Abortion is one of the most discussed and controversial topics in the United States. To be pro-choice means to want abortion to be legal and available to women. To be pro-life means to not want abortion to be legal and all babies to be born. There are many opinions published by many different people, and in order to completely understand which side of the issue to believe in, a person must know both sides of the situation. It is something that presidents discuss and share their views on while campaigning for election. There has been lots of controversy over abortion as to whether it should be legal or to what extent, or whether it should be legal at all. My personal opinion is that people should not have abortions, but I do believe that mothers-to-be should have the right to have them since we do have the resources available. It is easy to say one way or the other on the issue of abortion, but I think the key thing is to be able to back up your opinion and tell why you think or do not think it should be legal. The morning-after pill and all the pills related to it are great inventions that are not abortion and help to prevent abortion and yet the woman still does not have to have the baby if she feels that she should not.

"Abortion is legal in this country until the day of birth!" Now that is something that is hard to agree with. It seems that the mothers-to-be should be able to decide within at least the first month whether or not they should have or want to have an abortion.

Abortions are done in many different ways and at many different times of the pregnancy. There are six different types of abortion. (1) "RU-486 is a drug that produces an abortion. It is taken after the mother misses her period. It can be used up to the second month of pregnancy. It works by blocking progesterone, a crucial hormone during pregnancy. Without progesterone, the uterine lining does not provide food, fluid and oxygen to the tiny developing baby. The baby cannot survive. A second drug is then given that stimulates the uterus to contract and the baby is expelled. Women who abort with the drug RU-486 experience nausea, severe cramping, vomiting and bleeding. But the resulting emotional distress may have even more impact. Rather than being "over with" in a few minutes (as in a surgical abortion) this abortion could last for over a week. Then, when the woman finally does abort, she will expel a tiny dead human being - her baby. (2) Suction-Aspiration. In this method, the cervical muscle ring must be paralyzed and stretched open. The abortionist then inserts a hollow plastic tube with a knife-like edge into the uterus. The suction tears the baby's body into pieces. The placenta is cut from the uterine wall and everything is sucked into a bottle. (3) Dilation and Curettage (D and C). This is similar to a suction procedure except a curette, a loop-shaped steel knife is inserted into the uterus. The baby and placenta are cut into pieces and scraped out into a basin. Bleeding is usually very heavy with this method. (4) Dilation and Evacuation (D and E). This type of abortion is done after the third month of pregnancy. The cervix must be dilated before the abortion. Usually Laminaria sticks are inserted into the cervix. These are made of sterilized seaweed that is compressed into thin sticks. When inserted, they absorb moisture and expand, thus enlarging the cervix. A pliers-like instrument is inserted through the cervix into the uterus. The abortionist then seizes a leg, arm or other part of the baby and, with a twisting motion, tears it from the body. This continues until only the head remains. Finally the skull is crushed and pulled out. The nurse must then reassemble the body parts to be sure that all of them were removed. (5) Prostaglandin Abortion. Prostaglandin is a hormone that induces labor. The baby usually dies from the trauma of the delivery. However, if the baby is old enough, it will be born alive. This is called a "complication." To prevent this, some abortionists use ultrasound to guide them as they inject a "feticide" (a drug that kills the fetus) into the unborn baby's heart. They then administer prostaglandin and a dead baby is delivered. This type of abortion is used in mid and late term pregnancies. (6) Dilation and Extraction (D and X). This abortion is also used on mid and late term babies, from 4 to 9 months gestation. Ultrasound is used to identify how the unborn baby is facing in the womb. The abortionist inserts forceps through the cervical canal into the uterus and grasps one of the baby's legs, positioning the baby feet first, face down (breech position). The child's body is then pulled out of the birth canal except for the head which is too large to pass through the cervix. The baby is alive, and probably kicking and flailing his legs and arms. The abortionist hooks his fingers over the baby's shoulders, holding the woman's cervix away from the baby's neck. He then jams blunt tipped surgical scissors into the base of the skull and spreads the tips apart to enlarge