Abortion is the removal of fetus or embryo before it can survive outside the uterus. A spontaneous abortion is called a miscarriage. When the procedure is allowed by the law of a country, then it is considered as one of the safest procedures in medical sciences. In the US, it is considered 13 times safer than the childbirth. This procedure should only be performed by a licensed health care professional. It is a personal decision to end a pregnancy and it may need to have a counselling session before going for an abortion. The legal position of abortion is different in different countries. Certain requirements are there that need to be met before undertaking the procedure of abortion, like,
The counselling session prior to the abortion
Proper care by trained and registered doctors
A woman’s right to choose to have an abortion or not is her fundamental right. If the society interferes with the decision, it is interfering with the right of a woman to make decisions related to her body.
There are basically two types of abortion – medical abortion (an abortion accomplished by taking a drug or a combination of drugs) and surgical abortion (abortion performed using surgical instruments). The type of the procedure selected depends on how far the woman is into pregnancy. Both types of the procedure can be performed in the first trimester of the pregnancy.
The health risks of abortions totally depend on how safely or unsafely it is performed. Unsafe abortions are mostly performed by unskilled individuals in unhygienic conditions.
Abortions have become common these days. 3 out of 10 women in the US have an abortion by the time they are 45 years old ("Abortion Information | What Are Your Options?"). A number of women hospitals perform around a million abortions per year.
Women have many reasons for not wanting to be pregnant, and they decide to go for an abortion. Some of the reasons are:
Interference with the school or unreadiness for a child or a second child – a majority of the woman with no children or never married woman identified interference with their career or work and unreadiness for a second child as the reasons for abortion.
Economic and Financial difficulties – most of the unmarried woman, poor woman or unemployed woman says that they cannot afford to have a child. This is the reason with most of the teenagers between the ages of 20-24.
Health issues – lower proportions of black woman prefer to go for pregnancy due to the problems in the health of the fetus. The concern for own health is also one of the reasons for abortion.
The reasons for abortions have been consistent over time. The decision to have an abortion typically depends on interrelated and diverse reasons.
Many reasons are related to age, marital status and economic status. About 90% of the abortions are performed for personal reasons and another 6% are performed because either the woman or fetus has medical reasons. 1% of abortions are done due to the sexual act. The reasons for an abortion are diverse and vary all across the world. Some of the abortions are performed due to societal pressures. This may include the preference of a specific gender or race, disapproval of single motherhood or insufficient economic or financial support from the families.
Several moral and ethical issues are also linked to an unplanned pregnancy and abortion. An abortion can relate to the mental health of a woman as well. One perspective says that the abortion is a traumatic experience as it involves the death of a human, especially an unborn child.
It is necessary to decrease the rate of abortions all across the world. The need for an abortion can be decreased by reducing the chances of pregnancy. Here are some of the methods to avoid an abortion:
Easy availability of contraception
Educating children about sex
Creation of new birth control methods
Involvement of men (family planning)
In terms of health, there are several risk factors associated with abortions. Some of them are:
Cervical and ovarian cancer – one abortion in a woman’s life gives her 2.3 times higher risk of having cancer, as compared with the woman with no abortion history ("Abortion Risks: A List Of Major Physical Complications Related To Abortion | After Abortion").
Perforated uterus – the abortion patients may suffer perforated uterine, but most of the cases will remain undiagnosed and untreated.
Placenta Previa – the risk of placenta previa increases with abortion 7 to 15 fold.
In general, it can be concluded that the consequences of induced abortion have shown some important patterns. One of them is that the induced abortion is not restricted to the teenagers only, but also occurs among the families in order to reduce the family size. Motivation to limit family size is high and the woman uses any option if an unwanted pregnancy occurs. Birth control is truly ethical and a wise choice for this objective.
References
"Abortion Information | What Are Your Options?". Plannedparenthood.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.
"Abortion Resources, Options, Choice, Restrictions And Resources". Mypositiveoptions.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.
"Abortion Risks: A List Of Major Physical Complications Related To Abortion | After Abortion". Afterabortion.org. N.p., 1999. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.
