Facts About Abortion

An abortion basically means the termination of a pregnancy, wherein the fetus is removed from the womb. This can occur spontaneously, which is referred to as a miscarriage, or be induced artificially, either via surgical means, through the use of chemicals, or by any other means. These days, the term ‘abortion’ is most commonly used for the artificially induced form of abortion.

Today, various aspects of abortion are being debated, particularly the legal, ethical, biological, philosophical, and moral ones. Troubling matters like if the fetus has any rights, the rights of a woman over her own body and whether that overrides that of the unborn fetus, the methods used for aborting a fetus, whether the fetus feels pain during the process, and so on are some of the issues that are hotly argued over. Given below are some facts about abortion that highlight some of these emotive factors.

The modern laws of abortion in the West go back to the common law of England, wherein abortion was allowed before the fetus showed any signs of life, known as ‘quickening’. Nowadays, each country has its own abortion laws, according to the cultural, moral, religious, and legal mores prevailing in them.

The debates about abortion are usually spearheaded by two groups: one, the pro life group, and the other, the pro choice group.

The pro life group is of the opinion that human life begins at conception, and that killing a fetus is akin to murdering a human being. They support this argument on the basis that by the time induced abortions are usually performed, the fetus already develops recognizable organs as well as organic functions like the brain, heart, circulation, tiny limbs and so on. Many members of the pro life group are particularly horrified at the aspects of the methods used to abort the fetus, particularly in the later stages of pregnancy. This group is also made up of a large portion of religiously inclined people, who think that the fertilized egg has a soul, and hence is a complete human being. The pro life group advocates greater restrictions by law against abortion, some of them even advocating a complete ban of abortion.

The pro choice group, on the other hand, advocates against any restrictions on abortion by law. They are of the opinion that the fetus is, especially at conception, nothing more than a protozoan, with a nucleus that has the genetic code of a human being. And while indeed this protozoan does develop into a human being, but the line between it being a mass of tissue and a human being is vague.

A large portion of this group is made up of feminists who believe strongly that women should have control over their own bodies, that no outside authority has any right to impose legal or moral values over the choices they make about their own body, and that a child should be wanted and hence a woman should not be forced to go through with her pregnancy if she does not want to.

Tied in with these pro choice feminist arguments are other factors like overpopulation, poverty of the mother, and the reduction of abused children due to unwanted children being aborted.

Another important fact about abortion is that in most countries where abortion is legal, it can be performed at any time during the pregnancy, right up to the moment the child is born. This is a matter of great consternation not only amongst the pro life group, but also amongst people who may be ambivalent about abortion, especially when carried out early, but have an ethical aversion about abortion performed at later stages of pregnancy.

Given below are some of the methods used to perform abortions:

RU-486: This is a drug that induces abortion, and can be administered up to the 2nd month of pregnancy. It blocks the action of progesterone, thus the embryo stops getting the nutrients and oxygen that it requires to survive. Another drug is then given to induce uterine contractions, thereby the embryo is expelled.

Suction Aspiration: This method is used in the early stages of pregnancy. In clinical terms, manual vacuum aspiration, or MVA, involves the use of a manual syringe to remove the fetus by suction. An electric pump is used in the electric vacuum aspiration, or EVA. Basically, a hollow tube with a sharp edge is inserted into the uterus, and the fetus along with the placenta is sucked out into a bottle.

Dilation and Curettage, or D&C: This method is similar to Suction Aspiration, except that a curette, which is a surgical instrument that is shaped like scoop is inserted into the uterus, which is used to scrape out the fetus and the placenta. This method is carried out during the first trimester, and usually there is heavy bleeding.

Dilation and Evacuation, or D&E: This is performed after the third month of the pregnancy. The cervix is first dilated, and an instrument resembling pliers is inserted into the uterus. Then, the fetus’ body is removed piece by piece with the instrument, and the skull is pulled out after it is crushed.

Dilation and Extraction, or D&X: This method is usually used from the 4th month of pregnancy to the 9th month. In this, the fetus’s body is pulled out with the help of forceps. Since the head is too large by this time, surgical instruments are used to penetrate the skull and the brain sucked out in order to decompress the skull. This method is also referred to as ‘partial birth abortion’.

Prostaglandin Abortion: This is a hormone by which labor is induced. Usually, the fetus dies due to the trauma of the delivery. But, sometimes, when this procedure is carried at the later stages of pregnancy, the fetus is born alive. Hence, in order to prevent this from occurring, a drug is injected into the fetus’s heart first, and then the prostaglandin is administered, thus a dead fetus is aborted. Sometimes, this method is accompanied by the amniotic fluid being removed and the sac infused with corrosive solutions that contain urea or saline, prior to the prostaglandin being administered, to ensure the death of the fetus, which can take several hours. This procedure is used during the mid- to late-term of pregnancies.

As a woman, my natural inclination is pro choice, since I do believe strongly that no outside authority such as the government or a religious group or a secular moral group has any right over the personal decisions I make about my body. However, as a mother and as a thinking human being, I do understand the ethical issues surrounding pro life issues. Since pro choice involves being responsible for my own body, therefore it is my responsibility not to conceive a child irresponsibly. And once a child is conceived, since it is a part of my body for the nine months it lives in it, it is my responsibility not to cause it harm – as I wouldn’t cause it harm after it is born.

Of course, this brings the issue of victims of rape and incest into the picture. Should a child conceived from a rape, which includes date rape, or incest, be aborted? Should a woman be forced to continue with the pregnancy until birth in such cases? Well, personally, I would again favor towards the unborn fetus, for it is not responsible for the rape or the incest, and should not be killed for somebody else’s crime.

Some of the other factors that bother me are using abortion as a form of birth control or population control, as well as the methods used for aborting the fetus, particularly after the first trimester. Also, using it as a method of selectively aborting female fetuses, as is common in countries like India, China, and so on due to social mores. This form of abortion has necessarily to be done at a later stage after the fetus develops enough for the gender to be determined.

Although I have chosen to use the term 'fetus' all through this article so as not to sensationalize the emotive issues that are obvious about these facts about abortion, however, it is also true that ordinarily we say we are pregnant with a baby, and not a fetus. But, even when one uses the clinical term 'fetus' one cannot escape how disturbing and distressing abortion actually is.