Abortion - The Fate of an Unborn Child Essay

The government seemed to agree with this statement because the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was passed in 2003. The U.S. Legislation even released a statement saying “ A gruesome and inhumane procedure that is never medically necessary and should be prohibited”. There was also a statement from our then president, President Bush “ Terrible form of violence directed against children who are inches from birth”(Chittom and Newton). Complications for having an abortion increase 36% after the eighth week. The death of a woman grows higher with the longer you wait. There are 8.9 deaths for every one million abortions at 20 week or later("ABORTION AFTER THE FIRST TRIMESTER.").There are two common methods for having a Late-term Abortion Dilation and Evacuation(D and E), and Intact Dilation and Extraction( D and X). The most common one out of the two is Dilation and Evacuation. Dilation and Evacuation is the process of dismembering and extracting in pieces. Intact Dilation and Extraction is the more gruesome of the two. The process can take two to three days. First you dilate the cervix, then put the baby in a breech position. A breech position is where the baby is coming out feet first. The next thing is the doctor will pull the feet then proceed to go in, and make an incision at the base of the skull. The brain tissue is then removed and the skull collapses, and the rest of the body is removed( Chittom and

of rape or incest may not want to have the baby, as it would remind

In the United States today, 25% of all pregnancies end in abortion (Abortion: All Sides). With so many lives in the balance, one of the primary arguments has become the physical health of women who have abortions. Of the women that previously had a surgical abortion 90% said they would prefer the pill if they had another abortion and would recommend it to others (Robinson). However one of the side effects of RU 486 is bleeding up to 9 days, compared to a surgical abortion’s five day duration (Robinson). The recovery process is quicker with a surgical abortion but more traumatic. One death in 200,000 occur with a surgical abortion, compared to one in 500,000 with the abortion pill. Both of these alternatives are far safer for the mother than childbirth that claims one death in every 14,300 births (Robinson). These statistics prove that the safest alternative for the mother in the event of a pregnancy is an abortion using the abortion pill and the most dangerous is going through with childbirth. However the safest thing for the child is natural childbirth by far. The voice of the life in question is never heard and it has a one hundred percent chance of death in the first 2 cases.

Abortion, the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent life, has been practiced since ancient times. With records dating to 1550 BC, it’s no question that abortion techniques have been used throughout the ages as an effective form of birth control. Pregnancies were terminated through a number of methods, including the use of herbs, sharpened instruments, the application of abdominal pressure, and other techniques. In the 19th century, the English Parliament and the American state legislatures prohibited induced abortion to protect women from surgical procedures that were deemed unsafe. However, in 1973, abortion was legalized as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court rule in Roe v. Wade. This ruling made it possible

Late term abortion, whereby of twenty weeks an unborn fetus is injected with Dignoxin, giving the fetus a painful fatal heart attack and allowing the women’s body to undergo physical repercussions. The procedure takes the women through three to four days of painful incisions and contractions until the abortion’s complete. The procedure may not always succeed which can lead to unexpected live births. The mother may also experience some effects after the abortion, such as minor spotting to serious complications like a hemorrhage. Women, who have abortions, increase the chances of having future pregnancy complications.

Methotrexate has been used in the US since 1953, when it was approved by the FDA to treat certain types of cancer. Since that time, “medical researchers have discovered other important uses for the drug” (Ankerberg and Weldon 4). One of these uses is to end unintended pregnancies. Although the “FDA did not consider methotrexate for this specific purpose, clinicians may prescribe and are now prescribing methotrexate for early abortion”(Ankerberg and Weldon 4). Methotrexate is usually given to a pregnant woman in the form of an injection or shot, although it can be taken orally. “Methotrexate stops the ongoing implantation process that occurs during the first several weeks after conception. Another medication that might be used is mifepristone”(Ankerberg and Weldon 4). Mifepristone is a newer medication that was developed and tested specifically as an abortion inducing agent. It works by blocking the hormone progesterone, which is necessary to sustain pregnancy. Without this hormone, “the lining of the uterus breaks down, the cervix opening of the uterus or womb softens, and bleeding begins”(Ankerberg and Weldon 5). A few days after taking either methotrexate or mifepristone, a second drug, misoprostol, is taken. “Misoprostol tablets cause the uterus to contract and empty”(Ankerberg and Weldon 5).

During the second trimester, a method is used called Dilation and Evacuation (D&E). During D&E, a forceps is used to take out larger pieces of the child, while a curette scrapes the smaller tissues out. Following this, a vacuum extracts any remaining pieces of the child. During the third trimester, a (now outlawed in most states) procedure is performed called “Partial Birth Abortion” During partial birth abortion, the child is partially delivered, and the skull is subsequently crushed or drilled into, thus killing the child.

Abortion is defined as the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy. It can include any of various surgical methods that terminate a pregnancy, especially during the first six months (Abortion). There are many forms of abortion such as early abortion which is abortion within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Spontaneous abortion which is termination of pregnancy before the fetus is sufficiently developed to survive; called miscarriage by laypersons. Therapeutic abortion which is abortion induced legally by a qualified physician to safeguard the health of the mother (Abortion). Last abortion I want to define is Threatened abortion a condition in which vaginal bleeding is less than in inevitable abortion, the cervix is not dilated, and abortion may or may not occur; this is the presumed diagnosis when any bloody vaginal discharge or vaginal bleeding occurs in the first half of pregnancy (Abortion).

The opposing sides on the partial birth abortion issue are distinctly opposite. Pro-choice, which supports abortion, says that partial birth abortion is rarely done, and only then when the mother’s life is endangered or the child is deformed. Abortion supporters also say that the baby is only a fetus, and cannot feel any pain when the abortion happens. According to Sykes (2000), people are misled into thinking that partial birth abortion happens thousands of times a year, but they only happen about 650 times a year. She also argues that the name “partial birth abortion”, which was given to the method in 1995, alone is misleading in that it implies that a full-term baby is being killed while it is in the process of being born. The name “late term” is also said to be confusing because it implies a third trimester abortion (Sykes, 2000). According to Sykes (2000), Intact D&X has been around for a while and says, “The procedure is not new- a 19th century medical textbook I own describes a method of abortion that involves a craniotomy, and so does a 1930 edition of Williams Obstetrics…”

Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); [updated 2006 Feb 24]. Abortion; [updated 2006 Feb 21; reviewed 2006 Feb 21; cited 2006 Feb 24]. Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/abortion.html

The process of abortion is performed either medically with a pill or done surgically. Since abortion is legal in most states up to the 2nd trimester, imagine how developed some of these unborn children are at the time of abortion. The pill method causes a miscarriage to occur, while the surgical methods physically remove the baby. Vacuum aspiration involves removing the fetus by suction. The 2nd procedure of dilation and evacuation involves medically ripening the cervix and the manual removal of the fetus and placenta with forceps (Lohr, Fjerstad,

It is considered minimally invasion as it only local anesthesia is used to numb the cervix. Aspiration is another first trimester abortion method. This is also referred to as a D&C (dilation and curettage abortion). This procedure will not generally be done using local anesthesia alone. Medication based abortion procedures are not an option during the second trimester of pregnancy. Local anesthesia is used and either a D&C or a D&E (dilation and evacuation) method is performed. Less than ten percent of abortions are done in the second trimester. Third trimester or late term abortions are extremely rare. Third trimester abortions are no longer legal in most states, as a result of the “partial birth abortion act” except under certain extreme medical conditions. These were known as late term abortions. In the medical community the point of viability is still a grey area, but most consider the twenty-fourth week the earliest viable period. Until approximately the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy an induction abortion is used to terminate pregnancy. Previous to becoming illegal, intrauterine cranial decompression was used to end late term pregnancies. (americanpregnancy.org)

Non-induced embryonic or fetal death or passage of products of conception before 20 weeks gestations (Spontaneous Abortion: Merck Manuals)

xAn abortion is defined as a deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. There are many chemical contraceptives and morning after pills that some would also consider a form of abortion though for the sake of this paper we will only define the two main methods for performing an abortion. An Aspiration is a surgical abortion usually performed within the first month gestation. This 10-15-minute procedure involves the suction of the uterus to remove the fetus and placenta. Recovery time can take as long as a few hours after the procedure. Dilation and Evacuation is a surgical abortion performed beyond the 16-week gestation period. This involves a synthetic dilator the day before, as well as using a shot to guarantee fetal death. After this, removal of the tissue away from the lining will begin. Suctioning completes the process to ensure all contents are completely removed. This procedure usually last between 15-30 minutes. Both Aspiration as well as Dilation and Evacuation procedures can come with the risk of side effects including cramping, nausea, bleeding, sweating and infection.

At the point when permitted by neighborhood law, fetus removal in the created world is one of the most secure strategies in drug. Cutting edge techniques use pharmaceutical or surgery for premature births. The medication minestrone in blend with prostration gives off an impression of being as sheltered and powerful as surgery amid the first and second trimester of pregnancy. Conception prevention, for example, the pill or intrauterine gadgets, can be utilized quickly taking after fetus removal. At the point when performed lawfully and securely, impelled premature births don 't build the danger of long haul mental or physical issues. Interestingly, dangerous premature births cause 47,000 passings and 5 million doctor 's facility confirmations every year. The World Health Organization prescribes sheltered and legitimate premature births be accessible to all ladies.