An abortion is the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death. This can occur spontaneously as a miscarriage or be artificially induced by medical, surgical or other means. "Abortion" can refer to an induced procedure at any point during human pregnancy; it is sometimes medically defined as either miscarriage or induced termination before the point of viability. Sadly to say there are times when we have to lose a life to save a life when a decision is made to terminate a pregnancy. An early termination is known as an abortion. There are people who strongly oppose abortions but unfortunately when it is a matter of life or death then there is no argument to fight.
Abortion ends a pregnancy before birth. It occurs naturally in 15-40 percent of all established pregnancies - when an embryo or fetus stops developing and the body expels it. This is called spontaneous abortion, miscarriage, or early pregnancy loss. Women choose abortion in less than 25 percent of the 6,000,000 pregnancies that are diagnosed in the U.S. every year - 50 percent of which are unintended. This is called induced abortion.
When is the procedure done?
Most places will only do a medical abortion using methotrexate and misoprostol up to seven weeks from the start of your last period. Where the mifepristone and misoprostol combination is available, it may be used slightly longer, up to nine weeks after your last period.
General instructions
Always check with your clinic, but general instructions before undergoing an abortion include:
* Don't eat, drink or smoke for six hours before the operation. * Allow for at least two hours at the clinic. * Bring sanitary pads, your referral letter, blood group card, Medicare card and any health care card. * Arrange for someone to drive you home.
Can abortion lead to infertility?
Inflammation of the Fallopian tubes and ovaries caused by the Chlamydia organism is the most common cause of infertility following an abortion. Examination for Chlamydia is now routine in most hospitals and clinics and, if necessary, the patient will be treated before the abortion is carried out.
Private abortions
You can contact a private abortion clinic without being referred by a doctor. However, the NHS will not pay for this, and before the abortion can take place, the agreement of two doctors is still required. The clinic will make the arrangements. Costs for abortions in private clinics vary, and will depend on:
* which organisation, or company, carries out the abortion, * the stage of pregnancy (earlier abortions are usually less expensive), * whether an overnight stay is needed, and * the method of abortion that is used.
If you are considering an abortion, it is important to talk to somebody about it as soon as possible.
Abortion can be a very difficult subject to find quality information about. Because it is such a controversial topic, many sources are often biased, one way or the other and few can be trusted as objective resources. The first thing to know about abortion is that the term is used in a variety of different ways within the medical community, not always to denote voluntary termination as is often thought. Spontaneous Abortion often refers to a miscarriage, or the natural process by which the body terminates the pregnancy. This can happen for any number of reasons, but the most common are physical or genetic abnormalities of the fetus.
Induced abortion is another umbrella term used in the medical community to denote abortions done voluntarily, either for personal reasons on the part of the mother, or for medical reasons for the sake of the mother's health. Therapeutic Abortion is the extraction of the embryo or fetus for health reasons, while Elective Abortion is the procedure most often debated. An Elective Abortion is when a pregnant woman chooses to terminate the pregnancy for personal reasons.
There are many methods used to terminate pregnancy including, chemical, surgical, and even herbal techniques. The method used will often be determined by the stage of pregnancy and any health risks present. Surgical abortions are often the most common choice and some procedures used are Manual Vacuum Aspiration, Electric Vacuum Aspiration, and Dilation and Curettage, or D & C, all used in early-term pregnancies. Dilation and Evacuation, or D & E, Hysterectomy Abortion, and Intact Dilation and Extraction, or Partial Birth Abortion, are used in the late-term. Partial Birth Abortion has been under much scrutiny since the famous Roe vs. Wade case in 1973. On numerous occasions bills were introduced to ban these late-term abortions, but it wasn't until 2003 that President George W. Bush approved the law.
A pregnant woman also has chemical options available to terminate pregnancy. Methotrexate or mifepristone is combined with either misoprostol or gemeprost to create a cocktail to terminate the pregnancy. Herbal methods are not often used anymore, though they were often the method of choice, or the only option to women until the 20th century. During that time the Christian church often approved abortions; if movement of the fetus was thought to have occurred, an abortion was not permitted. Even in the 18th and 19th centuries social reformers and clergymen were fighting to ban abortion, and by the 20th century, most Western countries had legalized it.
Both Brain & Abhishek Agarwal are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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