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Abortion: The Facts

Induced abortions create a controversial issue in which debates can become polarized and even at times violent. Although cases such as Roe v. Wade, 1973, have brought attention to the issue, the topic of abortion dates back to ancient times, when abortion was a crude but common form of birth control.
The methods of abortion used in the past are far different than the forms that we are familiar with today. So much so, that you can hardly consider them the same procedures at all. When abortion was introduced it was accepted because there were very few ways of protecting woman from untimely or dangerous pregnancies at that time. In fact, the only earlier form of birth control that was clearly recorded and still in use today, was the condom. However, this condom was put together with lambskin and not nearly as effective as modernized latex condoms, so, it was not common for woman to become pregnant and abortions were not rare.
In the ancient times the only time that abortions were forbade were due to religious beliefs, and then they may have simply been restricted rather than all together banned. Countries began banning or restricting abortion in 1803. At that time England banned abortions. During the 19th century Asia, Latin America, and Africa also banned abortion. The United States put laws outlawing abortion into effect fro the first time during the mid- 1800�s, and continued until the late 1800�s. Most of these laws lasted only until the 1900�s when many countries began to realize the laws were not very effective for the used they were intended. In Romania, eighty-six percent of pregnancy related deaths were caused by illegal abortion between the years of 1966 to 1989. Today, illegal abortions account for approximately seventy-eight thousand deaths in the world every year.   The reasons for so many deaths are these: illegal abortions are performed in unsanitary conditions with inadequate materials, and are conducted by untrained persons as a result the surgical procedures are unsafe and sometimes even fatal. When abortions are banned, rather than stopping the procedure, laws are making a more complicated procedure than it should be. Less than one percent of pregnancy related deaths are caused by abortion in countries where such procedures are legal (Encarta, Online Deluxe). As these statistics are proven more countries join in the fight to legalize abortion. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics legalized abortion in 1920, Japan struck down laws banning abortions in 1948, several Eastern European Countries joined in during the 1950�s, and Europe and Asia legalized abortion in the 1960�s and 1970�s. These legalizations, along with modern medical procedures have caused the death rate of abortion related fatalities to decrease drastically.
Since the trend of legalizing abortion began, medical researches have discovered methods that are both effective and safe for most women. In fact, abortion, when done correctly, is no longer at all dangerous. Once a woman has decided to terminate her pregnancy the most appropriate method for her case is determined by the age of the fetus and the length of the pregnancy. The pregnancy is divided into three trimesters: week one through thirteen is the first trimester, week fourteen through twenty-four is the second trimester and he last trimester includes week twenty-five through birth. The risk of death due to a first term abortion is smaller than one in one thousand. The risk is increased by thirty percent with each additional week after the twelfth week. Methods range in variety from drug-based to surgical procedures. Drug based abortion methods are becoming much more common, largely because of the convenience. These methods come in either a shot or, more commonly, a pill.   They do not require surgery and therefore appeal more to the patient and take less time than their surgical counterparts. Certain drug-based methods can be given even before a woman is sure of her pregnancy status. In this scenario a woman who has engaged in sexual intercourse within the past seventy-two hours can take an Estrogen pill, known better as the �morning-after- pill�. Estrogen is a female hormone that at most points during a woman�s menstrual cycle will prohibit or delay ovulation, or it may prevent eggs from becoming fertilized.
The next most common form of an induced abortion can be administered until the seventh week of pregnancy. The method deals with two drugs that work together to first block the progesterone needed to continue pregnancy and then to cause contractions to the uterus, which in turn causes the body to rid itself of the fetus. The two drugs used for this method are Mifepristone, commonly referred to as RU-486, and Misoprostal, which is taken 48 hours after RU-486. Another method using Misoprostal is performed by injecting a pregnate woman with Methotrexate. Methotrexate is an anti-cancer drug.   A week after being injected with the first drug the woman takes the misoprostal the result is an induced abortion.
Abortions that do not require surgical procedures or drugs generally use tubes and suction or pumps to remove the fetus from the body. Such methods include early uterine evacuation, preemptive abortion, and vacuum aspiration. These types of methods involve a tube called a cannula, which is inserted into the cervix to allow the pump or suction cups to remove the fetus. These methods can be performed ranging from the first four weeks of pregnancy to the fourteenth week. Another method performed without surgical or drug based procedure is Dilation and Curettage (D&C) which is a process that is performed by dilating the cervix and scraping the uterine lining with a curette to remove the fetus.
All of these methods are used before the first sixteen weeks of pregnancy. After this time abortion involves more difficult procedures. Abortion procedures at this point require anesthesia and must be performed in a hospital or abortion clinic. Induction Abortion is one such method that is performed during the sixteenth and twenty-fourth week of pregnancy. This method requires that a small amount of amniotic fluid be removed and replaced with a substitute fluid. Between twenty-four and forty eight hours later the uterus contracts and expels the fetus. Dilation and Evacuation is a method much like early uterine evacuation, only it demands a larger dilation of the cervix and is performed under the use of general anesthesia. Abortions began requiring surgery only towards the end of the second trimester and during the third trimester. These abortions are ones that are most likely to be banned by law, due to the viability of the fetus. Hysterotomy is a method involving a cut in the uterus large enough to surgically remove the fetus. This method largely resembles a cesarean section. Partial birth abortion, formally known as intact dilation and extraction, allows the fetus to exit the body through the vaginal canal. Once the fetus has exited the body suction is used to remove the brain and spinal fluid from the skull, which is then collapsed so that the fetus can be entirely removed from the body.
These methods are successfully performed every day on woman who, for one reason or the other, chose to terminate their pregnancy. The choice is always in respect to either the life of the unborn fetus, or the life of the mother.

Abortion: The Pro-Choice Opinion
The constitution grants the right of privacy to all people.
Abortion goes deeper than moral issues. It can, and will, be continuously debated as to whether or not abortion should be considered a form of birth control, or a form of murder. What is important to remember is that pro-choice persons do not mean to argue the moral side of abortion, what is recognized in the pro-choice opinion is that women have the right of privacy in personal rights.
When the government steps between a woman and her reproductive rights, the government has gone one step too far.