Topic

abortions

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Overview

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of all pregnancies. When deliberate steps are taken to end a pregnancy, it is called an induced abortion, or less frequently "induced miscarriage". The unmodified word abortion generally refers to an induced abortion. The reasons why women have abortions are diverse and vary across the world. Reasons include maternal health, an inability to afford a child, domestic violence, lack of support, feeling they are too young, wishing to complete education or advance a career, and not being able or willing to raise a child conceived as a result of rape or incest. When done legally in industrialized societies, induced abortion is one of the safest procedures in medicine. In the United States, the risk of maternal mortality is 14 times lower after induced abortion than after childbirth. Unsafe abortions—those performed by people lacking the necessary skills, or in inadequately resourced settings—are responsible for between 5-13% of maternal deaths, especially in the developing world. However, medication abortions that are self-managed are highly effective and safe throughout the first trimester. Public health data shows that making safe abortion legal and accessible reduces maternal deaths. Modern methods use medication or surgery for abortions. The drug mifepristone in combination with prostaglandin appears to be as safe and effective as surgery during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. The most common surgical technique involves dilating the cervix and using a suction device. Birth control, such as the pill or intrauterine devices, can be used immediately following abortion. When performed legally and safely on a woman who desires it, induced abortions do not increase the risk of long-term mental or physical problems. In contrast, unsafe abortions performed by unskilled individuals, with hazardous equipment, or in unsanitary facilities cause between 22,000 and 44,000 deaths and 6.9 million hospital admissions each year. The World Health Organization states that "access to legal, safe and comprehensive abortion care, including post-abortion care, is essential for the attainment of the highest possible level of sexual and reproductive health".

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“I guess I never realized I would find [performing abortions] as unpleasant as I do. I really don't enjoy it at all. It's not a rewarding thing to do ... [patients] look at you as an evil person who is deliberately putting them through a painful procedure ... it's their whole attitude that bothers me. I feel like a simple thank you is in order, instead of 'Why are you doing this to me?'”
— Anonymous abortion doctor, quoted by Jack Hitt in "Who Will Do Abortions Here?", New York Times Magazine, January 18, 1998.
“When we look to the unborn child, the real issue is not when life begins, but when love begins.”
— Robert Casey, as quoted or paraphrased by George W. Bush, "Remarks on Signing the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act" (November 5, 2003), Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, vol. 39, no. 45 (November 10, 2003), pp. 1540–1
“The goal was ‘every child a wanted child’; it should also have been ‘every abortion a wanted abortion’, but the two sides of the phony debate were never to meet.”
— Germaine Greer, The Whole Woman(1999)
“It is better to improve the economic conditions of the poor than to attempt to remedy matters by decreasing the numbers.”
— Northwestern Lutheran, “Birth Control a Curse”, Lutheran Witness (Missouri), volume 36, p. 196; reprint of a Northwestern Lutheran (Wisconsin) article.
“[A] physician of wealth and high standing had seduced a girl and then induced her to commit abortion—I rather lost my temper, and wrote to the individuals who had asked for the pardon, saying that I extremely regretted that it was not in my power to increase the sentence.”
— Theodore Roosevelt, An Autobiography (1913), p. 305
“It's a nasty, dirty, yucky thing and I always come home angry... I've become very good at it. I've become one hell of an abortionist. But it's not something I tell my kids about... Have you ever seen one? ... I don't care what anyone say, it is not a tonsillectomy, not just any old medical procedure. It's terminating a potential human life.”
— David Zbaraz, abortion doctor, "Abortionist; Doctor Joins Suit for Right to Do Operation He Hates", Washington Post (March 3, 1980)

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

On IJR

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Overview

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of all pregnancies. When deliberate steps are taken to end a pregnancy, it is called an induced abortion, or less frequently "induced miscarriage". The unmodified word abortion generally refers to an induced abortion. The reasons why women have abortions are diverse and vary across the world. Reasons include maternal health, an inability to afford a child, domestic violence, lack of support, feeling they are too young, wishing to complete education or advance a career, and not being able or willing to raise a child conceived as a result of rape or incest. When done legally in industrialized societies, induced abortion is one of the safest procedures in medicine. In the United States, the risk of maternal mortality is 14 times lower after induced abortion than after childbirth. Unsafe abortions—those performed by people lacking the necessary skills, or in inadequately resourced settings—are responsible for between 5-13% of maternal deaths, especially in the developing world. However, medication abortions that are self-managed are highly effective and safe throughout the first trimester. Public health data shows that making safe abortion legal and accessible reduces maternal deaths. Modern methods use medication or surgery for abortions. The drug mifepristone in combination with prostaglandin appears to be as safe and effective as surgery during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. The most common surgical technique involves dilating the cervix and using a suction device. Birth control, such as the pill or intrauterine devices, can be used immediately following abortion. When performed legally and safely on a woman who desires it, induced abortions do not increase the risk of long-term mental or physical problems. In contrast, unsafe abortions performed by unskilled individuals, with hazardous equipment, or in unsanitary facilities cause between 22,000 and 44,000 deaths and 6.9 million hospital admissions each year. The World Health Organization states that "access to legal, safe and comprehensive abortion care, including post-abortion care, is essential for the attainment of the highest possible level of sexual and reproductive health".

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“I guess I never realized I would find [performing abortions] as unpleasant as I do. I really don't enjoy it at all. It's not a rewarding thing to do ... [patients] look at you as an evil person who is deliberately putting them through a painful procedure ... it's their whole attitude that bothers me. I feel like a simple thank you is in order, instead of 'Why are you doing this to me?'”
— Anonymous abortion doctor, quoted by Jack Hitt in "Who Will Do Abortions Here?", New York Times Magazine, January 18, 1998.
“When we look to the unborn child, the real issue is not when life begins, but when love begins.”
— Robert Casey, as quoted or paraphrased by George W. Bush, "Remarks on Signing the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act" (November 5, 2003), Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, vol. 39, no. 45 (November 10, 2003), pp. 1540–1
“The goal was ‘every child a wanted child’; it should also have been ‘every abortion a wanted abortion’, but the two sides of the phony debate were never to meet.”
— Germaine Greer, The Whole Woman(1999)
“It is better to improve the economic conditions of the poor than to attempt to remedy matters by decreasing the numbers.”
— Northwestern Lutheran, “Birth Control a Curse”, Lutheran Witness (Missouri), volume 36, p. 196; reprint of a Northwestern Lutheran (Wisconsin) article.
“[A] physician of wealth and high standing had seduced a girl and then induced her to commit abortion—I rather lost my temper, and wrote to the individuals who had asked for the pardon, saying that I extremely regretted that it was not in my power to increase the sentence.”
— Theodore Roosevelt, An Autobiography (1913), p. 305
“It's a nasty, dirty, yucky thing and I always come home angry... I've become very good at it. I've become one hell of an abortionist. But it's not something I tell my kids about... Have you ever seen one? ... I don't care what anyone say, it is not a tonsillectomy, not just any old medical procedure. It's terminating a potential human life.”
— David Zbaraz, abortion doctor, "Abortionist; Doctor Joins Suit for Right to Do Operation He Hates", Washington Post (March 3, 1980)

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.