What is abortion?

Abortion, at its simplest, is the termination (ending) of a pregnancy. There are a number of methods of doing this, and this is what this article is about, plus a little about its ethics.

Why would I want an abortion?

Well, first you need to fulfil to basic requirements: you are female, and you are pregnant. Though there is a potential for male pregnancy, that is beyond the scope of this article.

There is also a third requirement: you have a desire to end your pregnancy. This may be because of one of the following reasons:

1. You got pregnant accidentally, and don’t want to have to bring up the child when it is born. 2. You were raped, and don’t want to have to bring up a child that will remind you of your experience. 3. You have become pregnant but have changed your mind. 4. You’ve discovered that your child will have a major physical or mental disability, or giving birth may jeopardise your own life.

Why would I not want an abortion?

Not everyone thinks abortion is a humane thing to do. Certain religious denominations (such as the Catholic derogative of the Christian Church) class it as murder, and therefore a violation of one of the Ten Commandments. It is argued that after 4 weeks of pregnancy, the baby’s heart will have started beating, and it is therefore alive, or that the baby’s life was the doing of God, and is therefore sacred. Other articles on this site discuss the ethics of abortion.

What are the alternatives to abortion?

There is one, simple, tried and tested way of avoiding any situation where an abortion could be considered – not having sexual intercourse. But it may be a bit too late if you are already pregnant, so maybe we need to look at some other methods.

The Emergency Contraception Pill Also known as the ‘Morning After’ pill, this is a pill you should take within 72 hours (3 days) of when you first had intercourse. The pill is taken orally, and contains a high concentration of hormones. These hormones force a period, so that the lining of the womb breaks down and passes out of the vagina. By doing this, the fertilised egg cannot attach itself to the womb lining, and therefore cannot grow. It just gets flushed out of the vagina along with the womb lining. The pill is available from your local family planning clinic, and is sometimes free (for example, in the UK). Visit you local doctor’s surgery for more information about family planning clinics. Alternatively, you may be able to get the pill over the counter from you pharmacist, though it may be quite expensive, and the pills often come in packs of three – though this is handy for future ‘accidents’. There is a debate about the ethics of the pill, though it is not as controversial as abortion itself.

Adoption After those 72 hours are up, the only way of stopping the pregnancy now is abortion. So, if you really can’t have an abortion, you may want to consider adoption. Adoption may only be different by a couple of letters, but many see it as a more ethical way of dealing with unwanted pregnancies. The downside is that you do have to go through giving birth, which may not be an option in some cases. The idea is simple: you give birth, then your baby is given to someone else who will care for it. That way, you don’t have to give up your time to bringing up a child. And there is nothing ethically wrong with it either, so if your morals don’t permit you to have an abortion, then this is the ‘way out’ of an unwanted pregnancy.

What happens when I have an abortion?

There isn’t just one method; depending on when and where you have your abortion will determine what type of abortion you will get.

The first type, which you will be given up to 12 weeks (3 months) after conception, is called Vacuum Aspiration. This, as the name suggests, involves sucking out the contents of the womb through a tube. The tube is pushed through the cervix, and is linked to a vacuum pump. Following this, the womb may be ‘scraped’ to remove any remaining bits of tissue left behind.

If your pregnancy is beyond the 12-week stage, you may be given similar treatment, except using a more powerful pump. However, this tends to cause bleeding similar to that experienced during menstruation, and is more painful. This is carried out in hospital, and may require an overnight stay.

After 15 weeks, another method is used. A small amount of the amniotic fluid (the fluid inside the womb which protects the foetus from bumps) is taken out of the womb through a needle. A strong salt solution is then injected to replace the removed fluid, and this will cause contractions with 1-2 days afterwards. The baby will then be delivered stillborn. This procedure is carried out over a period of days in hospital.

If the abortion is much later than this, then a hysterectomy is performed, which is similar to a Caesarean section operation. The foetus is removed manually from the womb in this case. Although this carries more risks then the previous methods, it is still less risky than continuing with childbirth.

There are other ‘old wives tales’ of how to terminate pregnancy, such as having a piping hot bath and drinking a lot of gin. But doing this will probably give you a scolded bottom, and doesn’t usually work. You’re better off seeing someone about it, which leads us nicely onto...

How do I get an abortion?

Ways of getting an abortion vary in each country; some will let you have one without asking any questions whatsoever; in others it is totally illegal. Generally, most countries will let you have an abortion if at least two doctors say that you are in a position where an abortion is necessary, which seems to be 99 cases out of 100. They will then refer you to a clinic or a specialist who will be able to carry out the abortion.