Abortion Essay Research Paper AbortionOf all of

Abortion Essay, Research Paper

Abortion

Of all of the issues being debated in the world today, perhaps the most controversial and intensely debated is abortion. This issue has forced its way into living rooms across the country through television, newspapers, and especially political campaigns. It has divided the community on many principles including people’s morals, ethnic background, and especially religious beliefs. However, many times people are too quick to jump on the bandwagon with one side or the other. They do not study the issue in order to develop a better understanding of what it is and why it may, or may not, be needed. This may be because of the fact that most people do not wish to go against public opinion. Perhaps they do not give the issue the attention it deserves, because someone has told them that it is a sin and should be banned from the face of the earth. Either way, this is a foolish course of action to take. Without looking at the history, uses, and the actual course of a procedure, it is impossible to give a valid and educated opinion on whether or not it should be practiced in today’s medical field. Should they choose to look into the issue for themselves, people will realize that there are many methods of abortion practiced in today’s medical field.

Of the many different methods of abortion practiced in modern medicine, the most successful and safe procedures are carried out during the first trimester, or twelve-week period of fetal development. Of course birth control pills are the safest form of avoiding pregnancy. However, when this fails operations are necessary to prevent giving birth. The most common procedure, making up around 98% of the first trimester abortions, is Suction Aspiration. This is an operation in which the cervix is dilated, and a vacuum is used to remove the undeveloped fetus from the mother’s womb. This is usually the most successful, as well as the safest procedure put to use these days. However, after the first trimester, the same procedure cannot be used to perform an abortion. During the second and early third trimester there is a different set of options that women have to choose from. During this time, the most common procedure is Dilation and Evacuation. Using forceps to remove the developing fetus performs this operation. Finally, if the mother has waited until her third trimester, she must get a Urea Injection. This injection consists of various chemicals, which will kill the fetus, and it is then surgically removed. Doctors encourage women to have abortions performed within the first trimester, because of the increasing complications involved in the procedures, as time goes by. This is also because of the fact that these operations are never one hundred percent safe, or successful. In cases in which other forms of abortion are unsuccessful, the woman will need to have a Hysterotomy done. This last resort procedure requires the fetus to be removed surgically, and presents the most danger to the mother’s health (Poppema 56,57). These procedures, although very advanced and complicated, are actually not all that revolutionary. Abortion has been practiced since ancient times around the world as a last-resort method of birth control.

In its beginnings, abortion was a very crude and bloody procedure. However, with all of the advancements that have been made in science, and the medical field, the procedure has been reduced to simply taking a pill, if taken during the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy. Still, the termination of pregnancy has been considered to be against many religious beliefs. However, in most countries no legislation was passed concerning abortion until the 1800’s. During this period, most of Europe, Asia, and the United States had enacted laws that banned abortion under any circumstances. In the 20th century, however, these countries began to take a more relaxed approach to dealing with the issue. In 1920, the USSR legalized abortion. Japan, Asia, Canada, the U.S., and much of Eastern Europe followed the USSR in the legalization of abortion. In the U.S., new regulations were put on abortion stating that the procedure may only be practiced if the woman has been raped, or if the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother. These laws were expanded by a Supreme Court decision in Mississippi, in 1973, (Roe vs. Wade) that legalized abortion, for any reason, before the 24th week of pregnancy, which is the point where the fetus is considered viable (Ladd 24). This “point of viability” is the main source of debate between the two sides of this issue. However, the question that people should ask themselves when debating abortion is, “Should laws, that will affect the entire community, be written according to one group of people’s ideas and beliefs.”

Those who support the elimination of abortion have constantly made it a point that, according to their beliefs, it does in fact constitute murder. Opponents of abortion argue that as soon as the fetus is conceived, it has all of the rights of a normal human being, and that stopping its development constitutes murder (Dworkin 43). However, while this is a strong point to argue by Christian values, the fact remains that it is simply one opinion held among all of the people in the world. Again, the “point of viability”, or when the fetus is considered to be a normal human being, varies with each ethnic group that is studied. For instance, in Nort