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Abortion, in its most common usage, refers to the destruction of an embryo and its removal from the uterus. Medically, the term also refers to the early termination of a pregnancy by natural causes ("spontaneous abortion" or miscarriage, which ends one in five of all pregnancies, usually within the first thirteen weeks) or to the cessation of normal growth of a body part or organ. What follows is a discussion of the issues related to deliberately induced abortion.Since 1972, the medical definition of pregnancy in the U.S. requires that implantation has already occurred so, technically, emergency contraceptives do not interfere with pregnancy. The controversy arises when one considers that conception occurs before implantation. Some believe the zygote is a human being with the same moral standing of an implanted embryo before pregnancy technically starts.
"Morning after" or "emergency" contraceptive drugs that are taken within 72 hours of sex interfere with the release of eggs from the ovary or with fertilization, and so are not generally considered to be forms of abortion. However, in some cases eggs will be released anyway; in these cases, if conceptions occurs the zygote will implant successfully regardless of emergency contraception use. There is no fetotoxic 'backup chemical' found in current formulations of emergency contraception: if ovulation occurs, conception will probably follow and the emergency contraceptive will have failed. Some studies suggest that emergency conceptives can thicken the uterine mucus and thus interfere with implantation of a zygote, but, if true, this also happens with normal birth control pills taken regularly as well. Some institutions or individuals mistakenly consider use of emergency contraceptives to be abortions (notably the Roman Catholic Church) because they confuse emergency contraception with true fetotoxic abortion pills.
1 Methods of abortion
Depending on the stage of pregnancy, an abortion is performed by a number of different methods. Chemical abortion (or Medical Abortion as opposed to Surgical Abortion) is the usual method when it is induced before the first nine weeks. The procedure consists of administering either methotrexate or mifepristone ( RU-486) followed by administration of misoprostol. Approximately eight per cent of these abortions require surgical followup, usually by vacuume aspiration (See below).
In the first fifteen weeks, suction-aspiration or vacuum abortion is one of the most common methods, replacing the more risky dilation and curettage (D & C). Manual vacuum aspiration or MVA abortion consists of removing the embryo by suction using a manual syringe, while Electric vacuum aspiration or EVA abortion uses suction produced by an electric pump to remove the embryo. From the fifteenth week up until around the eighteenth week a surgical dilation and evacuation (D & E) is used. D & E consists of opening the cervixThe cervix (from Latin "neck") is the neck of the uterus. This is the place where the uterus joins with the top end of the vagina. It is normally blocked by a mucosal plug which helps to prevent infection, and which has to be evacuated before the childbir of the uterus and emptying it using surgical instruments and suction.
Dilation and suction curettage consists of emptying the uterus by suction using a special apparatus. CurettageIn surgery, the use of a curette to remove tissue by scraping or scooping. It can be used to obtain a biopsy of a mass to determine if it is a granuloma, neoplasm, or some other tumor. It can also be used palliatively to debulk masses. is cleaning the walls of uterus with a curetteNoun A spoon-shaped surgical instrument for cleaning a diseased surface. Verb To use a curette (e. to biopsy a mass in the nose. See also Dilation and curettage.. Dilation and curettage (D & C) is a standard gynaecological procedure performed for a variety of reasons, such as examination.
As the fetus size increases, other techniques must be used to induce abortion in the third trimester. Premature expulsion of the fetus can be induced with prostaglandin; this can be coupled with injecting the amniotic fluid with saline or urea solution. Very late abortions can be brought about by the controversial intact dilation and extraction (D & X) or a hysterotomy abortion , similar to a caesarian section, and requiring the surgical decompression of the fetus's head before evacuation. (This is the procedure controversially termed " partial-birth abortion").
