I. Abortion is a risky operation. It should remain safe and legal to everyone. In past times, when women have not legally been able to get an abortion, they have gone to places such as brothels to get an abortion, where the conditions were not safe nor sanitary, and many times doing this resulted in infection, if not death. The following procedures should be conducted with the utmost care and responsibility.
A. The dilation and evacuation (D&E;) abortion procedure is used during the second trimester ( 14 – 26 weeks ). Due to the larger body of the fetus and the toughness of more developed fetal tissues, the cervix is dilated more and the fetus is dismembered by the abortionist grasping the fetal body parts with an instrument to twist them off. The fetus’s skull has to be crushed and its spine snapped for an easy removal. An ultrasound is needed at the end and an assistant needed to account for all body parts. To soften the fetal tissues of late second-trimester, the fetus sometimes was killed first by injecting urea into amniotic fluid or rupturing the membranes and cutting the umbilical cord 24 hours before the abortion.
B. In the saline, prostaglandin, and urea instillation method, the abortionist injects a concentrated salt solution or urea into the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus which causes burning and poisoning as the fetus ingests the solution. Prostaglandin hormone injected will stimulate an uterine contraction to expel the fetus.
C. The hysterotomy and hysterectomy procedures or methods are done during the second and third trimester. Like a Cesarean section, the abortionist surgically opens up the uterus and removes the fetus and the placenta. The fetus who could be saved even as early as 21 weeks is left to die.
D. The dilation and extraction procedure is well-known as the partial-birth abortion in which the abortionist induces labor and the live fetus is delivered up to his head. Then the abortion forces a pair of curved scissors into the base of the skull of the fetus, enlarges the wound by opening up the scissors, inserts a suction catheter to suck out his brain and to collapse his skull for easy removal. This method is favored for a low rate of complications, for a safe abortion done on mature fetus during late pregnancy up to 32 weeks or more, also for the way to extract live fetal brain tissue for transplantation and research on various kinds of treatments in reversing the aging processes on elders.
E. The menstrual extraction (Karman) method is performed very early in pregnancy. The suction generated by a vacuum pump will suck out everything in a uterus including the torn fetus. No dilation of the cervix is needed with this procedure of abortion.
F. The suction curettage procedure is used during a first-trimester. The abortionist dilates the cervix with a mechanical dilator or laminaria. Then he inserts a tube with larger diameter into the uterus due to the larger body parts of the fetus. The suction created by a vacuum tears the body of the fetus and the placenta apart. If the fetus’s body parts are too large, the abortionist will remove them manually. This abortion procedure can damage a woman’s uterine cavity resulting in scar and infection, in some cases parts of a woman’s intestines were sucked out.
G. In the dilation and curettage (D&C;) procedure, the cervix is dilated, a curette or a loop-shaped knife is inserted to cut up the fetus and scrape the uterine lining to detach the placenta.
H. Other methods of abortion include the Emergency Contraceptive (Morning After pill).The morning after pill is like a normal contraceptive pill, just used in high dosages. Taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, the Morning After pill provides a short, high burst of hormone exposure, disrupting the hormone pattern essential to a pregnancy. Emergency Contraceptive however will not prevent an ectopic pregnancy (when the fetus develops outside of the womb, typically in the Fallopian tube), nor terminate an already established pregnancy.
II. Reasons for abortion. Women have presented many reasons for getting abortions, following are some of them.
A. Absolute reasons for having abortions
a. health of fetus. If the fetus is not aborted, the stability of the life for it in the future is in concern.
b. health of woman. Again, if an abortion is not performed, the mothers life will this time be in danger.
c. rape or incest. The baby was conceived through the woman being raped, so it is unwanted, or if the woman committed incest and is worried about any defects the baby might have because of the genes being to close.
B. Softer reasons for having an abortion.
a. life style concerns. The situation in the womans life right now is not suitable for having a baby, for instance, if the woman is living with an abusive husband.
b. cant afford baby right now. The woman is currently living in a situation where she is not able to support the baby financially.
c. problems in relationship. The woman who is pregnant is either single, separated, getting a divorce, or in an abusive relationship and does not believe that this is the ideal situation for the baby to be raised in.
d. unready for responsibility. The mother is not prepared physically, mentally, or emotionally able to have and care for a baby right now. Perhaps the mother is too busy in her business life to care for the baby.
e. embarrassed about sex. In cases like this, the mother is perhaps a teenager and is embarrassed to tell her parents that she is having sex and is pregnant.
f. not mature enough. The mother may feel that she is not old enough to care for a baby, or is not ready for the responsibility that a baby brings along with it.
g. enough children already. In many cases, women have so many kids that they are overwhelmed and cannot raise another child.
h. partner wants it. The partner of the woman who is pregnant might want her to get an abortion because he is in another relationship, it was just a one night stand, or he is not ready to raise a child with her.
i. parents want it. Often times the parents might want their daughter to get an abortion. This might be because the daughter is too young to have a baby in their opinion, they do not accept the father of the baby, or they are not willing to help raise the baby, and the mother would not be able to do it herself.
j. other
III. General opinions towards abortions
A. Opposing Abortion
By ushering in an era of abortion on demand, the Supreme Courts Roe decision cheapened human life. The unborn child, which is no less human than its mother, has an inalienable right to life. The sanctity of human life is a moral claim that cannot be violated or superseded by other claims. For this reason, abortion cannot be condoned as an individual decision or as a matter of public policy. Abortion must be prohibited or at least sharply restricted.
B. Pro Choice
The principles on which the Roe v. Wade decision was based- an individuals freedom of choice, as well as freedom from government intrusion into personal matters- need to be reaffirmed. The fetus is not yet a person and its rights do not outweigh the mothers right to choose. Decisions about such a personal matter as whether to continue a pregnancy must be left to the individual who is most directly involved, the pregnant woman.
IV. Funding and Cost
A. The legislation by Congress does not allow federal funding for
a. poor women enrolled in Medicaid
b. Peace Corps volunteers
c. Native American woman covered by the Indian Health Service
d. Women in federal prison
e. Women in the military
f. The 1.2 million federal employees
B. Cost
a. Abortions can cost anywhere from $250 to $450. Costing so much, it is sometimes impossible for a woman who does not have a lot of money to get an abortion. Often times the poorer women go to places where it is free to get an abortion, or at least costs less. However, these places are not always safe and sanitary, and the mother can often get harmed while there or from an infection after the abortion. This is why abortions need to be safe, legal, and accessible to everyone, including lower class peoples.
b. Abortions in Washington, DC cost approximately $265.
V. Abortion Legal Cases
In 1973, in the case of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decided after the case of Roe v. Wade that it was now considered legal to get an abortion in almost every state. It was now a constitutional right that states could only abridge after the first six months of pregnancy. The case also decided that:
a. the court had jurisdiction in when a woman could obtain an abortion.
b. Roes case was not debatable.
c. The right to privacy includes the right to an abortion.
d. State must show a compelling interest in having the law.
e. The word person in the 14th amendment does not apply to the unborn.
f. The state has interest in both preserving the health of a pregnant woman and in protecting fetal life.
g. States interest comes compelling at three months.
h. States interest in fetal life becomes compelling at six months.
i. The state may not regulate abortion during the first trimester.
j. The state may regulate abortion during the 2nd trimester, but only for the protection of the womans health.
k. The state may regulate/ban abortion during the 3rd trimester to protect fetal life.
B. The Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth case struck down Missouri laws that state
a. written spousal consent for elective abortions. It is not necessary for a spouse to sign something that states that their wife may receive an abortion.
b. parental consent for minors. Minors no longer needed parental consent to get an abortion.
c. late term abortion be done to best permit the fetuss survival.
d. banned 2nd trimester saline abortions as a danger to maternal health.
Conclusion
Abortion can be practiced safely, legally, and can be accessible to all with government help.
Without abortions being legal, they are not safe. Without abortions being accessible to all, abortions are not safe. Government needs to provide funding for abortions for everyone, so they can be safe and legal. Too many deaths each year are caused by unsafe abortions. One of the main problems of abortion is the cost. The government needs to make it funded for everyone. Many women who are poor go to get abortions from unsanitary, licensed, or well known abortionists, which often result in the womans death.
With the help of the government, abortions should remain safe, legal, and accessible to all.
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