An Overview of the Abortion Debate
The loss of a fetus before it is able to live outside the womb is called abortion. When
abortion occurs spontaneously, it is often called a miscarriage. Abortion can also be
intentionally caused, or induced. Induced abortion is regarded as a moral issue in some
cultures. In others it is seen as an acceptable way to end unplanned pregnancy.
Abortion is a relatively simple and safe procedure when done by trained medical workers
during the first three months (first trimester) of pregnancy. Abortion is less safe when
performed after the 13th week of pregnancy. Before the right of a woman to obtain an
abortion was affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in the 1973 ruling on Roe vs.
Wade, many abortions were performed illegally and in unskilled ways. This caused the
deaths of many women from infection and bleeding. It also caused much sterility, or the
permanent inability to have a child. The usual surgical technique of abortion during
the first trimester is to insert a metal or plastic tube into the uterus through its
opening, the cervix. A spoonlike instrument at the end of the tube is used to gently
scrape the walls of the uterus. A suction machine at the other end of the tube removes
the contents from the uterus. This procedure is called vacuum aspiration and is done
primarily in a medical clinic or doctor's office using a local anesthetic for the cervix.
During the second trimester, abortions are usually done by means of dilation and
evacuation. This procedure uses forceps, curette, and vacuum aspiration. Although rarely
sought, third-trimester abortions may be performed when the fetus has severe genetic
defects or because continuing the pregnancy would be a threat to the woman's health. A
controversy began in 1988 over a drug, developed in France, called RU 486, which, when
taken during the first 7 weeks of pregnancy, causes the embryo to become detached from
the uterus. The drug was reported to be safer and less expensive than surgical abortion.
Antiabortion groups in France succeeded in temporarily halting the sale of the drug,
although the government later ordered it to be made available. The use of RU 486 was
supported by family-planning agencies in the United States, France, and elsewhere and by
the World Health Organization and the World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics. The
long-term effects of RU 486 on women's health were unknown. Abortion as a way to end
unplanned pregnancy is practiced in many countries. In Europe by 1992 only Ireland had a
complete ban on abortion. In the United States the legality of abortion was affirmed with
Roe vs. Wade in 1973 over the objections of some groups, the Roman Catholic church in
particular. Many opposed to abortion believe it is the taking of a human life. Those who
favor the legal availability of abortion cite the right of women to control their
reproduction and of physicians to perform abortions without fear of criminal charges.
Other arguments in favor of abortion include population control, the social problems
caused by unwanted children, and the dangers of illegal abortion. In 1989 and in 1992
the United States Supreme Court in 5-4 rulings upheld provisions of a 1986 Missouri law
and a 1989 Pennsylvania law restricting abortion. In Webster vs. Reproductive Health
Services and Planned Parenthood vs. Casey the court stopped short of overturning the
landmark Roe vs. Wade ruling, but it upheld the power of individual states to impose
restrictions. The battle over abortion rights moved to the state legislatures and to the
streets as massive demonstrations for and against legalized abortion continued into the
1990s. Missouri's and Pennsylvania's laws to impose severe restrictions on abortion were
partially upheld, but similar attempts in Illinois and Florida were rejected. In 1989 the
United States Congress approved the use of Medicaid funds to finance abortions for poor
women in cases of rape or incest, but President George Bush vetoed it. The most
restrictive law in any state was passed in Idaho in 1990, but the governor vetoed the
bill. A related controversy arose in the late 1980s centering on the use of tissues
from aborted fetuses for medical research and treatment. Experiments using cells from
aborted fetuses showed that these cells were uniquely capable of alleviating certain
conditions, such as Parkinson's disease, when transplanted into the diseased tissues of a
host. The debate over the ethics of using tissues from miscarried fetuses did not halt
research or the application of these discoveries.
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