Why abortion may be bad for your health

Abortion is defined as the termination of a pregnancy before birth, resulting in the death of the fetus. Some abortions occur naturally because the fetus does not develop normally or because the mother has an injury or disorder that prevents her from carrying the pregnancy to term. This type of abortion is spontaneous and is called a miscarriage.

Other types of abortions are induced; they are intentionally brought on because the pregnancy is unwanted or the pregnancy presents a risk to the mother, or the fetus is likely to have severe physical or mental health problems. There are two types of abortion methods; drug-based abortion methods and surgical abortion methods.

Drug based abortion involves the use of chemical substances that can induce abortion, this drugs are called abortifacients. Drug based abortion also known as medication abortion involves using drugs that interfere with body’s hormonal system; blocking the production of progesterone which is the hormone that maintains a pregnancy. Prescription abortifacients are available locally. There are also reported cases of teenage girls using veterinary abortifacients. This drug based abortion effectively end pregnancy in approximately 96% of women and very effective in the early trimesters.

Surgical abortion involves the physical removal of fetus by means of a uterine operation. When done by a trained health service provider surgical abortion has less chances of resulting in complications. Some of the common practices in surgical abortion include; early uterine evacuation and vacuum aspiration

This essay deals specifically with the ethical and philosophical issues that have pushed countries to legalize abortion or oppose its legalization. Researchers argue that abortion is a common surgical procedure with about 46 million abortions carried out annually of which 20million are illegal.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Since the beginning of documented history abortion has been practiced in Greece, Rome, Egypt, China and other places the world over. In fact abortion could be a universal fundamental aspect of human behavior.

However we are interested in tracing the ramifications of abortion in contemporary world society. The abortion debate took a global dimension in 1973 in the USA because of the Roe v. Wade court case when the supreme court of the United States ruled that a woman has a constitutional right to an abortion during the first 6 months of pregnancy. The feminist movement has been an important emotive force behind the pro-abortion movement. The movement has continually asserted that women have sovereignty over their bodies and thus have a right to decide whether she will carry a pregnancy to fruition or not.

Countries that have legalized abortion.

Several countries legalize abortion on different grounds. These are mainly ethical and moral reasons. Generally states that do not legalize abortion are called pro-natalist states these are mainly inspired by the pro life a movement in the catholic church. Those countries that don’t have ethical constraints about abortion are called anti-natalist states. Generally most western countries legalize abortion. We will block the countries that legalize abortion according to continents.

BELOW IS TABLE THAT SHOWS COUNTRIES THAT LEGALIZE ABORTION FROM DIFFERENT CONTINENTS

EUROPE	ASIA	AFRICA	NORTH AMERICA	OTHERS
GERMANY	CHINA	SOUTH AFRICA*	USA	AUSTRALIA
FRANCE	JAPAN		CANADA
BELARUS	CAMBODIA
BELGIUM	SOUTH KOREA
CROATIA	VIETNAM
DENMARK	INDIA
ESTONIA

Most countries have provisions where mothers can apply have for abortions if the life of the mother is in jeopardy. However some pro-natalist countries do not provisions for abortion under any circumstance. These countries are mainly in Latin America, they include Malta, Chile, and El Salvador.

Health challenges.

1. Increase in infertility rates.

Abortion may lead to blockage of the fallopian tubes or ovaries, the removal of the uterus, perforation of the uterus among other complications. Consequently, women who have undergone abortion have an increased chance of infertility.

2. Contraction of diseases and health complications.

Women who have undergone abortion have a high risk of contracting diseases such as fistulae. Fistulae lead to false communication between the birth canal and digestive system leading to persistent leakage of urine.

It may lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), a bacterial infection of the upper female genital tract which is often difficult to manage. Embolism is yet another condition which could result from abortion. Embolism is the obstruction of a blood vessel by an embolus or a foreign matter.

Research has shown that there is an increased risk of breast cancer in women who have carried out an abortion. This is because of the rapid growth of the breast tissue in early pregnancy; a forced premature cessation of pregnancy creates an unnatural condition.

3. Increase in maternal mortality.

Whether abortion is legal or not complications are bound to occur. Women die from legal abortions. For example the pro-abortion Chicago Suns Times ran a multi-issue expose in 1978.They discovered twelve mothers who had died from abortions(Wilke’s book p.102-103).It is possible that only 5-10% of all deaths resulting from legal abortion are reported as abortion related(John Ankeberg and John Weldon-When does life begin(1989 pg.58). Such complications can result to the death of the woman. They  include hemorrhage and ectopic pregnancy

Anesthetic complications can also result to death due to rich blood supply around the uterus during pregnancy, local and general anesthesia during abortion is risky.

Other challenges include capital flight, this is where pregnant mothers go to perform abortions in countries where it has been legalized. We also have clandestine abortion that happens in international territorial waters like the floating Dutch.

CONCLUSION

After espousing the facts it, the realization is that abortion laws should be rationalized the world over so as to reduce the negative effects of abortion. It is very important for abortions to take place in a monitored environment; this will reduce the callousness that is synonymous with the clandestine abortion industry. It is therefore important for those with moral reservations about abortion should reach common with the anti-nalist whereas still maintaining the dignity and sanctity of human life. Rationalisng abortion laws around the world will give the world society at a better position to come up with new innovative technology to reduce arbotional mortality.