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Salt Lake Community CollegeHistory of AbortionKeli DavisCriminal Justice 1010Abortions Abortion can be a very sensitive topic, a topic in which everyone will always have an opinion. Abortion is defined by the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary as, “a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of a fetus”. Abortion is also defined in the online medical dictionary as a termination of pregnancy before the fetus is viable. This term and the term miscarriage both refer to the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is capable of survival outside the uterus. With all of the controversy going on with abortion, two groups have come to be on whether abortion should or should not be legalized. These two groups are referred to as the pro-life and pro-choice. For me it is hard to pick just one side because I see pros and cons to each side, but I am more pro-against with this subject. I think that abortion, no matter what stage the fetus is in, is murder. But, how the fetus was conceived can change the matter and thoughts on whether it is right or wrong to get an abortion. Abortions have been around for thousands of years. However, in the eighteen hundreds abortions became illegal in the United States, due to the lack of medical education, procedures and surgeries. In those years many women died and or suffered from serious medical problems after attempting to self-induce their abortions, or by relying on a back alley abortion. Also at that time, hospital emergency room staff would treat thousands of women who would end up dead or would suffer from terrible side effects that came from the inadequate skill and care. In the United States in the year 1973 the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, it was decided to make abortion legal. This would mark an important turning point in the public health policy. The 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade made it possible for women in the United States to get safe and legal abortions from well-trained medical practitioners. This also led to a dramatic decrease in pregnancy-related injuries and deaths. The Row case arose out of a Texas law that prohibited legal abortions excepts when it came to saving a woman’s life. At that time, most of the other states here in the United States had similar laws just like the one in Texas, but these specific laws forced a large number of women to resort to illegal abortions. Jane Roe, who was a 21-year old pregnant women, represented all women who wanted to attain an abortion but could not get one legally and safely. Henry Wade was a Texas Attorney General who defended the law that made abortions illegal. After Mr. Wade heard the case, the Supreme Court ruled that Americans’ right to privacy included the right of a woman to decide whether she wanted to have children or not, and she also had the right to make the decision about abortion with her doctor without any state interference. In the years before Roe v. Wade, an estimated 1.2 million illegal abortions were done yearly. Although accurate records were unable to be kept, it is known that between the years of 1880’s and 1973, thousands of women were harmed as a result of illegal abortions. Today, in some countries, abortion is legal, whereas in most developing countries they still do not encourage or permit abortion. In the year 1980 in the United states there was a reported 1,297,606 million abortions. In the year 2012 there was a reported 699,202 hundred thousand abortions, a dramatic decrease. Globally, 25% of pregnancies ended in abortion from the years 2010-2014. In developed countries, the proportion declined from 39% to 28% from the year 1990 to 2014, whereas it increased from 21% to 24% in the developing countries. Abortions can be performed by a myriad of different procedures which are usually based upon how far along in the pregnancy the woman is. During the first trimester of pregnancy abortion can be done safely. There are four different techniques utilized during the first twelve weeks of a woman's pregnancy. The most common surgical means of abortion is suction aspiration, also known as vacuum curettage. This is performed by a powerful suction tube that has a sharp cutting edge that will be inserted into the woman's womb through her dilated cervix and can only be done up until the 16th week of the woman’s pregnancy. The suction then will dismember the body of the developing fetus, tearing the placenta from the wall of the uterus. It will also suck the blood, amniotic fluids, placental tissue, and fetal parts. Although this method is considered to be one of the safer methods, there are still frequent complications such as infection and tearing of the uterus and it can cause hemorrhaging. Another surgical procedure is Dilation and Curettage (D&C). This procedure involves inserting a loop shaped steel knife in through the cervix and cutting the fetus’s body into pieces. The placenta is then scraped off the uterine wall. This procedure has a much higher risk of infection and greater blood loss than the Suction aspiration. The last two procedures are known as chemical abortions, they are RU 486 and Methotrexate. RU 486 which is commonly known as the abortion pill can be taken orally only during the five to nine week period. Three trips must be made to the abortion physician. At the first meeting, the RU 486 pill is administered after a physical examination. During the second visit, the woman is given a dose of artificial prostaglandins, which will initiate uterine contractions. This will then cause the embryonic fetus to be expelled from the uterus. At the third visit, which is about two weeks later, the physician will determine whether the abortion has been completed or if further surgery is necessary. The last chemical procedure is Methotrexate, this is administered by intramuscular injection. It will attack the growing cells of the trophoblast, which functions as the life support system of the fetus. This injection causes the immediate disintegration of sheltering environment in which the embryo lives. The fetus will go without food or fluids causing the helpless fetus to die. This dangerous method is rarely used because of its unpredictable side effects. After the first trimester, abortion gets more dangerous and during the third trimester, there are many legal complications. Some states they have banned any form of abortion procedures except in certain medical situations. However, some procedures that can be performed during the third trimester include: Induction abortion and dilation and extraction. Dilation and extraction, however, is now illegal in the United States in part to the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995. Some pro-choice advocates believe that this ban is a step in the wrong direction in the fight for women’s rights. Regardless, by the time the third trimester arrives, the fetus is nearly fully developed, including its sense of pain, so this procedure is determined cruel and unusual. Pro-choice abortion is to believe that individuals have unlimited autonomy with respect to their own reproductive systems as long as they do not breach the autonomy of others. In the eyes of a pro-choice person an abortion should not be considered as murder in the early stages, which is the first ten to twelve weeks of the pregnancy. There have been many studies done and scientific research that has proven that even though the fetus starts to develop its face, arms, legs and body by the tenth week, it does not have a conscious and it does not constitute as a human being. It has also been studied that the fetus creates no genuine brain wave activity until about the third trimester, only instinctual electric impulses happen prior to that. The fetus’s cerebral cortex does not appear till the second trimester, thus if the abortion happens in the first twelve weeks the fetus can feel no pain.I wonder how a woman can go through with an abortion if she knows the following facts. On the first day, the egg and sperm unite. On the 4th day, the cells differentiate. In the 3rd week the baby's heart begins to beat. At 6-7 weeks, the baby’s nerves and muscles start to work together. From 7-8 weeks, the palm and fingerprints form. At 8 weeks, all of the unborn baby’s organs are formed, and the baby’s brain has taken shape. At 11 weeks, the whole body system is working and even hiccups can occur. Knowing this information and still allowing abortions to happen up until the 16th week of pregnancy is my opinion is murder. The Pro-Life activists claim that it is absolutely a crime to have an abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Pro-life abortions are known to be where the person believed that the government has an obligation to preserve all human life, regardless of intent, viability, or quality-of-life concerns. Those who call themselves “pro-life” believe that, when a woman has an abortion, she is killing her child and committing an act of murder. They believe that no matter what stage of the pregnancy the child is in, it is considered murder by having an abortion. The mother extinguishes any chance for the child to make any contributions to society and she takes away the rights of the fetus. They also believe that by having an abortion it will raise the chance of health and psychological problems in a woman. It has been researched that many times after a woman has an abortion, she becomes emotionally unstable. Post-abortion syndrome is described as the trauma of a woman who finally feels guilty, understands the repercussions of her actions, and where she regrets her previous decision. Statistics show that 92% of women feel less in touch with their emotions or feel a need to suppress their emotions, 82% had greater feelings of loneliness or isolation and 86% had increased tendency toward anger and rage. Depression, anxiety and insomnia are also all common symptoms a woman can encounter after having an abortion, 28% even attempt suicideAfter much research it is clear that within the first 12 to 16 weeks of a pregnancy is the safest time to get an abortion. What abortion procedure is chosen is up to the patient. Anything after the first 16 weeks is not recommended. With myself currently working in the healthcare field and wanting to further my education in health care it is important for me to understand what goes on during an abortion and just like the pro-choice and pro-life groups, when is it considered murder? Although I do not support abortions, when it comes to the medical field and your specific job, you can not express your opinion to the patient who wants to get an abortion. Willingham, AJ, and Jen Christiensen. "Abortion in America." CNN. N.p., 27 June 2016. Web."History of Abortion." National Abortion Federation. Web. -"Abortion."?Justia US Law. Web.- "Fetal Development: Stages of Growth." Clevland Clinic Foundation. Web. McBride, Alex. "Roe v. Wade." The Supreme Court. Dec. 2006. Web. 4 Dec. 2016. ................
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