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Anjelyca Middleton
Abortions
Imagine waking up one day and feeling really sick to your stomach. You have a sharp
pain in your stomach and feeling very nausea. You have a major headache and dizziness is
setting in. You are very scared but don’t have anyone to talk to or ask any questions to. So you
try to figure things out for yourself. Deciding that maybe it was time for your menstrual cycle to
come on you look at the calendar. But then you suddenly realize that you haven’t had a period in
six weeks. What do you do now? What options are there for an eighteen year old pregnant
female?
One of the most common options that are presented to a woman who has just found out
that they are pregnant is an abortion. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal
or expulsion of a fetus or embryo from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death. Abortion is
of two types spontaneous and induced. Spontaneous abortion is commonly known as a
miscarriage. This occurs naturally without medical intervention or other procedures. In majority
of the cases, miscarriage takes place due to health complications of the gravid during pregnancy
or accidental trauma. On an average, about 20-25 percent of the pregnancies result in
miscarriages. Among these, more than 90 percent cases occur in the first three months or twelve
weeks of the pregnancy, which is also known as the first trimester. Induced abortion is an
abortion that is carried out by administration of pills or surgical. (Rubin 200)
The second type of abortions is called induced abortions. Induced abortion is when a
pregnancy is intentionally aborted. There are two types of induced abortions. An abortion is
medically referred to as therapeutic when it is performed to: save the life of the pregnant woman,
preserve the woman’s physical or mental health, terminate pregnancy that would result in a child
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born with congenital disorder (a condition existing at birth or that develops during the first
month of life, regardless of causation) that would be fatal, or selectively reduce the number of
fetuses to lessen health risks associated with multiple pregnancy. An abortion is referred to as
elective when it is performed at the request of the woman for reasons other maternal health or
fetal disease. (Rubin 200)
When a woman is presented with the option of having an abortion, she is also presented
with the different methods that choose to continue the process with. In the older times, a number
of herbs reputed to possess abortifacient (a substance that induces abortion) properties have been
used in folk medicine. The use of these herbs in such a manner can cause serious side effects and
is not recommended by physicians. Abortions are also sometimes attempted by causing trauma to
