Abortion

Abortion
Abortion is one of the most heated debates in the world right now; people are
dying, and killing for what they believe in. I find it kind of ironic because
anti abortion activists are killing doctors for the unborn babies that were
killed; does two wrongs make a right? In the following paper I will describe the
methods of abortion, the arguments of both pro-life and pro-choice, and my own
personal opinion on abortion. There are many arguments for and against abortion,
way too many to write so I’ll just describe a few. One of the main arguments
is when does life begin? The people who agree with abortion believe that life
begins when the baby is out of the womb. The people who disagree with abortion
believe that human life begins at conception; therefore abortion would be
murder. So, which one is it? Is abortion murder or not? There really isn’t a
straight answer. What you think all depends on your values and norms. Even
scientists cannot answer the question of when does life begin. There is a huge
discrepancy on this topic. Personally I believe that human life doesn’t begin
at conception but when the baby’s heart begins to beat which is somewhere
around 18 days. The first thing that I will talk about in this essay is the many
different methods of abortion. There are a lot of different ways that abortions
could be done, some legal and some illegal. Sharp curettage, suction aspiration,
saline injection, prostaglandin abortion, hysterectomy, dilation and extraction
(D&X), RU-486 and prostaglandin are the few that I will be describing in
detail. The first method I will be describing is sharp curettage, also called
dilation and curettage (D&C.) These abortions are usually done before 12
weeks development. In a sharp curettage a tiny hoe-like instrument called a
curret is inserted into the womb. The abortionist uses the curret to scrape the
embryo or fetus and placenta from the uterine wall. Body parts are then pulled
out piece by piece through the cervix. Suction Aspiration (Also called
"vacuum aspiration") This method of abortion has replaced D & C in
the majority of abortions done prior to 12 weeks. A tube is inserted through the
cervix into the uterus and connected to a strong suction apparatus. The embryo
or fetus and the placenta are torn to pieces and sucked out into a jar. Although
the baby is extremely small, body parts are often easily identified. Sometimes
this method follows a D & C. Possible complications include bleeding,
infection, and performation of the uterus. SALINE INJECTION: (Salt Poisoning)

After sixteen weeks, with this procedure, a needle is inserted through the
mother's abdomen and a solution of concentrated salt is injected into the
amniotic fluid which surrounds the child. The baby breathes in and swallows the
solution and usually dies in one to two hours, sometimes death takes many hours,
from salt poisoning, dehydration, hemorrhages of the brain, and failure of other
organs. The baby's skin is burned by the salt. The mother goes into labor and a
dead baby is delivered, usually within 24 to 48 hours. This abortion method is
no longer used in the United States. PROSTAGLANDIN ABORTION: This drug causes a
woman to go into labor at any stage of pregnancy. It is generally used in middle
to late pregnancy to induce abortion. The potent hormone-like drug,
prostaglandin, is injected into the amniotic sac. It produces labor and
premature birth. The unborn baby, in some cases, is born alive and placed aside
to die. In order to avoid what abortionists describe as "The Dreaded

Complication" of a live birth from a prostaglandin or salt-poisoning,
abortionists now customarily kill the child first before evacuating the baby.

Abortionists use ultrasound to guide an injection of lethal potassium chloride
into an unborn baby's heart. Other abortionists use an injection of digoxin to
cause fetal cardiac arrest. Sometimes salt is injected first, to kill the baby
before birth and make the procedure less distressful for the mother. This method
results in a very painful abortion for the mother. Prostaglandin’s are
accompanied by serious problems of their own, including potentially lethal side
effects. HYSTEROTOMY: A hysterectomy or Caesarean section abortion is used in
the last trimester. The womb is entered by surgery through the wall of the
abdomen. It is the same as a live delivery except that the baby is killed in the
uterus, or is allowed to die from neglect if he is not yet dead upon removal.

This surgical method is done if a saline or prostaglandin abortion has failed or
when a tubal ligation is done. This is a major surgery with inherent
difficulties, possible complications, and a potentially painful recovery.

DILATION AND EXTRACTION (D&X): This method of abortion (also known as a

Partial Birth Abortion) was publically unveiled in 1992 and is used to kill
babies from 20 weeks through full term. Because the opening of the woman's
cervix must be greatly enlarged, the abortion requires three days with repeated
visits for insertion of laminaria. These are cylindrical shaped or tapered
devices which are inserted into the cervix and which gradually increase in
diameter as they absorb water to dilate the cervix. Three days later the
abortion is performed. The abortionist ruptures the membranes and drains the
amniotic fluid. Using an ultrasound on the mother's abdomen, the baby is
identified and orientated within the uterus. Having turned the unborn baby
inside the uterus so that he or she is orientated feet first and face down
toward the floor, the abortionist inserts forceps into the vagina, the cervical
canal, and into the uterus and grasps one of the baby's legs. The other leg with
the remainder of the torso up to the baby's neck is then pulled outside of the
uterus. The head is usually too large to deliver, so a blunt scissors is
inserted into the base of the living baby's skull and spread apart to enlarge
the hole. The scissors are removed and a suction tube is inserted into the skull
and the brains are suctioned out. This kills the baby, collapses the head, and
the child is removed. Then the afterbirth is cut away. To put the size of the
unborn baby at 20 weeks of development into perspective, the majority of D&X
aborted babies weigh about a pound, are approximately 8 inches in length
(measuring from the top of the head to the bottom of the rump), and are fully
formed, with feet roughly 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches in length. Babies born at this
stage of development (19 or 20 weeks) have survived. RU 486 AND PROSTAGLANDIN:

The French-developed "abortion pill" is a powerful anti-hormone
(steroid) called mifepristone that interrupts the natural life process by
inhibiting production of the progesterone necessary to prepare the uterine wall
to support the pregnancy. As a result, the tiny developing baby literally
starves to death as the nutrient lining of the womb sloughs off, and muscular
contractions cause the dead baby to be expelled from the uterus. It is used to
induce abortions between the fifth to ninth weeks of pregnancy. Women first take

RU486 alone. Within 48 hours, only three percent have a completed abortion. The
remainder of the women, ninety-seven percent, must take a second powerful drug,
a prostaglandin. In approximately five to ten percent of the women who use the

RU486 abortion method, the drugs fail to kill the developing baby and the women
usually have follow-up surgical abortions. RU486 can cause severe disabilities
in babies who survive the abortion, can injure and possibly kill women, and
could harm a woman's subsequent offspring. Preliminary findings of the first
independent studies reveal serious under- reporting of the abortion technique's
adverse side effects. At present, RU486 is licensed for use only in France,

Britain and Sweden. It is being tested in other countries, including the United

States, with the objective of marketing it extensively over the next several
years. With RU486, a mother will more directly participate in ending the life of
her unborn child, and verify that she has passed the "uterine content"
that is her dead baby. Nearly half of the French women polled report that they
find this verification process disturbing.

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