Essay About Drug Medications And Legal Battles

Abortion
Essay Preview: Abortion
Report this essay
Abortion is the termination of pregnancy before birth, resulting in,
or accompanied by, the death of the fetus. Some abortions occur
naturally because a fetus does not develop normally. Or because the
mother has an injury or disorder that prevents her from carrying the
pregnancy to a full term. This type of abortion is commonly known as a
miscarriage. Other abortions are induced. Induced abortions are
intentionally brought on, either because a pregnancy is unwanted or
presents a risk to a womans health. Induced abortion has become one of
the most ethical and philosophical issues of the late 20th century.
Modern medical techniques have made induced abortions simpler and
less dangerous. But in the United States, the debate over abortion has led
to legal battles in the courts, in the Congress of the United States, and
state legislatures. It has proven to be spilled over into confrontations,
which are sometimes violent, at clinics where abortions are performed.
There are many different methods in having an abortion. Induced
abortions are performed using one of several methods. The safest and
most useful and appropriate method is determined by the age of the
fetus, or the length of pregnancy, which is calculated from the beginning
of the pregnant womans last menstrual period. Most pregnancies last an
average of 39 to 40 weeks, about 9 months. This period of time is broken
up into three parts known as trimesters. The first trimester is the first 13
weeks, the second trimester is from the 14 to 24 week and the third
trimester lasts from the 25th week to birth. Abortions in the first
trimester of pregnancy are easier and safer to perform, that is because the
fetus is smaller. Abortions in the second and third trimesters are more
complicated procedures, which present greater risks to a womans health.
In the United States, a pregnant womans risk of death from a
first-term abortion is less than 1 in 100,000. The risk increases by about
30 percent with each week of pregnancy after 12 weeks. Although it is so
dangerous many women continue to have abortions. There are even
some drug medications used to terminate a womans pregnancy. In a
method commonly referred to as the morning-after pill, a woman is given
large doses of estrogen which is a female hormone within 72 hours of
unprotected sexual intercourse and again 12 hours later. This high dose
stops the fetus from any further development at the earliest stages after
conception. Or the point when a mans sperm fertilizes a womans egg.
Typical side effects of the morning-after pill may include nausea,
headache, dizziness, breast tenderness, and sometimes fluid retention.
During the first seven weeks of pregnancy a combination of two
drugs can be given in pill form to make a fetus. A pregnant woman first
takes a drug which blocks progesterone, which is a hormone needed to
maintain pregnancy. About 48 hours later she takes another drug which
is a hormone like chemical produced by the body that causes
contractions of the uterus, the organ in which the fetus develops. These
contractions expel the fetus. Misoprostol, which is another kind of drug
can also induce abortion when it is mixed with a different drug that
interferes with cell division. A doctor first injects a pregnant woman
with one kind of drug and about a week later the woman takes another
drug to induce contractions and to expel to fetus. When you combine
these two kinds of drugs it usually ends pregnancy effectively according
to the 95 percent of the woman who have taken them. Although, some
woman experience cramps, bleeding and nausea. Some of the cases are
more serious, such as pneumonia, edema, arrhythmia and they effect the
heart and lungs which may cause death.
After the first 16 weeks of pregnancy , abortion becomes more
difficult. One method that can be used during this period is called
dilation and evacuation. Which requires greater dilation of the cervix
than other methods. It also requires the use of suction of a large curette
and a grasping tool called a forceps to remove the fetus. Dilation and
evacuation are complicated procedures because of the size of the fetus
and the thinner wall, which usually stretch to accommodate a growing
fetus. Bleeding in the uterus often occurs. Dilation and evacuation must
be performed under general anesthesia in a clinic or hospital. It is
typically used in the first weeks of the second trimester but can be
performed up to the