Abortion…what is it? Abortion is difficult to define because everybody has a different opinion of what it is.

Authors Avatar

A) i. Abortion…what is it? Abortion is difficult to define because everybody has a different opinion of what it is.

In the Oxford of what it is. In the Oxford dictionary it defines it as: ‘The premature expulsion of a foetus from the womb.’ However, not all types of abortion are intended or artificial: Miscarriage is an unintended, natural form of abortion. The human body may expel a foetus that has died, for example. Or it can happen after a shock, (sometimes after rape), or a blow to the stomach. In any case, it is unintended. Medical termination can also be

Unintended or indirect – in the case of an ectopic pregnancy or any other circumstance where the life of the mother is at risk. In these cases the abortion is foreseen, but unfortunately unavoidable, although the doctors will try to save the life of the mother and baby if this must happen.

Intended medical termination happens when the mother wants to abort the foetus for one of a number of reasons, some of the most common of which are:

Under-age pregnancy, When the baby will be handicapped, Pregnancy following rape and when the pregnancy was simply unplanned – which again has more reasons linked to it.

Abortion can be achieved in a number of ways, I will mention the most common methods of abortion and describe them briefly:

å Vacuum aspiration: The mouth of the uterus is enlarged and a vacuum tube is inserted with a cutting blade on the end.

The foetus is sucked into a container – the blade cuts them into small pieces because the bones of the foetus are not yet calcified.

ç Dilatation and Curettage: The abortionist doctor uses a curette (loop shaped surgical knife) to cut up the foetus inside the uterus and remove it. The placenta is also scraped out.

é Dilatation and Evacuation: A forceps is inserted into the uterus and used to twist the foetus’ limbs off. The skull must be crushed and the spine snapped in order for the baby to be removed.

è The Morning-After Pill: A form of abortion that is used very early on in the pregnancy. It stops the zygote from attaching itself to the wall of the uterus.

In the United Kingdom, there have been laws on abortion since the 19th century, but the most important ones happened in the 20th century.

In 1929, The Infant Life Preservation Act was passed that legalised abortion if it was to be carried out for the sole purpose of saving the mother’s life – but an abortion of this sort was still not to be carried out after 28 weeks of pregnancy – as this was the time when the baby was presumed viable.

In 1967, The Abortion Act was passed. It stated that an abortion could be carried out under certain criteria but it was still illegal to abort past 28 weeks. These criteria are outlined in the 1990 act, with amendments.

In 1990, The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act was passed, it is identical to the 1967 with some amendments. Here are the basic criteria outlined in the 1990 act (An abortion is legal if one or more of these criteria is met):

1. If there is a greater risk of physical or mental injury to the mother or any existing children in the family than if the pregnancy was terminated. (Up to 24 weeks)

2. The mother’s life is in danger or there is a risk of grave permanent physical or mental damage to the mother than if the pregnancy was terminated. (Up to 40 weeks)

3. If the baby is very likely to have a serious mental or physical handicap. (Up to 40 weeks)

Join now!

The following different laws are in place in the 1967 act:

1. For criteria 2 and 3, there is a 24-week limit placed on the abortion.

A) ii. Although there is no direct reference to abortion in the Bible as to whether or not abortion is allowed in Christianity, Pro-life and Pro-choice followers use references from the Bible, however indirect they may seem, to either justify or make unjustifiable, abortion.

Pro-life campaigners argue that all life is sacred in the eyes of God, and use passages such as this one to back their views up: ‘See that ...

This is a preview of the whole essay