Abortion history. Abortion has been widely known, practised, and debated since ancient times. The ancient Hebrews had laws against abortion, but they permitted it in cases where the mother's life was at risk.
The early Christian church generally opposed abortion. For hundreds of years, however, a debate raged in the church on whether abortion might be justifiable before animation. Christian theologians defined animation as the point at which a fetus received a soul. According to church teachings, animation occurred between 40 to 80 days after conception. From about the 1300's to the 1800's, abortion before animation became a generally accepted practice in Europe, if the pregnancy endangered the life of the mother. If an abortion was performed before animation for a less serious reason, many theologians considered it wrong but not homicide.
In 1869, Pope Pius IX condemned abortion from the moment of conception, but some Catholic theologians continued to teach that abortions performed to save the mother were morally acceptable. In 1895, the Roman Catholic Church proclaimed that abortion is never justifiable. Today, the Catholic church condemns all forms of direct abortion--that is, the intentional termination of pregnancy. Current Catholic teaching permits indirect abortion, in which the fetus is lost as a side effect of medical treatment to save the mother's life.
Abortion laws vary from country to country. In Russia, where abortion has been legal since 1920, it is allowed up to about the fourth month of pregnancy, purely on request, and is commonly used as a method of birth control. Japan also follows this system. In other places, such as the Scandinavian countries or the United Kingdom (where abortion has been allowed since 1967) there must be medical reasons. In the United Kingdom it must be shown that continuing the pregnancy would endanger the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or her existing children. This law can be widely interpreted, so that doctors will recommend abortions where, on balance, a woman would be better off having an abortion rather than a baby. The limit for carrying out an abortion is up to the 28th week of pregnancy.
In Australia the laws vary from state to state. On the whole, the law is similar to that in the United Kingdom. But the Northern Territory restricts abortion to the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. In India abortion is legal, although there is some opposition from organizations representing the Christian minority. The government has incorporated abortion into its family planning programme, as part of its efforts to reduce the size of the population. Likewise in China and Singapore, abortion is available on request.
In some countries, such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, abortion is only allowed when pregnancy threatens the mother's life. South Africa, New Zealand and Hong Kong allow abortion when the fetus is severely damaged. In the Republic of Ireland, the operation may only be performed when either the mother's or baby's life is in danger. Both have an equal right to life. In 1992, the Irish Supreme court reached a decision allowing a rape victim to travel abroad for an abortion. A referendum in 1992 rejected a government amendment permitting abortion in the Republic. Some pro-abortionists argue that the legal time limit should be reduced. Medical advances mean it is now possible to keep alive babies born as early as 23 or 24 weeks. Consequently many authorities believe the limit should be set earlier, perhaps at 22 weeks. Another reason to restrict abortion has become evident in Russia and some other Eastern European countries where the birth rate has fallen because of the availability of abortion on demand. As a result, the governments of some of these countries have made it more difficult to obtain an abortion.
Wherever abortion is allowed it must be carried out under strict medical supervision. In some countries, including the United Kingdom, two doctors must agree on the need for an abortion before it can be performed.
Abortion methods. A doctor may perform an abortion in several ways. During the first trimester (three months) of pregnancy, the most common method is suction curettage, or vacuum aspiration. This method involves removing the fetus by suction with a vacuum aspirator, followed by probing or scraping the uterus with surgical instruments called curettes.
Abortion can also be caused during the first trimester by a drug called mifepristone or RU-486. The drug is administered as a pill. It first became commercially available in 1988 and has been used in several countries, including France and the United Kingdom. It works by blocking the action of progesterone, a chemical that is produced by the mother's body and prepares the lining of the uterus to receive and nourish the embryo.
During the second trimester of pregnancy, many doctors use a method called dilation and evacuation, or simply D and E. In this method, the fetus is dismembered in the uterus and then removed. Another method involves injecting a salt solution into the amniotic fluid that surrounds the fetus. The solution kills the fetus and causes it to pass from the woman's body. A second-trimester abortion also may be performed by injecting prostaglandin drugs into the amniotic fluid. The drugs cause muscle contractions that expel the fetus.
Birth control today
During the 1960's, many countries adopted government programmes of family planning. Where necessary, they repealed laws restricting distribution of birth control information and devices. Today, about 80 countries have national birth control programmes. Sweden, the United States, and other developed countries have given funds and technical assistance to developing countries. Private organizations and such international bodies as the United Nations and the World Health Organization also have helped countries set up birth control programmes.
In 1948, Japan became the first country to take national action on family planning. That year, the Japanese government legalized abortion and contraception, and began to make both readily available. During the next 10 years, the Japanese birth rate dropped from 33 to 17 live births per 1,000 population, largely as a result of widespread use of abortion. Legal abortion has also become a major birth control method in Eastern Europe.
China, the world's most populous country, began national birth control efforts in the 1950's. By the 1990's, China's birth rate had dropped to about 20 births per year per 1,000 population. The Chinese goal is to reach zero population growth by the year 2025.
India began supporting a national birth control programme in the early 1950's. Many states in India have developed programmes calling for voluntary sterilization of males. Pakistan began a birth control programme in 1959. In the early 1960's, South Korea and Taiwan began birth control programmes. And similar programmes have since been developed by many Asian, African, and Latin American countries. Most of these programmes rely heavily on the use of oral birth control pills. In the United States and Canada many married couples use some form of birth control. In Great Britain, family planning services are part of the National Health Service. Many other countries also have government-supported programmes of family planning.
Opposition to birth control
Opposition to birth control continues, even though the practice has gained in acceptance. Some people fear that birth control encourages sexual relations outside marriage or that governments might impose birth control as a means of political control. Some religions oppose birth control on moral grounds.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that artificial methods of birth control are immoral because they separate the two purposes of intercourse in marriage--conjugal love and the procreation of children. In 1968, Pope Paul VI repeated the traditional Roman Catholic viewpoint in a papal encyclical. He wrote that "... each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life." Although the Roman Catholic Church opposes all artificial birth control, it considers natural family planning acceptable.
In the past, most other major religions also opposed birth control or kept silent on the subject. Today, most Protestant faiths and Judaism favour contraception, and many Protestants and Jews support legalized abortion. Hindu and Buddhist religious leaders have seen no religious conflict in the development of government birth control programmes in Asian countries. Miscarriage, also called spontaneous abortion, is the accidental or natural ending of a pregnancy before a fetus (developing baby) can live outside its mother's body. Studies indicate that 15 to 20 per cent of all diagnosed pregnancies end in miscarriage. The risk of miscarriage is highest during the first three months following conception (fertilization), during which time many women do not know they are pregnant. Thus the overall rate of miscarriage, including undiagnosed pregnancies, may actually be as high as 50 per cent.
Up to 60 per cent of all miscarriages occur because of defects in the embryo's chromosomes. In most miscarriages involving defective chromosomes, the embryo cannot develop normally. A miscarriage may also occur if progesterone, a hormone necessary to maintain pregnancy, is not present in sufficient amounts. Some women miscarry because the uterus, the organ in which the offspring develops, cannot withstand the pressures of the growing fetus. In addition, certain chronic (long-term) diseases are associated with miscarriages. Women who have such diseases, which include diabetes and kidney disease, require close medical attention during pregnancy.
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