This is the most common method of abortion and about 85% of abortions in England and Wales are done in this way. This method is usually used up to around the thirteenth week of pregnancy.
The risks of this method are that the artificial dilation of the cervix in pregnancy carries the risk that the cervix will be insufficiently tight to contain a subsequent pregnancy, so the mother runs the risk of miscarriage or premature delivery next time she is pregnant. It is also possible that the wall of the womb will be perforated which can be very serious for the mother.
Dilation and Curettage (D&C)
A Scraping instrument (curette) is used and the unborn child is scraped, in pieces, from the womb. The risk of this method is that if all parts are not removed an infection may set in as a result of the retained parts of the child or placenta. These can result in damage to the fallopian tubes and ovaries that the woman is unable to ovulate or the egg to pass through the fallopian tube. Infertility specialists regularly say abortion is a major cause of infertility. Therefore, if the infection is not treated quickly the woman will be very ill and need urgent hospitalisation.
Dilation and Evacuation (D&E)
This method is similar to D&C, instead small forceps are used to crush the body and pull it out into bits (the child can feel this). This method is used later in pregnancy so the body is larger. As with the D&C method, someone must check that every part of the body has been removed to ensure that infection does not occur.
The risk of this method is perforation of the womb.
Prostaglandin (induced premature labour)
This method takes place in the ward. Hormones called prostaglandin’s are injected to bring on labour, this may last from eight to fifteen twenty two hours. The labour is intense and painful; the child is expelled from the womb.
This method is usually used during the first eighteen weeks of pregnancy, if done after this time the child may be alive for a short time after delivery so sometimes the child is poisoned beforehand to make sure it is not alive. If the neck of the womb has not been opened enough, the head may be crushed with forceps before the rest of the body can be removed. Bringing on labour in this way now performs many late abortions.
The most common ways used to abort a baby are vacuum aspiration and Dilation and Evacuation.
What does the law say about abortion?
In the past abortion was a crime and still is in countries like Ireland and other places. In many western countries the law has changed and now you can get a legal abortion. Since 1973 the law in the USA has said that a woman has the right to have her pregnancy ended with no other reason except that she does not want the child. However, after a Supreme Court review in 1989, some states have changed their laws so that abortions are more difficult to obtain e.g. limiting the number of abortions that can be carried out on state property.
Over here in Britain abortion was once a crime under the Offences against the Person Act of 1861. This all changed in 1967 when the Liberal MP David Steel introduced a bill into the House of Commons, which became the abortion act of 1967. In 1990 this Act was amended and applies to the whole of the UK except Northern Ireland. The law on abortion now lists the following conditions:
- That the pregnancy has not exceed its twenty fourth week and that the continuance of pregnancy would involve risk, greater that if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or any existing children of the family; or
- That the termination is necessary to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman; or
- That the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the pregnant woman, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated; or
- That there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped.
Abortion is now legal if the two doctors agree on either of the following:
- Continuing the pregnancy means that there is a risk to the woman’s health, or that of her existing children greater than if the pregnancy was terminated, allowing up to twenty four weeks of pregnancy; or
- Continuing the pregnancy would involve severe damage to the woman’s mental or physical health greater than if the pregnancy was terminated, or there is a strong risk of severe handicap in the expected child, or the woman’s life is at risk if the pregnancy continues without time limit.
Abortion is only allowed up to birth if there is serious risk of grave permanent damage (physical or mental) to the mother or of serious abnormality in the child.
Why have abortions?
I believe that the destruction of a foetus should only occur in the most relevant situations, not for example if the mother is at the peak of her career. I strongly believe that the mother should have the right to choose to have an abortion if she has been raped. Although some may think that the baby wasn’t the person that inflicted the cruelty unto the mother, in the back of her mind she may always have this fragment of hatred towards the child which may develop into mental problems. In some cases there may be an opposite response as to where a woman is actually happy she had the child as it made her a stronger person.
Another situation where abortion should be allowed is when the mother has a terminal illness and the baby may kill her or cause her torturing pain. This situation is like one I read in the newspaper. A woman who had cancer and pregnant had to undergo great amounts of pain and despite being offered pain killers which may have damaged her unborn child she dealt with the pain and agony just to keep her child alive. She then died hours after giving birth. In this situation I would think that it should be all right for the mother to have an abortion if it would mean that her life would be saved.
I also believe that in the event of a teenage pregnancy the abortion of the foetus should be granted because the child is still young and a baby can not look after a baby. In addition, it could cause her great emotional distress, as she will be confused as what to do in her situation. If she did decide to keep the child then there would be a great risk of her being rejected by her parents and then her friends who as teenagers would not want to be around a friend who is pregnant as they wouldn’t have anything in common any more. The girl will then in most cases be rejected by the boy who impregnated her and by his parents who would not want to admit that their child would do such a thing. She is then left with nothing to live on except for the little amount of money that she will be provided with by the government.
A.2 What Christian teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion?
Christians look towards the Bible for inspiration and as a guide to help them to reach the make the right decisions. The Bible is the foundation of Christian morality and is used especially in cases such as abortion to enable them to do what is right.
Below are some biblical quotations, which would be a good reference to help people make the right decision.
The meaning of the quotations
Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, ”Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the Earth and all the created that move along the ground”. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
This passage is telling us that God made us in his own image meaning that he wants us to be like him; kind, considerate, forgiving etc. He would never destroy his own creation so he does not expect us to destroy his creation, instead we should respect it because life is precious and should not be denied just because of a mistake. Humans therefore should not play God.
Psalm 139:13 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb”.
The significance of this passage is that we were all made specially by God who put us together in a different way from the other which means we are all unique. If we abort it means we are destroying his creation, the creation that took him time to think of to create in a special way. Destroying a foetus means destroying his creation physically, meaning that he will not be able to love us and all his plans for us have been destroyed.
Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder”.
As soon as you abort a foetus artificially you are deliberately violating one of the Ten Commandments. The foetus can not possibly defend itself so you are destroying a helpless being- even though some say it is not alive until it is born. As soon as its heart starts beating you are dealing with potential life weather it has all it’s limbs or not. Aborting a baby is as good as murder.
Jeremiah 1:4-5 “The word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations”.
This quote is telling us that way before the two compatible egg and sperm met and created the foetus he knew who we were, he knew the plans he had for us and he knew the type of person we were going to grow up to be. This quote is actively stating that life begins long before the baby is born which highlights what I stated in the previous paragraph about it not having to be outside the womb to be alive.
Christian teaching on abortion
Roman Catholic churches believe that abortion is immoral under any circumstances. I do not agree with this at all because if the baby was going to endanger the mother then that should be a good enough circumstance to abort the child. The Catholic Church states that life is precious and each life should be valued. Does this not mean that it is only right to save the precious life of the mother?
In comparison to the Roman Catholic Church the ‘free churches’, which include Baptist, Methodist and Evangelist, believe that abortion is up to the individual, yet is still only a last resort and that personal and social factors need to be considered. I agree with the free churches that abortion should only be as a last resort. God put us on Earth and gave us free choice to do things so ultimately we are given the right to choose what we think is right even though this may not always be with his blessing.
B. How do Christians respond to the question of abortion?
Roman Catholics view abortion as murder because they believe that life begins at the moment of conception even though scientifically it’s heart only starts beating after the third week of pregnancy but Christians still believe at the moment of conception you are dealing with a potential life. They believe that you are interfering with God’s plan and that it is morally wrong. Other Christian denominations believe that abortion should not be used as a method of birth control but in some circumstances it is acceptable.
There are many groups, which campaign against abortion and for the laws to be changed. The most important ones in the UK are LIF and SPUC- The society for the protection of unborn children. The group LIFE provides counselling and support for women who are pregnant or who think they may be. On the other hand, SPUC campaigns for changes to the law by raising petitions and activity in political parties and trades unions.
Christian doctors and Gynaecologists have a choice as to weather they perform an abortion or not, so they are not really faced with any hard situations.
C. Is abortion ever justified?
In my opinion I do not agree that abortion is wrong because a woman should have the right to decide weather or not she wants to have a child. However, I also believe that it should not be used as a form of contraception.
I strongly believe that it is the mothers right to choose especially in the situation of rape. The woman did not give her consent. Also, every child deserves to be wanted and a child being brought up under this situation may end up not being wanted. On the other hand the abortion after rape could leave a woman severely psychologically distressed, perhaps with physical after effects as well so this isn’t the best way to help her.
I think that if the child will be born with severe abnormalities then surely abortion is fine. If not the child may put a burden on the family and cause the parents stress as well as the other children who will not receive as much attention. This in turn may cause tension in the family that could have been avoided. However, if the doctors inform you that your child may be in some way disabled- What defines a disability? If your child won’t look like the majority then that should mean it is special and that it’s that way for a reason so you are directly interfering with God’s plan of creation.
Some people may argue that there are other alternative such as giving the child up for adoption or fostering it until they are stable enough to uphold the responsibility of looking after a child. This is correct but there are a lot of emotional problems linked with adoption like knowing that your child is somewhere out there not knowing what they are doing and calling someone else “mother”. This is also the same case with having the child fostered. Although this may seem to be the best decision to make it is in fact very hard to regain contact with your child after you have given it up to be fostered. This is because you have to prove that you are stable enough to take the child back.
Like everything in this world you are taking a risk when you decide to have an abortion. You run the risk of serious infection that may in the long term leave you unable to conceive or it will make you prone to natural miscarriages in the future when you are ready to have a child.
Conclusion
After considering both Christian and non-Christian views I have come to the conclusion that no matter which way you try look at the issue abortion can be justified. It is right in certain circumstances such as a teenage pregnancy where the child is not fit or mature enough to be a mother; or rape where the woman’s consent wasn’t given. In addition, when the child may be born with severe abnormalities and may face rejection or be rejected by society; or if the life of the mother is at risk as a result of the child being born.
However, I still believe that abortion should not be given consent in circumstances such as a woman wishing to pursue her career or as a form of contraception. I disagree with these sorts of reasons for the simple fact that they are narrow-minded and do not consider the life of the child and only the future of the woman.
