Abortion: The Medical Process of Terminating a Pregnancy (Essay Sample)

Abortion
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Abortion
Abortion can be described as the medical process of terminating a pregnancy in order to stop the development of a fetus and birth of a child. This medical procedure can be done through two methods. The first method involves the use of medication where the pregnant woman can take medication to end the pregnancy while the second method involves the use of a professional medical expert who carries out a surgical procedure to terminate the pregnancy. There are some cases where the abortion happens spontaneously without the willingness of the pregnant woman. These types of abortions are referred to as miscarriages, thus they are not commonly referred to as abortions. In some cases, the termination of a pregnancy is done when the fetus is able to survive outside the womb; they are referred to as late terminations.
In the first trimester, women who would like to undergo an abortion are often advised to use medications such as prostaglandin and mifepristone because they are as effective as going through the surgical process. In the second trimester, people are asked to take the surgical method because they are effective and have lower risks of side effects. When abortion is legal in the eyes of the law, it is usually considered to be one of the safest medical procedures that can be carried out by medical professionals. The World Health Organization also suggests that abortion options should be made legally available and safe for women who would not like to go through a pregnancy (Bailey, 2012). This is because some women who live in regions where abortion is illegal tend to seek out people who have not even been to medical school to perform their surgeries. These situations have often led to the admission of these women to hospital after poorly done surgeries and sometimes even leading to the death of thousands of women each year.
Causes of Abortion
There are a number of reasons that often lead women to carry out abortions. The most noticeable is when people engage in sexual activities without the use of proper preventive measures, thus leading to unwanted pregnancies. Most of these cases are often seen among young teenagers and adults who are still within the youth bracket because it is at this time that they are most sexually active. Unwanted pregnancies can also be seen in cases that involve rape. In rape cases, sometimes the female victim is violated sexually without the use of protection, and in turn causing pregnancy that is unwanted. Some victims usually end up pregnant and in turn terminate the pregnancies.
Effects of Abortion
Abortions carried out in paces that do not have proper medical licenses have often led to health problems. Some of these women get infections when they do not take care of their bodies well thus leading to infections that lead them to seek more medical attention. When people who are not qualified carry out abortions, it is emergent that sometimes patients die. Many lives have been lost as a result of women seeking the services of people who are not qualified. Sometimes the patients end up getting diseases and illnesses from the use of unsanitary instruments. People end up getting diseases such as HIV and AIDS from these undocumented clinics. Abortion usually affects the mental capacities of the patients. Some people usually fall into depression after carrying out these abortions. This depression is usually caused by guilt. These women usually have some form of regret that torments them leading to depression. Women who are depressed are not productive at work and this could lead to ripple effects such as being dismissed from work.
Mitigation efforts
The best way to prevent abortion is to avoid the risk of getting pregnant in the first case. People need to be taught how to prevent pregnancies by use of different methods such as the use of condoms, pills and other preventive measures. This will reduce the rate of pregnancies, and in turn, reduce the rate of abortions (Bailey, 2012). When these pregnancies have occurred and the female is thinking of carrying out an abortion, it is usually advisable to seek the help of a counselor who will help them determine the reason why they would like to perform this act. Councilors have been known to help women in these situations by sometimes managing to convince the women that it may not be in their best inte...