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Humans have used various methods to induce abortions throughout the centuries. In the 20th century, the ethics and morality of abortion became the subject of intense political debate in many areas of the world. Opponents of abortion consider the embryo or fetus to be fully human and abortion to be murder, whereas proponents of safe and legal abortion consider abortion to be a basic human right for women.
Definitions
The following medical terms are used to define an abortion:
- Spontaneous abortion (miscarriage): An abortion due to accidental trauma or natural causes.
- Induced abortion: An abortion deliberately caused. Induced abortions are further subcategorized into therapeutic abortions and elective abortions:
- Therapeutic abortion:
- To save the life of the pregnant woman.
- To preserve the woman's physical or mental health.
- To terminate a pregnancy that would result in a child born with a congenital disorder which would be incompatible with life or associated with significant morbidity.
- To selectively reduce the number of fetuses to lessen health risks associated with multiple pregnancy.
- Elective abortion: An abortion performed for any other reason.
- Therapeutic abortion:
A pregnancy that ends earlier than 37 completed weeks of gestation, and where an infant is born and survives, is termed a premature birth. A pregnancy that ends with an infant dead upon birth at any gestational stage, due to causes including spontaneous abortion or complications during delivery, is termed a stillbirth.
In common parlance, the term "abortion" is synonymous with induced abortion of a human fetus. However, in medical texts, the word 'abortion' generally refers to spontaneous abortion (miscarriage).
Incidence
The incidence of and reasons for induced abortion vary in regions in which abortion is generally permitted.
It has been estimated that the total number of induced abortions performed globally is approximately 46 million per year. 26 million of these are said to occur in places in which abortion is legal; the other 20 million happen where it is illegal. Some countries, such as Belgium and the Netherlands, experience a low rate of induced abortion, while others like Russia and Vietnam have a comparatively high rate.
A 1998 study aggregated data from studies in 27 countries on the reasons women seek to terminate their pregnancies. It concluded that common factors cited to have influenced the abortion decision were the desire to delay or end childbearing, concern over the interruption of work or education, issues of financial or relationship stability, and perceived immaturity. In Finland and the United States, concern for the health risks posed by pregnancy in individual cases was not a factor commonly given, whereas in Bangladesh, India, and Kenya such a concern was found to be more prevalent. A 2004 study in which American women at clinics answered a questionnaire yielded similar results.
Some abortions are undergone as the result of societal pressures. These might include the stigmatization of disabled persons, preference for children of a specific sex, disapproval of single motherhood, insufficient economic support for families, lack of access to or rejection of contraceptive methods, or efforts toward population control (such as China's one-child policy). A combination of these factors can sometimes result in compulsory abortion or sex-selective abortion. In many areas, especially in developing nations or where abortion is illegal, women sometimes resort to "back-alley" or self-induced procedures. The World Health Organization suggests that there are 19 million terminations annually which fit its criteria for an unsafe abortion. See social issues for more information on these subjects.