Abortion Essay, Research Paper

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A little while later the law was changed again. It was a little different this time. The American Medical Association approved abortions in certain cases. These were to protect the woman?s physical and mental health, in the case of rape, and if the fetus was abnormal (29). In my opinion, rape should not be included. You can always but the baby up for adoption because there

wouldn?t be anything wrong with the child.

In 1964, women got legal abortions after a German epidemic. This was because the disease could have harmed the fetus causing birth defects

(29). If the fetus is going to be harmed physically in any way due to an unfortunate occurrence, than abortion should be allowed. Because of the defects not many people may want the child if it were up for adoption whereas the other children without defects have a greater chance of getting a family.

Rules in Minnesota require doctors to pinpoint why patients want abortions by using a 10-point checklist that includes motives ranging from ?emotional health? to ?economics? to ?does not want children at this time? (Cohen, 30). Doctors must record the number of abortions the perform, in addition to post-abortion complications and the woman?s method ofpayment (30). I think the state has the right to know how many abortions are performed because that is not really personal information. I do not think it is

fair for the state to know how the woman paid for the abortion. That should be confidential because it is her own business.

There are several different methods of abortion. I will name them and describe and discuss them. One type is suction-aspiration. Two others are salt poisoning and hysterotomy. The one that seems most popular is the abortion pill, RU-486.

When performing suction-aspiration, the doctor paralyzes the womb opening and stretches it open. Then he inserts a hollow plastic tube, which has a knife-like edge on the tip, into the uterus. The suction tears the baby?s body into pieces. He then cuts the deeply roofed placenta from the inner wall of the uterus. The scraps are sucked out into a bottle (Lowenstein, 15). This is a terrible thing to imagine a baby going through even if it truly is not alive yet.

Salt-poisoning, or saline amniocentesis, is done after the sixteenth week. A large needle is inserted through the abdominal wall of the mother and into the baby?s amniotic sac. A concentrated salt solution is injected into the amniotic fluid. The baby breathes and swallows it. The baby is poisoned, struggles, and sometimes convulses. It takes over an hour to die. When successful, the mother goes into labor and delivers a dead baby (14). I would rather have this than suction-aspiration because it seems less painful for the fetus.

Hysterotomy is an early Cesarean section. The mother?s abdomen is surgically opened, as is her uterus. The baby is then lifted out, and, with the placenta, discarded. This method is usually used late in the pregnancy (14). The hysterotomy method seems very painful for both the mother and the fetus because the doctor would have to kill the fetus.

Another is a pill that keeps the egg from staying attached to the uterus. It blocks the action of the hormone and causes the uterine lining to break away into the menstrual period. The egg is removed in the menstrual bleeding. This is also called RU-486 (15). This seems to be the easiest method of abortion.