Christian Ashley D.

Evangelista

N1-D
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus.[nb 1] An abortion
that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in
approximately 30% to 40% of all pregnancies.[2][3] When deliberate steps are taken to end a pregnancy, it
is called an induced abortion, or less frequently "induced miscarriage". The unmodified word abortion
generally refers to an induced abortion.[4][5] The reasons why women have abortions are diverse and vary
across the world.[6][7] Reasons include maternal health,[6][7] an inability to afford a child, domestic violence,
lack of support, feeling they are too young, wishing to complete education or advance a career,[8] and not
being able or willing to raise a child conceived as a result of rape or incest.[7]

When done legally in industrialized societies, induced abortion is one of the safest procedures in
medicine.[9]: 1 [10] In the United States, the risk of maternal mortality is 14 times lower after induced abortion
than after childbirth.[11] Unsafe abortions—those performed by people lacking the necessary skills, or in
inadequately resourced settings—are responsible for between 5-13% of maternal deaths, especially in
the developing world,[12] though self-managed medication abortions are highly effective and safe.[13][14]
Public health data shows that making safe abortion legal and accessible reduces maternal deaths.[15][16]

Modern methods use medication or surgery for abortions.[17] The drug mifepristone in combination with
prostaglandin appears to be as safe and effective as surgery during the first and second trimesters of
pregnancy.[17][18] The most common surgical technique involves dilating the cervix and using a suction
device.[19] Birth control, such as the pill or intrauterine devices, can be used immediately following
abortion.[18] When performed legally and safely on a woman who desires it, induced abortions do not
increase the risk of long-term mental or physical problems.[20] In contrast, unsafe abortions performed by
unskilled individuals, with hazardous equipment, or in unsanitary facilities cause 47,000 deaths and 5
million hospital admissions each year.[20][21] The World Health Organization states that "access to legal,
safe and comprehensive abortion care, including post-abortion care, is essential for the attainment of the
highest possible level of sexual and reproductive health".[22] Historically, abortions have been attempted
using herbal medicines, sharp tools, forceful massage, or other traditional methods.[23]

Around 73 million abortions are performed each year in the world,[24] with about 45% done unsafely.[25]
Abortion rates changed little between 2003 and 2008,[26] before which they decreased for at least two
decades as access to family planning and birth control increased.[27] As of 2018, 37% of the world's
women had access to legal abortions without limits as to reason.[28] Countries that permit abortions have
different limits on how late in pregnancy abortion is allowed.[29] Abortion rates are similar between
countries that restrict abortion and countries that broadly allow it, though this is partly because countries
which restrict abortion tend to have higher unintended pregnancy rates.[30]

There is debate over abortion with regard to moral, religious, ethical, and legal issues.[31][32] Those who
oppose abortion often argue that an embryo or fetus is a person with a right to life, and thus equate
abortion with murder.[33][34] Those who support the legality of abortion often argue that it is a woman's
reproductive right.[35] Others favor legal and accessible abortion as a public health measure.[36]

Abortion laws and cultural or religious views of abortions are different around the world. In some areas,
abortion is legal only in specific cases such as rape, fetal defects, poverty, risk to a woman's health, or
incest
Methods

Medical
Main article: Medical abortion

Gestational age may determine which abortion methods are practiced.

Medical abortions are those induced by abortifacient pharmaceuticals. Medical abortion became an
alternative method of abortion with the availability of prostaglandin analogs in the 1970s and the
antiprogestogen mifepristone (also known as RU-486) in the 1980s.[18][17][59][60]

The most common early first trimester medical abortion regimens use mifepristone in combination with
misoprostol (or sometimes another prostaglandin analog, gemeprost) up to 10 weeks (70 days)
gestational age,[61][62] methotrexate in combination with a prostaglandin analog up to 7 weeks gestation, or
a prostaglandin analog alone.[17] Mifepristone–misoprostol combination regimens work faster and are
more effective at later gestational ages than methotrexate–misoprostol combination regimens, and
combination regimens are more effective than misoprostol alone, particularly in the second trimester.[59][63]
Medical abortion regimens involving mifepristone followed by misoprostol in the cheek between 24 and 48
hours later are effective when performed before 70 days' gestation.[62][61]

In very early abortions, up to 7 weeks gestation, medical abortion using a mifepristone–misoprostol

combination regimen is considered to be more effective than surgical abortion (vacuum aspiration),
especially when clinical practice does not include detailed inspection of aspirated tissue.[64] Early medical
abortion regimens using mifepristone, followed 24–48 hours later by buccal or vaginal misoprostol are
98% effective up to 9 weeks gestational age; from 9 to 10 weeks efficacy decreases modestly to 94%.[61]
[65]
If medical abortion fails, surgical abortion must be used to complete the procedure.[66]

Early medical abortions account for the majority of abortions before 9 weeks gestation in Britain,[67][68]
France,[69] Switzerland,[70] United States,[71] and the Nordic countries.[72]

Medical abortion regimens using mifepristone in combination with a prostaglandin analog are the most
common methods used for second trimester abortions in Canada, most of Europe, China and India,[60] in
contrast to the United States where 96% of second trimester abortions are performed surgically by
dilation and evacuation.[73]

A 2020 Cochrane Systematic Review concluded that providing women with medications to take home to
complete the second stage of the procedure for an early medical abortion results in an effective abortion.
[74]
Further research is required to determine if self-administered medical abortion is as safe as provider-
administered medical abortion, where a health care professional is present to help manage the medical
abortion.[74] Safely permitting women to self-administer abortion medication has the potential to improve
access to abortion.[74] Other research gaps that were identified include how to best support women who
choose to take the medication home for a self-administered abortion.

Surgical
Up to 15 weeks' gestation, suction-aspiration or vacuum aspiration are the most common surgical
methods of induced abortion.[75] Manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) consists of removing the fetus or
embryo, placenta, and membranes by suction using a manual syringe, while electric vacuum aspiration
(EVA) uses an electric pump. These techniques can both be used very early in pregnancy. MVA can be
used up to 14 weeks but is more often used earlier in the U.S. EVA can be used later.[73]

MVA, also known as "mini-suction" and "menstrual extraction", or EVA can be used in very early
pregnancy when cervical dilation may not be required. Dilation and curettage (D&C) refers to opening the
cervix (dilation) and removing tissue (curettage) via suction or sharp instruments. D&C is a standard
gynecological procedure performed for a variety of reasons, including examination of the uterine lining for
possible malignancy, investigation of abnormal bleeding, and abortion. The World Health Organization
recommends sharp curettage only when suction aspiration is unavailable.[76]

Dilation and evacuation (D&E), used after 12 to 16 weeks, consists of opening the cervix and emptying
the uterus using surgical instruments and suction. D&E is performed vaginally and does not require an
incision. Intact dilation and extraction (D&X) refers to a variant of D&E sometimes used after 18 to 20
weeks when removal of an intact fetus improves surgical safety or for other reasons.[77]

Abortion may also be performed surgically by hysterotomy or gravid hysterectomy. Hysterotomy abortion
is a procedure similar to a caesarean section and is performed under general anesthesia. It requires a
smaller incision than a caesarean section and can be used during later stages of pregnancy. Gravid
hysterectomy refers to removal of the whole uterus while still containing the pregnancy. Hysterotomy and
hysterectomy are associated with much higher rates of maternal morbidity and mortality than D&E or
induction abortion.[78]

First trimester procedures can generally be performed using local anesthesia, while second trimester
methods may require deep sedation or general anesthesia.[79][80][81]

Labor induction abortion

In places lacking the necessary medical skill for dilation and extraction, or when preferred by practitioners,
an abortion can be induced by first inducing labor and then inducing fetal demise if necessary.[82] This is
sometimes called "induced miscarriage". This procedure may be performed from 13 weeks gestation to
the third trimester. Although it is very uncommon in the United States, more than 80% of induced
abortions throughout the second trimester are labor-induced abortions in Sweden and other nearby
countries.[83]

Only limited data are available comparing labor-induced abortion with the dilation and extraction method.
[83]
Unlike D&E, labor-induced abortions after 18 weeks may be complicated by the occurrence of brief
fetal survival, which may be legally characterized as live birth. For this reason, labor-induced abortion is
legally risky in the United States.[83][84]

Euthanasia refers to deliberately ending someone’s life, usually to relieve suffering. Doctors sometimes
perform euthanasia when it’s requested by people who have a terminal illness and are in a lot of pain.

It’s a complex process and involves weighing many factors. Local laws, someone’s physical and mental
health, and their personal beliefs and wishes all play a role.

Read on to learn more about the different types of euthanasia, when they’re used, and where they’re
legal.
Technology has had a huge impact on all our daily lives, from social media to work — we explain
the areas most affected.

1. Improved Communication

2. Decreased Privacy

3. Accessible Shopping

4. Better Information Access

5. Virtual Social Lives

6. Flexible Working

7. Smarter Health Tracking