ABORTION

JEREMIAH REYNOSO
WHAT IS ABORTION?

• It is the termination of an existing pregnancy.

• It is the expulsion of a fetus from the uterus before it has reached the stage of viability
(usually about the 20th week of gestation).
• An abortion may occur spontaneously, in which case it is also called a
miscarriage.
• An abortion brought on purposefully, in which case it is called an induced
abortion.
 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MISCARRIAGE
AND AN ABORTION
• Miscarriages can occur for many reasons, including disease, trauma, genetic defect, or biochemical
incompatibility of mother and fetus.
• Sometimes a fetus dies in the uterus but fails to be expelled, a condition termed a missed abortion.
• Induced abortions may be performed for reasons that fall into 3 general categories:
• to preserve the life or physical or mental well-being of the mother
• to prevent the birth of a child with serious deformity, mental deficiencies, or genetic abnormality
• to prevent a birth for social or economic reasons.
MEDICAL TECHNIQUES FOR PERFORMING
ABORTIONS
• endometrial aspiration
• dilatation and evacuation
• By 2020 the two-drug combination, commonly referred to as a “medication
abortion” or the “abortion pill,” accounted for more than half of all abortions
• Mifepristone : works by blocking the action of the hormone progesterone, which
is needed to support the development of a fertilized egg.
• It flushes the fertilized egg out of the uterus.
ROE VS WADE

• The Roe v. Wade case, decided by the United States Supreme Court in 1973, was a
landmark ruling that affirmed a woman's right to choose to have an abortion.
• Roe v. Wade originated in Texas when a pregnant woman named Norma McCorvey
(referred to as "Jane Roe" in court documents to protect her identity) challenged the state
law that criminalized most abortions unless performed to save the mother's life.
• Roe's lawyers argued that the Texas law violated Roe's constitutional rights, particularly
her right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
 ROE VS WADE
CONT…
• The Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, ruled in favor of Roe. The Court held that a woman's right to terminate her
pregnancy falls within the right to privacy protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision effectively
struck down many state laws restricting abortion across the United States.
• The Court established a trimester framework in Roe v. Wade, dividing pregnancy into three stages:
• During the first trimester, states cannot regulate abortion and must allow a woman to choose to terminate her pregnancy.
• In the second trimester, states may regulate abortion to protect the mother's health.
• In the third trimester, states may prohibit abortion except when necessary to preserve the mother's life or health.
• Supreme Court upheld the legality of new state restrictions on abortion, though it
proved unwilling to overturn Roe v. Wade itself. In 2007 the Court also upheld a
federal ban on a rarely used abortion method known as intact dilation and
evacuation.
• Currently there are 14 states that deemed abortion illegal.
• 6 states have severe restrictions for abortion.
• 21 states have full accessible resources for abortions.