History, Methods and Side Effects of Abortion after Case Roe V Wade

Abortion has been around for many years, but it was only 43 years ago when it was made legal. Abortion is the process by which an unborn child is removed from the mother’s uterus, a procedure that results in the death of the child. People take many sides when it comes to this sensitive subject. Some believe that it is wrong and cruel, while others regard it as humane. In this essay, I will discuss the history of abortion, the different methods of abortion, and the potential side effects that abortion can have.

Before abortion became legal, it was practiced illegally. It would only have been permitted if the mother’s life was in danger and terminating the pregnancy was the only way to save her. The options available to a woman seeking an abortion largely depended on her circumstances. If she was wealthy, she could leave the country or find a physician willing to perform the procedure for a significant fee. This information comes from the History of Abortion in the U.S. However, if a mother was poor, she would either resort to someone with questionable qualifications, thereby endangering her own life or attempt to carry out the abortion herself. Poor women often resorted to extremely dangerous methods of self-abortion, such as inserting knitting needles or coat hangers into the vagina and uterus, douching with hazardous solutions such as lye, or ingesting strong drugs or chemical compounds. These actions could cause severe infections and significantly increase the mother’s risk of death. In a landmark decision on January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all existing criminal abortion laws in the Roe v. Wade case. The Supreme Court ruled that a woman’s choice regarding abortion is protected under the Fourteenth Amendment’s right to privacy. Since Roe v. Wade, many women have been able to access safe abortion services, allowing them to continue with their daily lives.

While many people are aware of the concept of abortion, not all know how it is performed. There are several different methods of carrying out an abortion. One common way, known as Suction Aspiration, is often performed in the first trimester of pregnancy. In this procedure, an abortionist inserts a suction tube with a sharp cutting edge into the mother’s womb and moves it around, dismembering the fetus and removing it through the tube. Another method, known as Dilation and Curettage, involves the use of a loop-shaped knife to slice the fetus into pieces and scrape the uterine wall. The body parts are then removed and checked to ensure nothing remains in the mother’s womb. Two of the most graphic abortion methods, Dilation and Extraction, and Dilation and Evacuation, are mainly used in the third trimester when the fetus is often already 32 weeks old.

“The abortionist reaches into the mother’s womb, grabs the baby’s feet with a forceps, and pulls the baby out of the mother, except for the head. The abortionist then jams a pair of scissors into the back of the baby’s head and spreads the scissors apart to make a hole in the baby’s skull. The abortionist removes the scissors and sticks a suction tube into the skull to suck the baby’s brain out. The forceps are then used to crush the baby’s head, and the abortionist pulls the baby’s body out the rest of the way.”

The second method is used for the second trimester, where the baby is nearly 24 weeks old. The abortionist uses a forceps to grab parts of the baby (arms and legs) and then tears the baby apart. The baby’s head must be crushed in order to remove it because the skull bone has hardened by this stage in the baby’s growth.”

There are medical abortions where medicine is used to kill the baby. One of the medical methods is salt poisoning.

“The abortionist sticks a long needle into the mother’s womb. The needle contains salt which is then injected into the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby. The baby breathes in, swallows the salt, and dies from salt poisoning, dehydration, brain hemorrhage, and convulsions. Taking nearly an hour to die, the baby’s skin is completely burned, turns red, and deteriorates. The baby is in pain the entire time. The mother goes into labor 24-48 hours later and delivers a dead baby.”

The babies in all of these operations are killed in inhumane ways, whether their skulls are crushed or their bodies dismembered into pieces.

Abortions may kill an unwanted baby, but they can have serious side effects for the mother. Some medical complications from having an abortion include heavy bleeding, scarring of the uterine lining, and even death. Death can occur during an abortion if the procedure is done incorrectly or if the mother loses too much blood. Abortion can also cause damage to other internal organs. In “Abortion Facts,” it is stated that having an abortion can cause emotional complications, such as relationship problems, guilt, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, suicidal thoughts, and even sexual dysfunction. “Abortion Facts” also states that women getting an abortion have a higher risk of getting breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and liver cancer. In exchange for getting rid of a baby they do not want, they end up putting their bodies and lives at an even bigger risk than when they were pregnant.

Abortion has always been a touchy subject for me. A friend of mine wrote a paper on the methods of abortion, and I was horrified at what I read. All I could imagine was the poor baby dying in a pool of his own blood as the abortionist mercilessly killed it. My thoughts on abortion have not changed after this. I still believe that it is inhumane and cruel and should be banned everywhere. An unborn baby is still a human. After all, humans don’t give birth to animals or inanimate objects. They give birth to humans.

References

• Abortion Facts. (2007). Retrieved April 19, 2016, from
• http://studentsforlife.org/prolifefacts/abortion-facts/
• Abortion Methods American Life League. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2016

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