Distinguishing the Types of Abortion

Abortion may be the most distressing event a woman may have to undergo, although certainly, not all women have to undergo the process. The stress on the woman can arise from different factors such as:

1) Incompatibility with religious beliefs, social, and cultural norms. Although abortion has been accepted in some countries, there are still areas that are averse to it, citing that the process must be stopped because it is simply an aberration from the normal and socially approved pattern of doing things. Social pressure may be enormous. Sometimes a woman contemplating abortion may feel the world’s opinion is cast fully against her.

2) Lack of support from partner, parents, and friends. Because abortion is very personal to a woman, she needs emotional support and guidance throughout the whole ordeal. In the absence of support from persons she expects to be supportive during her time of greatest need, the onus of decision making is multiplied greatly. In some cases, a woman may even contemplate suicide, resorting to choices that may cause more harm than good.

When a woman has finally decided on aborting her pregnancy, she may refer to a medical practitioner. In some countries that are traditionally averse to the practice, medical practitioners are explicitly prohibited in performing such an operation. In those countries, most abortions are done underground and in secret places.

The Two Types of Abortion: Providing the Best Option

Abortions are commonly classified into two terms: spontaneous abortion and induced abortion. Their characteristic may be described as follows:

Induced Abortion. An induced abortion means that the pregnancy was intentionally terminated. There are numerous methods of providing abortion to a pregnant woman, the choice of which is sometimes limited by legislation as the law specifically identifies the legal abortion processes in countries where the practice is legal. Induced abortion is classified either as therapeutic or elective. A therapeutic abortion may be conducted for any of the following reasons:

1) To save the life of the pregnant woman especially if the pregnancy involves placing the woman’s health in enormous risk upon delivery.

2)T erminate a pregnancy that was diagnosed to result in a child born with congenital diseases that would be fatal or may cause a significant morbidity in both physical and mental aspects.

3) Although rarely the reason for abortion, the process is also done to selectively reduce the number of fetuses to lessen the risks involved in multiple pregnancies where there is a high possibility of a number of child born with defects. On the other hand, elective abortion is done at the request of the woman for various reasons other than those enumerated above.

Spontaneous abortion is commonly known as miscarriage. It is the expulsion of the fetus from the embryo due to various causes, none of which is deemed intentional. Thedefinition of miscarriages varies among states, depending on the number of weeks of pregnancy prior to its termination.