One would ask, what is abortion? To most people it is a taboo, to some people, it’s a defensive mechanism, to some people it is a family planning method, to some people, it is a Monstrosity! While to a very few people it’s the arrest of development (as of a part or process) resulting in imperfection. What part do you belong to? When you hear the term abortion, what comes to your mind? To expel a fetus right? Now pause, take a look and see how a term representing ambiguity has all because of a harmful practice been mostly considered as one thing.
Abortion is an illegal practice though legal in some places. It is the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus: such as a spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus during the first 12 weeks of gestation. There is a popular saying that goes thus “once born, already a candidate of death.” But abortion has indeed changed the narrative of this to “once conceived, already a candidate of death.” Meaning that one must not be born before death instead one can die without being born. Agriculture defines Abortion in animals as giving birth before time, this always leads to the death of young animals because they are always born premature and the cause of their abortion is due to health challenges or the weather conditions.
In the world, abortion occurs in approximately 30% to 50 percent of pregnancies per annum. Some people might think that abortion and miscarriage are not the same but they are depending on the context it is being used. Abortion has to do with an external force, there must be a physical or scientific intervention but a miscarriage occurs naturally leaving no physical intervention, its more like abortion without intervention, it is not intentional, sadly, Miscarriage is an abortion but we are so carried away in generalizing abortion as the former. Let us not forget, that one of the definitions of abortion means to “unknowingly untimely deliver” For an abortion to be regarded as abortion, it must break the barriers of the actual time of the gestation period. Abortion can occur in the three to twelve weeks of pregnancy (Gestation period) the safe period and the beginning stages of pregnancy.
However, there are various methods used in carrying out abortions, The most common is the use of abortion pills which can be regarded as the medical method of abortion. The common pill for this is called mifepristone. To a lot of people, it works well while to some, it poses a lot of side effects. These abortion pills generally pose dangerous side effects to everyone because you are at risk of contaminating your womb, but in some people, the side effects are worse. The pill disrupts the conception process in the early stages of the pregnancy by terminating the fetus and releasing it as a form of blood through the vagina just like menstruation. Most women often feel cramps for over one week with a lot of further discomforts and mood swings. Another method is the surgical method. This method is more like a cesarean session but it’s quite different. The incision is usually smaller than that of the cesarean session and it might occur during the early stages of pregnancy and later stages of the pregnancy. Another method of abortion that is also popular is labor-induced Abortion. This abortion is carried out when there is a lack of professionalism and medical skills. Before this abortion is carried out, they will, first of all, induce the labor and then fatally terminate the fetus. This method of abortion is regarded as the riskiest method of abortion and is not legal even in abortion legalized countries. This particular abortion has a high rate of maternal death and also a high rate of getting various infections. Other methods of performing abortion might include, taking unverified or local herbs, inserting Sharp objects such as scope hangers, knitting needles, Trauma to the abdomen (this is done by constant hitting of the belly), and Forceful massages, popularly known by the Asians.
Furthermore, it is pertinent to note that abortion should not be encouraged because it has done more harm than good. People lack enlightenment, people are oblivious to the dangers accruing to this harmful practice. A lot of people are not aware that abortion is Murder. In Most African countries, it is believed that abortion is Murder because a human being with a soul has been terminated. Let us note that as a human being, you are entitled to your right to life, and thus when a child is aborted, he/she would be deprived of such right. Through abortions, Women can contact infectious diseases and Viruses such as HPV, HIV/AIDS, and other viral infections mostly from the unsterilized medical tools used in the process, some women might also lose their ability to conceive again and therefore will forever remain barren. Research has also shown that there is always 46% of maternity death. Maternity deaths in abortion can occur through bleeding or mistaken laceration of vital organs and veins.
In Conclusion, Abortion destroys trust, breaks homes and marriages, promotes death, barrenness and inflammations to the body chemistry, and thus should be highly discouraged. Abortion should only be encouraged when it is therapeutic! For instance, when the life of the mother is threatened by the pregnancy, asides this abortion should not take place.