Medical Definitions and Ethical Debate on Abortion Types

The Complexity of Abortion: Types and Ethical Debates

Abortion is currently a hotly debated topic around the world. In some countries, it has become an illegal practice punishable even by imprisonment, highlighting the profound legal and moral divisions surrounding the issue.

Defining the Different Types of Abortion

Spontaneous Abortion (Miscarriage)

Spontaneous abortion, commonly known as miscarriage, is the unintentional termination of a pregnancy. This can occur due to some failure in the body of the fetus or the mother, or external factors such as maternal smoking or drug use during the gestation period.

Induced Abortion (Elective)

Induced abortion occurs when a mother goes to a specialist and decides to terminate the pregnancy. This procedure can be very dangerous; if the specialist does not have sufficient experience, it can endanger the mother's life.

Chemical Methods and Emergency Contraception

Another method discussed is the use of pills. While emergency contraception (the "day after pill") works by preventing implantation, other chemical methods are used to interrupt an established pregnancy. The original text describes a pill that "closes an opening where the fetus passes so that the fetus remains outside and dies." This description is medically inaccurate regarding the mechanism of action, but refers generally to chemical termination methods.

Therapeutic Abortion

Therapeutic abortion is the interruption of the vital development of the embryo or fetus that is strictly preceded by medical reasons. These reasons include whether the mother's health (physical or mental) is directly compromised by the pregnancy, or if the mother's life is at risk.

Indirect Abortion and Bioethical Considerations

Indirect abortion occurs when the fetus dies during a medical intervention intended for another purpose. This situation requires two specific conditions to be met:

• The intervention is intended to save the life of the pregnant mother in situations where she is in real danger.
• The viability of the fetus is null, according to the knowledge possessed about the case or the disorder.

Indirect abortion is not equated with therapeutic abortion. It occurs in medical interventions other than abortion itself, where the fetal death is a derived consequence, not directly intended. This implies very different bioethical considerations compared to induced abortion. Indirect abortion is considered even when the doctor knows that the intervention can affect the fetus, but failure to intervene, especially if the fetus is not viable outside the uterus, would result in the death of both the mother and the fetus.

Personal Opinion: A Call to Stop the Practice

In my opinion, it is a practice that should stop completely, as it is akin to murdering a person. After six weeks, the fetus already has a beating heart and is already aware, so I think we should stop this inhuman practice. Furthermore, the mother faces potential risks, including death and future problems with having children.