Research Paper: “The Abortion Issue” – Full Writing Guide

There is an increasing number of abortion cases throughout the world. Just take into consideration the numbers:

• 56 million induced abortions occur each year worldwide;
• 64% of all global abortions (i.e. about 36 million) occur in Asia;
• About 879,000 abortions took place in the United States in 2017.

Additionally, you can get familiar with worldwide abortion statistics closer to estimate the scale of the problem – the problem when more and more women tend to end a pregnancy so that the baby is not born alive. However, it isn’t always a problem but a necessity for a woman. Plunge into the research process on this topic and come up with results with the help of this article – it consists of useful information to include in your research paper on abortion.

Research Paper Introduction – What Is the Research Problem?

What Is Abortion?

Abortion is the termination of pregnancy. It is the removal of the fetus before it is viable. It is usually done before the fetus gets to 25 weeks old. It is either spontaneous or induced abortion. In developed countries, abortion is legal whereas most developing countries do not encourage and permit abortion. This brings about the differences in safe and unsafe abortions. For example, unsafe abortion accounts for over 70,000 maternal deaths worldwide.

Abortion has a long history. In the past, it was done with the help of crude tools such as sharpened tools, physical trauma, and other traditional methods. With the advancement in the field of medicine, contemporary methods of abortion are now used:

• Medication abortion involves taking medicines to end a pregnancy.
• A surgical abortion is meant to use medical instruments to remove the pregnancy.

The Status of Abortion in the World

Each country in the world has different legality, cultural and religious statuses and prevalence of abortion. The ethical principles towards abortion and the removal of pregnancies also vary. Countries such as the United States of America and Britain have heated politics surrounding the issue of abortion in pro-life and pro-choice campaigns. Most governments in the developed countries have legalized abortion. Many developing and underdeveloped countries have not legalized abortion and have no control over what is done by the medical personnel.

Abortion and childbirth complications have been the leading causes of maternal deaths the world over. With the advent of the 21st century, maternal deaths have declined. This has been attributed to education on family planning as well as the use of contraceptives.

The Discussion Part of a Research Paper – What to Cover?

Induced abortion

A third of pregnancies occurring in the world today are unintended. A fifth of these pregnancies ends up in induced abortion. Induced abortion is the forceful removal of the fetus from the womb of the mother. The gestation age of the fetus is the determining factor of what procedures could be used to conduct the abortion. The procedure is also limited by the legality of abortion in that country, doctor-patient preference and the regional availability of such services.

Induced abortion is either therapeutic or elective. Therapeutic abortion is done by medical personnel in an effort to save the lives of patients. Patients suffering from such things as illnesses, multiple pregnancies and complications could have this procedure done on them to avoid having complications at childbirth that may lead to loss of life. Elective abortion is done at the request of the woman. This is usually done for non-medical reasons.

Spontaneous Abortion

It is commonly referred to as miscarriages. They are unintentional. They usually occur before the 20th and 24th week. Many pregnancies are usually lost before doctors are aware of the presence of an embryo in the uterus. Spontaneous abortion is caused by chromosomal abnormalities, vascular diseases, diabetes, infections, uterus abnormalities and trauma among others. The most frequent causes of spontaneous abortion are age and a history of spontaneous abortions. Accidents and trauma have also been linked with the high rates of miscarriages among women.

6 Causes of Abortion

Abortion is caused by a myriad of factors among them social, religious and economic factors.

1. The society’s desire for convenience has been a factor influencing the rates of abortion. Children and pregnancy are seen as a hindrance to a lot of fun and pleasure. One would easily remove the pregnancy in pursuit of this pleasure. The society accepts this circumstance and even encourages it by allowing governments to legalize abortion.
2. The lack of respect for life is a religious factor toward promoting abortion. People no longer appreciate new life forms. One would not think twice before doing an abortion. Raging debates have come up suggesting that a foetus is not a life form until it is born. Such debates could easily change people’s mindsets to disregard life.
3. Economic issues including poverty and insufficient funding have promoted abortion. Many young mothers have opted to do an abortion citing the inability to take care of the child once it is born. Usually, such young girls do not have an income to support themselves leave the unborn child.
4. Stigma has contributed a lot in ensuring that abortion becomes a common thing. Girls who get pregnant while still very young get criticism, especially in developing countries. In most cultures, such a thing was unheard of. It was unheard of for one to get a child outside marriage. If one would have such a child, she would be excommunicated. Developing countries have not fully come out of this and girls who get pregnant whilst young are looked upon as ill-mannered individuals.
5. Rape has been a big reason why people abort their children. When rape has occurred, and one does not intend to keep the pregnancy, she would choose not to keep the baby. The experience of being raped is too big a burden that the evidence of such an ordeal in the form of a child would not be acceptable. Many girls would quickly abort to rid themselves of this psychological trauma.
6. Young girls have a better chance of furthering their education once they get rid of the child. In African countries, for instance, a young girl getting pregnant means that she has to be married off immediately. This would ruin her chances of ever getting formal education again. Getting rid of the baby provides an easier way out in the quest for education and a brighter future.

2 Methods Used to Carry Out Abortion

There are two main methods used during abortions i.e. use of the abortion pill and surgical removal.

1. The abortion pill is used for pregnancies up to nine weeks old. A combination of two drugs is taken. They are taken within 48 hours. The effect of the drugs is that the womb contracts and sheds its lining. The process is painful. This pain is experienced on the lower abdomen. It may cause diarrhea and vomiting.
2. Surgical removal can be done when the foetus is at 13 to 14 weeks. A sterile tube is inserted through the cervix and into the uterus. Suction is done pulling out all the materials in the uterus. The woman may leave the hospital the same day after the procedure has been done. At 14 and 15 weeks, surgical dilation is done using forceps to remove the unwanted foetus.

3 Common Complications of Abortion

1. The most common is bleeding. Bleeding occurs normally for a few weeks. It decreases as one nears weeks 5 and 6. In cases of excessive bleeding, there are chances that the uterus may not have been emptied completely.
2. Pelvic inflammatory disease. This disease affects the vaginal area. The vagina produces an unpleasant vaginal discharge. The body temperature of the individual rises, and she experiences severe abdominal pains. Inflammation may happen in the womb due to emptying problems. It may be caused because the womb had not been completely emptied. This would require that a new evacuation be done for the woman. Pain is a normal problem for the abortion process. It is often relieved by using painkillers. In instances where there is excessive pain, one should consult the doctor to have her uterus rechecked.
3. The uterus may be punctured especially during surgical termination of pregnancy. The tools used may create a hole in the uterus causing complications. Such a patient is kept in the hospital for observation and check up.

5 Advantages of Abortion

1. Abortion gives a chance to young women especially those below the age of 21 years to pursue their education. A young girl caught in a situation where she has to carry the child to term will mean that she cannot do anything else. She would have to stop learning at some point to address the needs of the child. Most likely, she would have to stop schooling all together to take care of the child. By getting rid of the foetus, she is able to continue pursuing her educational needs.
2. Abortion has been of help to women with health issues. Women with diseases such as heart disease, hypertension, and sickle cell anemia have been able to avoid serious medical complications that arise from childbirth through abortions. Such complications could easily lead to loss of life. Usually, a doctor may prescribe such a procedure when he realizes that the life of the mother is in danger.
3. Abortion gives women an identity. In the chauvinistic societies, women have no power at all over their reproductive sense. The inculcation of abortion into laws and codes of ethics has helped the women by giving them power over their sexuality.
4. Abortion has been used to control family size. Parents have used abortion as a way to reduce the number of children that they may get. They would discuss whether they wanted the baby or not and would remove it in case they do not want it. This helps regulate the number of children and aids in family planning.
5. Abortion is done by rape victims who have found solace in the fact that they could easily remove such children that would arise from such action. Rape victims would not want to keep the baby because of psychological trauma that they would associate this child to. Removal of the child would remain the best option to end this.

6 Disadvantages of Abortion

1. Abortion indicates brutality to the unborn child. This is because abortion is killing. It does not give the new foetus a chance to survive. It is hinged on religion, which condemns the act saying that all are equal before Almighty. The spiritual books go against the very idea of abortion.
2. Abortion encourages infidelity by women. Women would engage in sexual acts outside the marriage context with the view that they would remove such fetuses if they happened to implant themselves in their uterus. Once a woman gets pregnant, she would easily remove the pregnancy and continue with her life.
3. Abortion has the potential of lessens chances of a woman getting a child later in life. Abortion interferes with the uterine wall. At other instances, it may lead to total damage to the uterus. This would result in bareness hence a woman would not get a child when she needs it later in her life. Such actions may also cause hormonal imbalances that could be attributed to the barren nature of the women later in their lives.
4. Abortion promotes irresponsible behavior. This is because it gives women and men alike the freedom to commit careless sexual activities. This is because they know that they could easily get rid of the pregnancy if they so wish to. This freedom makes them care less about their sexuality.
5. Concurrent abortions may lead to medical complications. Some of these complications include uterine infections, recurrent miscarriages, and sepsis among others. Consistent use of such methods causes the hormones to change. This means that the hormones are tuned to a program where they cannot sustain a full pregnancy to term. The body gets used to rejecting any pregnancy hence the case of consistent miscarriages may pop up.
6. Abortion may end up causing psychological impairments. Examples of this include depression and guilt. Some women may feel depressed after losing their baby. This could be the case especially if the child was their first and the abortion was done as a medical thing that they had no control over. Continuous miscarriages may cause such individuals to stress and eventual depression. This would ultimately affect the biology of the mother affecting the subsequent pregnancies. This is because the brain would have been tuned to reject any pregnancies due to such depression.

Conclusion – And So What in the Final Count?

Abortion is a social, medical and a religious issue. It is entrenched into the legal laws of every country in the world in one way or another. It has a place in the lives of individuals directly or indirectly. Ethical values arise out of such deeds as abortion that determines the direction that one chooses. Other mechanisms that control abortion include the legal and religious aspects of society.

Providing the necessary support in the form of financial aid and psychological support to mothers contemplating abortion could serve as the best way to curb such deaths resulting from abortion.

There are advantages and disadvantages of abortion of almost equal measure. Abortion presents a double-edged sword in its advantages and disadvantages to individuals and society. It should be after careful consideration that abortion should be done. Writing about abortion as part of academic assignment is a challenging process that requires you to weigh up all sources of information.