Introduction
The topic of abortions is, arguably, one of the most controversial and emotionally charged in the medical history, and it continues to cause a divide in healthcare even today. History knows many cases of doctors getting lynched for providing such operations when the abortion procedure itself was prohibited by law. Pregnancy and everything associated with it have always been on the edge of political, social, and cultural debate, which complicates the analysis process of abortions from medical perspective. Yet it is simultaneously the case where a detailed and balanced understanding of reasons, potential consequences and necessary precautions is essential. This paper attempts to cover the aforementioned topics, as well as provide a brief review of the utilized literature, an overview of relevant legal conditions and a summary of general research findings on the topic.
Literature Review
For this assignment, four medical articles were reviewed and cited in the end of this paper in the MLA style. The first is Post-abortion Care: Ethical and Legal Duties written by Bernard Dickens and published on 30th of August 2019. It discusses common abortion complications and the post-abortion care a patient requires if she experiences any of them. It also discusses the potential adversities that might happen if the operation has been conducted incorrectly or the appropriate care has not been provided in time. These effects include death, avoidable disability, and infertility, and are often mentioned in an anti-abortion rhetoric for obvious reasons.
The second article used is Reasons for and Logistical Burdens of Judicial Bypass for Abortion in Illinois that examines the causes of such procedures, particularly in younger patients. It provides a detailed overview of the complexity of the decision young women often have to undertake due to lack of support systems and financial independence. As it also comments on the significant number of teen pregnancies related to the abortion clinics, the relevancy of the article to the topic is enormous.
The third article review, again, concerns the reasons women decide to undergo an abortion, as this area has proven to be the most layered and complex throughout the research. ‘Repeat abortion’, a phrase to be avoided? Qualitative insights into labelling and stigma examine the effects that more than one abortion has on women’s psyche. It also provides an overview of social stigmatization a woman faces and the negative consequences it has for her self-esteem and mental health, only intensifying the effects of the procedure. This article also demonstrates how difficult it is to analyze and categorize the instances of the unwanted pregnancies. Because of the great sensitivity associated with the subject and its nature, research is frequently limited by lack of cooperation from the side of the participants.
The fourth article is, Abortion around the world. An overview of legislation, measures, trends, and consequences was utilized equally for the legislation and the consequences sections of this paper. It is one of the most all-encompassing and detailed sources found on the subject as of 2018 and provides an international perspective on the different sides of the topic. Furthermore, this article combines an honest discussion of the negative effects of the procedure with generally positive outlook on the abortions and is therefore free from common religious biases.
Types, Effects, Adversities, And Potential Complications
Modern abortions might be surgical and involve dilation, curettage and vacuum aspiration, or medication based. Both of these methods are associated with significant risks for a woman’s health, but health professionals are generally less reluctant to perform medical abortions (Guillaume and Rossier, 211). It is associated with less involvement, can be performed outside of hospitals, and allows for higher level of skill transfer, since medical abortion can be executed by nurses and midwifes.
Common complications include fever, heavy bleeding, various infections and, in more severe cases, infertility, avoidable disability or even death. It is crucial to recognize both the gravity of the potential consequences and the advancement level in the modern medicine that minimizes these risks when all the procedure guidelines are followed. Some healthcare professionals, unfortunately, engage in fearmongering and manipulation when attempting to talk their patients out of the decision to make an abortion (Guillaume and Rossier, 220). Such behaviour is greatly unethical and presents a violation of the power dynamic between the doctor and the patient.
An appropriate line of behaviour in this situation would be to objectively inform the patient about existing risks and post-abortion care procedures. Such procedures, namely medical supervising, therapy session and, if necessary, prescription of restricted medical substances must be enforced on the governmental level (Dickens, 273). Structurally, post-abortion care facilitates the prevention of the extreme self-destructive measures patients might undertake if ostracized, such as suicide.
Common Reasons
A woman might choose to undertake an abortion for a variety of reasons, ranging from pragmatic to deeply emotional. Common reasons include the desire to focus on a career and professional advancement, generally unplanned nature of a pregnancy or financial inability to bring up a child. Furthermore, particularly younger women, fear being kicked out of their home or mention the dysfunctional relationship with their parents and the resulting lack of support systems (Lauren et al., 72). The phenomena of a “repeat abortion”, however, is more complicated, and concerns women who have undergone abortion several times in their lifetime.
Naturally, this behaviour is associated with even greater stigma and has risen concerns among sociologists. The existing research on the topic did not establish a statistically significant common pattern in these women’s reproductive history other then the lack of use of contraception (Hoggart et al., 2016). Furthermore, this group of patients has been found to experience intensified abortion shame due to social stigma and internal psychological reasons alike.
Relevant Legal Conditions
As mentioned earlier, abortions being on the edge of social and legal debate is nothing new, however this trend has intensified within the last few years. During this period some countries have legalized abortion for the first time in their history, while others are moving towards the legal prohibition of the procedure. When discussing the legality, it is important to recognize the role of abortions as the population regulation method (Guillaume and Rossier, 206). In certain countries, legislation requires healthcare professionals to report patients that have committed illegal abortions on their own, which contradicts the ethics of medicine (Dickens, 274). Although it is important to recognize the social complications in legalizing abortions, policy developers should always consider the harm that results from prohibiting the procedure.
Precautionary Measures
When applied to abortion, precautionary measures largely take the look off harm-reducing tactics. It is, by all accounts, a physically and emotionally taxing procedure, and women do not take it lightly. Therefore, necessary precautions must be made against the potential lasting negative impact of the abortion, both strictly physical and psychological. The effectiveness and safety of abortions are to be held to the highest standard to achieve this goal. A patient needs to familiarize herself with the specifics of medical and surgical abortions alike to make an informed decision regarding the type of the procedure. The abortion must be conducted with accordance to the necessary guidelines and either by or with advice of appropriately qualified medical professionals.
General Findings and Conclusion
The research has confirmed the initial thesis of that abortions remain one of the most socially and ethically complex topics in all of medicine. It is related to bodily autonomy, human rights, feminist politics, population control, religious beliefs, social stereotypes, and many other areas of individual and collective life. The physical and mental complications from the procedure might be significant yet are largely preventable due to the advanced level of modern healthcare. When discussing legislation and social policy related to abortions, the authorities should always consider the risks of making them legally unattainable and measure against those.
History has shown, that when an abortion healthcare is prohibited in a country, the number of abortions does not go significantly down. Prohibitive measures decrease only the number of safe and legal procedures, forcing desperate patients to perform dangerous and often ineffective attempts of their own. If a society wishes to reduce the number of abortions, it should invest into sex education and social policy areas that provide the support networks for struggling mothers. The fearmongering tactics not only cause significant harm to the affected women, but also do not help in achieving the goal of decreasing the number of abortions.
Works Cited
Dickens, Bernard M. “Post‐Abortion Care: Ethical And Legal Duties”. International Journal Of Gynecology & Obstetrics, vol 147, no. 2, 2019, pp. 273-278. Wiley. Web.
Guillaume, Agnès, and Rossier, Clémentine. “Abortion around the world. An overview of legislation, measures, trends, and consequences“. Translated by Paul Reeve. Population, vol. 73, no. 2, 2018, pp. 217-306. Web.
Hoggart, Lesley et al. ‘Repeat Abortion’, A Phrase To Be Avoided? Qualitative Insights Into Labelling And Stigma. 2021. Web.
Lauren, Ralph J. et al. “Reasons For And Logistical Burdens Of Judicial Bypass For Abortion In Illinois”. Journal Of Adolescent Health, vol 68, no. 1, 2021, pp. 71-78. Elsevier BV. Web.