ABORTION.

The loss of a fetus before it is able to live outside the womb is called
abortion. When abortion occurs spontaneously, it is often called a miscarriage.
Abortion can also be intentionally caused, or induced. Induced abortion is regarded
as a moral issue in some cultures. In others it is seen as an acceptable way to end
unplanned pregnancy. Abortion is a relatively simple and safe procedure when done
by trained medical workers during the first three months (first trimester) of
pregnancy. Abortion is less safe when performed after the 13th week of pregnancy.
Before the right of a woman to obtain an abortion was affirmed by the United States
Supreme Court in the 1973 ruling on Roe vs. Wade, many abortions were performed
illegally and in unskilled ways. This caused the deaths of many women from
infection and bleeding. It also caused much sterility, or the permanent inability
to have a child. The usual surgical technique of abortion during the first
trimester is to insert a metal or plastic tube into the uterus through its opening,
the cervix. A spoonlike instrument at the end of the tube is used to gently scrape
the walls of the uterus. A suction machine at the other end of the tube removes the
contents from the uterus. This procedure is called vacuum aspiration and is done
primarily in a medical clinic or doctor's office using a local anesthetic for the
cervix. During the second trimester, abortions are usually done by means of
dilation and evacuation. This procedure uses forceps, curette, and vacuum
aspiration. Although rarely sought, third-trimester abortions may be performed when
the fetus has severe genetic defects or because continuing the pregnancy would be a
threat to the woman's health. A controversy began in 1988 over a drug, developed
in France, called RU 486, which, when taken during the first 7 weeks of pregnancy,
causes the embryo to become detached from the uterus. The drug was reported to be
safer and less expensive than surgical abortion. Antiabortion groups in France
succeeded in temporarily halting the sale of the drug, although the government
later ordered it to be made available. The use of RU 486 was supported by family-
planning agencies in the United States, France, and elsewhere and by the World
Health Organization and the World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics. The long-
term effects of RU 486 on women's health were unknown. Abortion as a way to end
unplanned pregnancy is practiced in many countries. In Europe by 1992 only Ireland
had a complete ban on abortion. In the United States the legality of abortion was
affirmed with Roe vs. Wade in 1973 over the objections of some groups, the Roman
Catholic church in particular. Many opposed to abortion believe it is the taking of
a human life. Those who favor the legal availability of abortion cite the right of
women to control their reproduction and of physicians to perform abortions without
fear of criminal charges. Other arguments in favor of abortion include population
control, the social problems caused by unwanted children, and the dangers of
illegal abortion. In 1989 and in 1992 the United States Supreme Court in 5-4
rulings upheld provisions of a 1986 Missouri law and a 1989 Pennsylvania law
restricting abortion. In Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services and Planned
Parenthood vs. Casey the court stopped short of overturning the landmark Roe vs.
Wade ruling, but it upheld the power of individual states to impose restrictions.
The battle over abortion rights moved to the state legislatures and to the streets
as massive demonstrations for and against legalized abortion continued into the
1990s. Missouri's and Pennsylvania's laws to impose severe restrictions on abortion
were partially upheld, but similar attempts in Illinois and Florida were rejected.
In 1989 the United States Congress approved the use of Medicaid funds to finance
abortions for poor women in cases of rape or incest, but President George Bush
vetoed it. The most restrictive law in any state was passed in Idaho in 1990, but
the governor vetoed the bill. A related controversy arose in the late 1980s
centering on the use of tissues from aborted fetuses for medical research and
treatment. Experiments using cells from aborted fetuses showed that these cells
were uniquely capable of alleviating certain conditions, such as Parkinson's
disease, when transplanted into the diseased tissues of a host. The debate over the
ethics of using tissues from miscarried fetuses did not halt research or the
application of these discoveries.