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Dylan Han(6) 2-5 Topic Chosen 1: Digestion Topic Chosen 2: Issues on Sex Links and Credits linkone linktwo Layout: hearteditorials Codes: -ambulance Icon: biconcave |
Sunday, July 27, 2008
E-learning Day: 27 July 2008
Today, I shall be writing about a topic related to the subject on Issues of Sex. The final two posts relating to Issues on Sex, which will consist of this post and the post after the next post, will be discussing abortion, morality and health issues concerned. What is abortion and what are the consequences of carrying out abortion? Part 1 Today, I will be using the search engine http://google.com.sg. I will also be using http://wikipedia.org. I will also be mainly focusing on the definition of abortion and the procedures taken for this entry. Firstly, abortions and miscarriages must not be mistaken for the same thing. Abortions are voluntarily induced expulsions of fetuses from the uterus surgically or medically due to psychological or other reasons. However, miscarriages are spontaneous and sometimes without warning. However, both result in the deaths or are caused by the death of the embryo. Abortion is sometimes also known as the termination of a pregnancy. Sometimes, it is confusing as abortion simply refers to this termination, and this can be either spontaneous. Therefore, the term miscarriage is provided for the expulsion of babies before the twentieth week of pregnancy to disambiguate these two terms. Miscarriage can refer to any spontaneous expulsion, while abortion can refer to induced expulsion through abdominal pressure, the use of sharp tools or botanical abotifacients. Botanical abotifacients refer to substances that can be used to induce abortions. There are three main ways abortion can be carried out. The first method is surgical abortion. There are a few different methods to carry out surgical abortion. The first two are known as MVA (Manual Vacuum Aspiration), which involves the removal of the fetus/embroyo with the use of a manual syringe, while the other is known as the EVA (Electric Vacuum Aspiration) and is carried out with an electric pump. These procedures can only be carried out before the first twelve weeks of conception is over. From the 15th week onwards, until roughly around the 26th week, a combination of the suction and surgical instruments will have to be used in a procedure known as D&E (dilation and evacuation)(D&E, not D&T). The cervix of the uterus is opened and emptied using the above the above instruments. The second most common method is known as D&C (dilation and cutterage). A curette (spoon-shaped surgical instrument) is used to clean the walls of the uterus. However, this procedure is more uncommon and is used to examine the uterine lining for medical reasons. It is declining in use as heavy sedation is required and complications arise more often in these surgeries. The World Health Organization also only recognizes D&C as a viable form of abortion if MVA is not available. However, abortions in the second trimester (4th-6th months of pregnancy) have to be done in a different way. Prostaglandin is injected with other medical fluids to induce premature delivery. The fetus is then removed through IDX (intact dilation and extraction or intrauterine cranial decompression) which involves the decompression of the fetus's head before removal or hysterotomy abortion where a procedure similar to caesarean section is performed under the patient's heavy sedation). However,IDX is banned by the government in U.S. If the patient is in the 20th to 23rd week of pregnancy, an injection to cease the heartbeat is included in the first part of the procedure to ensure the fetus is not born alive. Abortions can also be carried out as non-surgical procedures. These are known as medical abortion and work within the first trimester of pregnancy. Combinations of drugs such as methotrexate or mifepristone are used, followed by a dose of prostaglandin. However, these abortions a riskier and sometimes require surgical intervention if gone wrong. There are other methods of abortion, but these are often unorthodox, dangerous or potentially lethal. Thus concludes the first part of two entries related to abortion. After doing this first part of research, I was very much more aware of how much suffering women must go through to undergo abortion. I cringed at some text I came across, such as how the fetus's head is decompressed in IDX, or when I came across slightly disturbing pictures of abortion being carried out. Thus, I decided not to include any images for this post in fear of more frightening pictures appearing if I utilize search engines. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miscarriage http://www.hpb.gov.sg/hpb/default.asp?pg_id=3279 |