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Abortion
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Ashley Wofford
English 10th
Mrs. Simpson
December 20, 2013

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removing the fetus, or unborn baby, from the mother’s womb. Abortion is an issue worldwide. An estimated forty-two million abortions take place every year in the world. That is forty-two million women deciding to end the life they have started. They may not think of the later outcomes of this decision, or the immorality of it. Abortion can and should be prevented. On January 22nd, 1973, the Roe vs. Wade case decision was final. The law that legalizes abortion during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy came into effect (buzzle.com). The Roe vs. Wade case was very important in the history of abortion. Our present president, Barack Obama, supports the freedom of choice by the mother. He has stated that he will not back down and signed the Freedom of Choice Act. This act was introduced to the United States Senate in April of 2007. In big cities, usually with populations over 100,000, abortion clinics thrive. In 1975, the number of abortions outnumbered the number of births in New York City. In 1978, over forty million babies were aborted. One in every four pregnancies ended with an abortion. Since laws against abortion were struck down in 1973, over forty-five million babies were aborted in the United States by 2009 (James Hefley). Abortion has actually been around for a longer time than most people realize. Abortions were performed often in the Roman Empire in the time of Jesus. They were even encouraged. However, in the Assyrian law, a woman was put to death if she aborted her baby. Archeologists have found the means by which people obtained an abortion as far back as 3000 B.C.. Assyrian manuscripts dating back to 1500 B.C. even show their methods of abortion (James Hefley). Methods of abortion show some variation throughout time. Mercury was used in very early times to carry out abortions. Assyrian manuscripts from the 1500’s B.C. recommended the insertion of acacia tips. These form lactic acid when dissolved in water, much like some modern contraceptive jellies. Modern methods are safer for the mother than these older methods (James Hefley). Before twelve weeks, the fetus can usually be suctioned into a bottle or pulled out by a curette, a sharp, loop-shaped instrument. After twelve weeks, the fetus is too large to do this. It must be cut or crushed by forceps before being removed. After fourteen weeks, a long needle may be inserted to withdraw the amniotic fluid and replace it with a saline solution, or other chemical. This procedure peels the skin of the baby away. It usually kills the fetus, but occasionally a fetus survives this and is removed alive. A cesarean section is sometimes necessary in advanced pregnancies. Babies may also survive this procedure. Those that do survive are suffocated in a plastic bag, or drowned in a container of formaldehyde. At a certain age, the fetus can feel severe pain during an abortion. Eight to ten weeks after conception, an unborn baby can feel pain. At eight weeks, the mouth is sensitive to touch. At ten weeks, the hands are also sensitive. Then, the face, arms, and legs become sensitive at eleven weeks. By thirteen and a half weeks, and unborn baby responds to pain at all levels of the nervous system (buzzle.com). One way pain can be detected is when pain receptors discharge electrical impulses to the spinal cord and brain. These fire impulses outward, telling the muscles and body to react. This can then be measured. An experiment has been done to test pain in an unborn baby. It can be done by sticking both an infant and an eight week old fetus in the hand with a pin. The reactions of both can be compared. Their reactions are the same. Both the eight week old fetus and the infant open their mouths and pull away their hands (James Agresti). Most abortions take place for the convenience of the