What is abortion?
Abortion / Pregnancy termination, in simple words means the removal of a developing embryo from the womb, before the child is completely formed. There are chemical and surgical methods to abort the child.
Reasons for abortion:
A woman / girl may want to undergo an abortion due to many factors. Below we have listed some of the most common reasons that cause death of millions of unborn children throughout the globe.
1) Unwanted pregnancy / Pregnancy by mistake:
- An unplanned pregnancy is one of the major causes of abortion. There are around 75 million women who experience an unwanted pregnancy.
Causes of unwanted pregnancy and abortion among married women:
- An unintended pregnancy can happen when a contraceptive is not used while having intercourse. Many couples don’t like the barrier of contraceptives during their intimate moments and this ignorance leads to pregnancy.
- Sometimes contraceptive failures may also cause pregnancy. No contraceptive is 100% safe to use. This can land up to an unplanned pregnancy.
- A couple may intentionally not want to raise a baby either they feel that it’s too early for them to have a baby and want to spend time together. Some may not want to have child due to financial reasons. They want to give their child the best life possible and are aware they could not at the moment.
- Pregnancy fear is also one of the major reasons why a woman is not ready to bear a child. Many women are scared about the 9 months of pregnancy and the pain during the labor. An unplanned pregnancy in this case, makes a woman to terminate her pregnancy.
- A couple may want to have a baby boy instead of a baby girl. Determining the sex of the child and sex preference makes many couples abort their unborn babies.
Causes of unwanted pregnancy and abortion among unmarried women:
- Many unmarried women get pregnant every year. Making love with boyfriend without the use of a contraceptive is the commonest factor causing an unwanted pregnancy among unmarried women.
The fear of what people or parents might say and think makes them to choose abortion as an option to get rid of the unwanted pregnancy.
Causes of unwanted pregnancy and abortion among teenagers:
- Teenage unwanted pregnancy is often seen when a girl is curious about making love. Excited about the pleasures they land up having sex with their boyfriend. Totally unaware and least concerned about the precautionary measures and the after effects, the pleasure and enjoyment for a few minutes becomes a cause of worry for many days.
The parents have no other option than to take their teenage daughter to a clinic and abort the child.
2) Medical reasons for abortion:
An unhealthy baby:
- An ultrasound report suggests about the physical development of the fetus. During the early months of pregnancy, many things can go wrong as a new baby starts developing. The cells are multiplying at a very fast rate that can cause some complex interactions between newly formed body parts. Such interactions may cause serious defect to the child and may also invite complications in pregnancy.
- Other test such as Amniocentesis, performed between 14 – 20 weeks, detects a variety of chromosomal abnormalities and genetic disorders.
Such complex situations, often invite abortions. Parents feel it’s better to abort the child than to give birth.
Unhealthy mother:
Medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease or autoimmune disorders can complicate a pregnancy. Women when faced with a pregnancy under such medical conditions, consider abortion as the only option.
3) Rape:
A rape victim rarely gets pregnant. However, when pregnancy occurs in rape victims, they choose to terminate their pregnancy rather than giving birth to the unwanted child.