The fundamental right of every individual to decide freely and responsibly when and whether to have a child has made abortion a big ethical problem in many societies. The questions frequently asked by people who try to deal this issue are: is it okay to disrupt human life? When should a pregnancy be considered human life? Should women have the decision to abort or should the government legalize abortion. Who should do it and at what stage and what should be the most acceptable reason to do it. To try and get answers to the issue people have divided themselves into two groups the pro-lifers and the pro-choice. I have not chosen any side however because I feel it is an individual dilemma at the time a person decide to abort.
What exactly is abortion anyway? Depending on whom you ask, you will get different answers. The dictionary defines abortion as the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by the death of the embryo or fetus. The next question is how is this done. This depends on how far along you are and which country you are live in. In the United States, there are two basic methods doctors use. In one method they widen the opening of the cervix and remove the contents of the uterus, the other method, which is extremely rare, causes labor, so the contents of the uterus are pushed out of the woman. This is known as induction. The doctor gives a patient local anesthetic and then injects medication into the uterus cause labor contractions. Hours later, labor begins and the fetus is removed then he woman is no longer pregnant. Before this procedure used to be done in the hospital only due fear of complications, Nowadays doctors can perform these in their offices. There is also a pill you can take to abort which is very popular in Europe but illegal in the United States.
With the definition of abortion and the understanding of the methods used then the controversy settles in about the ethical and moral decision to abort.