What is "abortion"

Abortion \A*bor"tion\ ([.a]*b[^o]r"sh[u^]n), n. [L. abortio, fr. aboriri. See Abort.]

1. The act of giving premature birth; particularly, the expulsion of the human fetus prematurely, or before it is capable of sustaining life; miscarriage.

2. The immature product of an untimely birth; a fetus which has been delivered prematurely due to spontaneous or voluntary abortion, and is dead.

3. (Biol.) Arrest of development of any organ, so that it remains an imperfect formation or is absorbed.

4. Any fruit or produce that does not come to maturity, or anything which in its progress, before it is matured or perfect; a complete failure; as, his attempt proved an abortion.

5. the removal of a fetus from the womb prior to normal delivery in a manner such as to cause the death of the fetus; also called voluntary abortion, or when performed by a physician, therapeutic abortion.

   Note: In the 1913 Webster there was the following note appended to sense 1: [hand] It is sometimes used for the offense of procuring a premature delivery, but strictly the early delivery is the abortion, ``causing or procuring abortion'' is the full name of the offense.
   --Abbott.

6. something considered to be a repulsive or monstrous variant of a normal object; a monstrosity.

1540s, originally of both deliberate and unintended miscarriages; from Latin abortionem (nominative abortio) "miscarriage; abortion," noun of action from past participle stem of aboriri "to miscarry" (see abortive).\n

\nEarlier noun in English was simple abort (early 15c.) "miscarriage." In 19c. some effort was made to distinguish abortion "expulsion of the fetus between 6 weeks and 6 months" from miscarriage (the same within 6 weeks of conception) and premature labor (delivery after 6 months but before due time). The deliberate miscarriage was criminal abortion. This broke down late 19c. as abortion came to be used principally for intentional miscarriages, probably via phrases such as procure an abortion.\n

\nFoeticide (n.) appears 1823 as a forensic medical term for deliberate premature fatal expulsion of the fetus; also compare prolicide. Another 19c. medical term for it was embryoctony, from Latinized form of Greek kteinein "to destroy." Abortion was a taboo word for much of early 20c., disguised in print as criminal operation (U.S.) or illegal operation (U.K.), and replaced by miscarriage in film versions of novels.

n. 1 (context medicine or dated English) The cessation of pregnancy or fetal development: (First attested in the mid 16^th century.) 2 # (context medicine or dated English) a miscarriage. (First attested in the mid 16^th century.) 3 # (context still current English) an induced abortion. (First attested in the mid 16^th century.) 4 # The act of induce the cessation of pregnancy. (First attested in the mid 16^th century.) 5 (context dated English) The immature product of an untimely birth. (First attested in the late 16^th century.) 6 A monstrosity; a misshapen person. (First attested in the late 16^th century.) 7 (context figuratively English) Failure of a promise or a goal. (First attested in the early 18^th century.) 8 (context biology English) Arrest of development of any organ, so that it remains an imperfect formation or is absorbed. (First attested in the mid 18^th century.) 9 Any fruit or produce which is interrupted in its progress before it is matured or perfect; an idea, project, or anything that does not come to maturity.

1. n. termination of pregnancy

2. failure of a plan [syn: miscarriage]

Abortion is the ending of pregnancy by removing a fetus or embryo before it can survive outside the uterus. An abortion which occurs spontaneously is also known as a miscarriage. An abortion may be caused purposely and is then called an induced abortion, or less frequently, "induced miscarriage". The word abortion is often used to mean only induced abortions. A similar procedure after the fetus could potentially survive outside the womb is known as a " late termination of pregnancy".

When allowed by local law, abortion in the developed world is one of the safest procedures in medicine. Modern methods use medication or surgery for abortions. The drug mifepristone in combination with prostaglandin appears to be as safe and effective as surgery during the first and second trimester of pregnancy. Birth control, such as the pill or intrauterine devices, can be used immediately following abortion. When performed legally and safely, induced abortions do not increase the risk of long-term mental or physical problems. In contrast, unsafe abortions cause 47,000 deaths and 5 million hospital admissions each year. The World Health Organization recommends safe and legal abortions be available to all women.

Around 56 million abortions occur each year in the world, with a little under half done unsafely. Abortion rates changed little between 2003 and 2008, before which they decreased for at least two decades as access to family planning and birth control increased. , 40% of the world's women had access to legal abortions without limits as to reason. Countries that permit abortions have different limits on how late in pregnancy abortion is allowed.

Since ancient times, abortions have been done using herbal medicines, sharp tools, with force, or through other traditional methods. Abortion laws and cultural or religious views of abortions are different around the world. In some areas abortion is legal only in specific cases such as rape, problems with the fetus, poverty, risk to a woman's health, or incest. In many places there is much debate over the moral, ethical, and legal issues of abortion. Those who oppose abortion often maintain that an embryo or fetus is a human with a right to life and may compare abortion to murder. Those who favor the legality of abortion often hold that a woman has a right to make decisions about her own body.