Abortion

The drug mifepristone in combination with prostaglandin appears to be as safe and effective as surgery during the first and second trimester of pregnancy. Medical abortion became an alternative method of abortion with the availability of prostaglandin analogs in the 1970s and the antiprogestogen mifepristone (also known as RU-486) in the 1980s.

Mifepristone, also known as RU-486, is a medication typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about an abortion during pregnancy.

Modern methods use medication or surgery for abortions.

A medical abortion, also known as medication abortion, occurs when pills are used to bring about an abortion.

A similar procedure after the fetus has potential to survive outside the womb is known as a "late termination of pregnancy" or less accurately as a "late term abortion".

Late termination of pregnancy (also referred to as late-term abortion) describes the termination of pregnancy by induced abortion during a late stage of gestation.

The drug mifepristone in combination with prostaglandin appears to be as safe and effective as surgery during the first and second trimester of pregnancy. Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus before it can survive outside the uterus.

A pregnancy may end in a live birth, abortion, or miscarriage, though access to safe abortion care varies globally.

Historically, abortions have been attempted using herbal medicines, sharp tools, forceful massage, or through other traditional methods.

The practice of abortion—the termination of a pregnancy—has been known since ancient history.

Abortion laws and cultural or religious views of abortions are different around the world.

]]Abortion law permits, prohibits, restricts, or otherwise regulates the availability of abortion.

In contrast, unsafe abortions (those performed by unskilled individuals, with hazardous equipment, or in unsanitary facilities) cause 47,000 deaths and 5 million hospital admissions each year.

It includes self-induced abortions, abortions in unhygienic conditions, and abortions performed by a medical practitioner who does not provide appropriate post-abortion attention.

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.

Abortion is not considered a component of family planning, although access to contraception and family planning reduces the need for abortion.

Historically, abortions have been attempted using herbal medicines, sharp tools, forceful massage, or through other traditional methods.

An abortifacient ("that which will cause a miscarriage" from Latin: abortus "miscarriage" and faciens "making") is a substance that induces abortion.

There is debate over the moral, ethical, and legal issues of abortion.

The abortion debate is the ongoing controversy surrounding the moral, legal, and religious status of induced abortion.

An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or spontaneous abortion.

Some recommend not using the term "abortion" in discussions with those experiencing a miscarriage in an effort to decrease distress.

Those who support the legality of abortion often hold that it is part of a woman's right to make decisions about her own body.

Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for legal access to induced abortion services.

Those who oppose abortion often argue that an embryo or fetus is a human with a right to life, and they may compare abortion to murder.

The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues of capital punishment, war, abortion, euthanasia, police brutality, justifiable homicide, and animal rights.

Over a third are unintended and about a fifth end in induced abortion.

While unintended pregnancies are the main reason for induced abortions, unintended pregnancies may also result in live births or miscarriages.

Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus before it can survive outside the uterus.

The 28-week definition became part of the "trimester framework" marking the point at which the "compelling state interest" (under the doctrine of strict scrutiny) in preserving potential life became possibly controlling, permitting states to freely regulate and even ban abortion after the 28th week.

Birth control, such as the pill or intrauterine devices, can be used immediately following abortion.

They may also be used immediately after an abortion.

Early medical abortions account for the majority of abortions before 9 weeks gestation in Britain, France, Switzerland, and the Nordic countries.

A spontaneous abortion can also be caused by accidental trauma; intentional trauma or stress to cause miscarriage is considered induced abortion or feticide.

Foeticide (or feticide) is the act of destroying a fetus or causing an abortion.

In the United States, the percentage of early medical abortions performed in non-hospital facilities is 31%.

Abortion is among the most controversial and divisive issues in the society, culture and politics of the United States.

The most common early first-trimester medical abortion regimens use mifepristone in combination with misoprostol (or sometimes another prostaglandin analog, gemeprost) up to 10 weeks (70 days) gestational age, methotrexate in combination with a prostaglandin analog up to 7 weeks gestation, or a prostaglandin analog alone.

It is used to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, ectopic pregnancy, and for medical abortions.

The most common early first-trimester medical abortion regimens use mifepristone in combination with misoprostol (or sometimes another prostaglandin analog, gemeprost) up to 10 weeks (70 days) gestational age, methotrexate in combination with a prostaglandin analog up to 7 weeks gestation, or a prostaglandin analog alone.

Misoprostol, sold under the brandname Cytotec among others, is a medication used to prevent and treat stomach ulcers, start labor, cause an abortion, and treat postpartum bleeding due to poor contraction of the uterus.

Birth control, such as the pill or intrauterine devices, can be used immediately following abortion.

They may also be used immediately after an abortion.

Historically, abortions have been attempted using herbal medicines, sharp tools, forceful massage, or through other traditional methods.

Fundal massage, also called uterine massage, is a technique used to reduce bleeding and cramping of the uterus after childbirth or after an abortion.

A pregnancy that ends before 37 weeks of gestation resulting in a live-born infant is a "premature birth" or a "preterm birth".

The limit of viability has also become a factor in the abortion debate.

Medical abortion became an alternative method of abortion with the availability of prostaglandin analogs in the 1970s and the antiprogestogen mifepristone (also known as RU-486) in the 1980s.

Wider use of prostaglandin analogues is limited by unwanted side effects and their abortive potential.