Abortion Facts
Eden Shuffield
Philosophy: Intro to Ethics
George Gittinger
14 Sept 2014
Abortion
The word abortion, availing itself in two different forms (spontaneous abortion or miscarriage, and surgical or medical) is simply used to describe the early ending or termination of a pregnancy. The form discussed throughout the remainder of this essay will be the surgical and medical type. Abortions have been practiced for centuries, dating back to the Egyptian era, around 1550 BC (historyof.com). The practice held a great deal of controversy even then, with Aristotle as an advocate due to his belief that fetuses didn’t develop souls until about 40-90 days of growth (which meant that the aborting of the fetus was acceptable within this timeframe), and the Romans feeling completely opposite, believing the practice to be “immoral and unsafe” (historyof.com). Over the course of time, it has become apparent that changing attitudes towards abortion has caused it to become just as much an ethical issue as a medical one.
Leaps and bounds have been seen over the decades in technological advances with performing abortions. In early days, before actual technology was developed, people believed jumping up and down was an effective and harmless was to induce a miscarriage (historyof.com). In this way, abortion would be somewhat natural, bringing a death to the fetus without introducing harmful medicines or surgical tools. Of course, that practice was very early in the practice of abortion. Beginning in the 20th century, vacuum devices were introduced, and later several types of pills were developed that could serve as contraception, or cause a spontaneous miscarriage (historyof.com). Today, there are a few different medical ways an abortion can be performed. These are relatively safe surgeries, considering of course the actual practice. One of the main surgical abortion procedures is known as aspiration. The procedure, also known as “suction aspiration, suction curettage or vacuum
Philosophy: Intro to Ethics
George Gittinger
14 Sept 2014
Abortion
The word abortion, availing itself in two different forms (spontaneous abortion or miscarriage, and surgical or medical) is simply used to describe the early ending or termination of a pregnancy. The form discussed throughout the remainder of this essay will be the surgical and medical type. Abortions have been practiced for centuries, dating back to the Egyptian era, around 1550 BC (historyof.com). The practice held a great deal of controversy even then, with Aristotle as an advocate due to his belief that fetuses didn’t develop souls until about 40-90 days of growth (which meant that the aborting of the fetus was acceptable within this timeframe), and the Romans feeling completely opposite, believing the practice to be “immoral and unsafe” (historyof.com). Over the course of time, it has become apparent that changing attitudes towards abortion has caused it to become just as much an ethical issue as a medical one.
Leaps and bounds have been seen over the decades in technological advances with performing abortions. In early days, before actual technology was developed, people believed jumping up and down was an effective and harmless was to induce a miscarriage (historyof.com). In this way, abortion would be somewhat natural, bringing a death to the fetus without introducing harmful medicines or surgical tools. Of course, that practice was very early in the practice of abortion. Beginning in the 20th century, vacuum devices were introduced, and later several types of pills were developed that could serve as contraception, or cause a spontaneous miscarriage (historyof.com). Today, there are a few different medical ways an abortion can be performed. These are relatively safe surgeries, considering of course the actual practice. One of the main surgical abortion procedures is known as aspiration. The procedure, also known as “suction aspiration, suction curettage or vacuum
Bibliography: Anonymous, Paul M., and Creinin. "Surgical Abortion Procedures." American Pregnancy Association. N.p., Feb. 2014. Web. 15 Sept. 2014. . Walker, Sharon. "History of Abortion." History Of.... Google+, 2014. Web. 15 Sept. 2014. . Willke, John C., Barbara H. Willke, John J. Davis, and David C. Reardon. "Cases." Abortion Facts. N.p., 2014. Web. 15 Sept. 2014. .