Who makes the choice for women to abort their unborn baby? Does the state or the mother-to-be? According to my medical law book , during the first trimester the mother-to-be has a constitutional right to abort and the state has no vested interest in regulating them at that time; during the second trimester, the state may regulate abortion and insist on reasonable standards of medical practices if an abortion is to be performed; during the third trimester, the state's interests override the pregnant woman's rights to abortions, and the state may "proscribe abortion except when necessary to preserve the health or life of the mother." The method of abortion will vary depending on the situation and gestational age of the fetus.
             For example, a mother could abort the fetus by taking Mifepristone, which is also known as RU-486. This drug induces abortion. She can take it up to 49 days after her last menstrual period. What the pill does is it blocks the progesterone. Two days later, she then takes prostaglandin, which makes the cervix dilate and the uterus contract. Mifepristone may be the preferred treatment since it is noninvasive, has no risk of infection, requires no anesthesia, is less expensive, and offers a lot of privacy to women aborting. It can also be used in the early stages of pregnancy.
             Another example: if a woman is fewer than seven weeks' pregnant, she could have what is known as a "miniabortion;" which is also known as a menstrual extraction. What happens is a tube with a suction device is inserted through the cervix into the uterus. Next, the lining of the uterine wall and the "conceptus" (the baby-to-be) are suctioned out. This procedure is also the safest and quickest approved method of abortion.
             Another example: a mother could have what is known as a suction abortion performed, what is also known as curettage. It is also similar to a "miniabortion." What hap...