Abortion is a way to end pregnancy. Sometimes, an embryo or fetus stops developing and
the body expels it. This is call spontaneous abortion or a "miscarriage." A women can
also choose to end a pregnancy. This is called induced abortion. There are two ways this
procedure can be done; surgical and medical.
About five million women in the U.S. become pregnant every year. Half of those
pregnancies are unintended. The chances are high that a woman will have more than one
unplanned pregnancy in the course of her lifetime. Nearly half of all women will have an
abortion by the time they are 45 years old. There are many reasons a women chooses
abortion. The most commonly answered reason for having a abortion is that they are not
If a woman is planning to have an abortion there is no law forcing her to tell her
partner. Clinics ensure complete privacy. However, if there are complications during the
procedure parents may be notified. More than half of the teenagers who choose abortion
talk about it with at least one parent. But telling a parent is only required in states with
mandatory parental involvement laws. These laws force women under the age of 18 to tell
a parent or to get permission before having an abortion. In most of these states if the teen
does not want to tell her parents she can appear before a judge. The judge will then
decide wether or not she is mature enough to decide on her own. If not, the judge will
decide what he/she feels is in the best interest for the young lady.
RU-486, otherwise know as the abortion pill was recently approved by the FDA in
the U.S. The drug provides a non-surgical alternative for women who wish to terminate
pregnancy in its early stages. It can be taken as early as the day after conception and as
late as eight weeks. RU-486 has almost a 97% success rate but because there are rare
occasions where the miscarriage may not be suc...