LANGUAGE CENTRE

Abortion
A controversial issue affecting our society

Alessandro Hidalgo Chavarry

13/06/2016

Abortion is a questionable practice, but may be a considered reasonable in cases where the life
of the mother is threatened or incest is evident. Abortion is senseless when adoption is a much
better option for anyone in an unwanted pregnancy.

Index

ABORTION

DEFINITION
Abortion s defined as "the willful killing of the fetus in the uterus, or the violent expulsion of the
fetus from the maternal womb, which results in the death of the fetus.

REASONS FOR ABORTION

Married women: to space pregnancies; too many children; added financial burden
Unmarried women: unwanted pregnancies

Many have an abortion because the latter "interferes with occupation, studies, or employment."
The men do play a role in childbearing. Some reasons given by women had to do with their
menfolk: some women are now separated from their husbands, others had a quarrel with the
husband; husband has no job; husband is irresponsible; common-law husband has other family.
Poor health was also cited (although there were no medical indications).
Over half of the women who had induced abortion are married, showing that abortion is used to
regulate or limit the number of children.

TYPES OF ABORTION
There are generally two types of abortion exercised, surgical and medical.
Surgical

Dilation and Curettage (D & C)

The cervix, or mouth of the womb, is first stretched open. A curette or sharp, loopshaped knife is then inserted, cuts the fetus into small pieces. His head is crushed with

the forceps in order to remove the baby. The womb is then scraped out completely. From
nine weeks until 14 weeks, an abortion is performed by a dilatation and suction curettage
procedure.

Suction-Curretage Abortion
A tube is inserted into the uterus; the suction breaks and crushes the body parts of the
fetus, drawing them out into a jar.

With both of these methods, the resulting tissue is clearly identifiable as small pieces of
a baby. The actual cause of death is the physical dismemberment of the body. After 20
weeks of gestation, abortions can be performed by labor induction, prostaglandin labor
induction, saline infusion, hysterectomy, or dilatation and extraction.
Saline Injection
This method is used when the child is too large for D & C Suction-Curettage. A long
needle is injected through the mother's abdomen to extract a certain amount of the
amniotic fluid. This portion of the fluids is replaced with a toxic salt (strong salt
poisoning solution), which burns the outer layers of the child's skin. An increase in
movement is noted as the baby inhales and swallows the solution. The baby often
convulses, goes into a coma, and dies an hour or two later. Labor begins 24 to 28 hours
later.

Hormone Drug Injection

Prostaglandin drug is injected into the amniotic sac. This hormone drug produces labor
and premature birth. The baby, in most cases, is born alive with a heartbeat, then put
aside to die.

Hysterectomy
It is generally used only when saline injection is impractical. The baby is delivered as it
would be in a Caesarian Section. Almost all babies delivered by hysterectomy are born
alive. Many cry and kick. Within a few minutes, however, most die of exposure or
willful neglect.

In the Philippines, studies indicate that the methods most frequently used in hospitals include:
dilation and curettage (D & C); prophylactic or oxytoxics and antibiotics; vacuum aspiration and
hysterectomy.
Outside the hospitals, the most common method in inducing abortion is by insertion of a
catheter, followed by deep abdominal massage, then by use of drugs, herbs and medicinal
concoctions. Whether you refer to this as "killing" or "induced death", the effect on the child is
the same.

Medical
Medical abortion is a term applied to an abortion brought about by medication taken to induce it.
This can be accomplished with a variety of medications given either as a single pill or a series of
pills.
Women who select a medical abortion express a slightly greater satisfaction with their route of
abortion and, in the majority of cases, express a wish to choose this method again should they
have another abortion. Research needs to be performed to more clearly establish which method is
best, which medications are preferable, and how successfully women and adolescents can
diagnose a complete versus an incomplete abortion.
Medical abortions can provide some measure of safety in that they eliminate the risk of injury to
a woman's cervix or uterus from surgical instruments. Some women require an emergency
surgical abortion, and, for safety concerns, women undergoing medical abortions need access to
providers willing to perform a surgical abortion should it be necessary.
The process of a medical abortion involves bleeding, often like a heavy menstrual period, which
must be differentiated from hemorrhage.

RISKS OF ABORTION
Side effects may occur with induced abortion, whether surgical or by pill. These include
abdominal pain and cramping, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Abortion also carries the risk of
significant complications such as bleeding, infection, and damage to organs. Serious
complications occur in less than 1 out of 100 early abortions and in about 1 out of every 50 later
abortions. Complications may include:

Heavy Bleeding - Some bleeding after abortion is normal. However, if the cervix is
torn or the uterus is punctured, there is a risk of severe bleeding known as hemorrhaging.
When this happens, a blood transfusion may be required.

Infection Infection can develop from the insertion of medical instruments into the
uterus, or from fetal parts that are mistakenly left inside (known as an incomplete
abortion). A pelvic infection may lead to persistent fever over several days and extended
hospitalization. It can also cause scarring of the pelvic organs.

Incomplete Abortion - Some fetal parts may be mistakenly left inside after the abortion.
Bleeding and infection may result.

Sepsis Total body infection

Anesthesia Complications from general anesthesia used during abortion surgery may
result in convulsions, heart attack, and in extreme cases, death.

Damage to the Cervix - The cervix may be cut, torn, or damaged by abortion
instruments. This can cause excessive bleeding that requires surgical repair.

Scarring of the Uterine Lining Suction tubing, curettes, and other abortion
instruments may cause permanent scarring of the uterine lining.

Perforation of the Uterus - The uterus may be punctured or torn by abortion

instruments. The risk of this complication increases with the length of the pregnancy. If
this occurs, major surgery may be required, including removal of the uterus (known as a
hysterectomy).

Damage to Internal Organs - When the uterus is punctured or torn, there is also a risk
that damage will occur to nearby organs such as the bowel and bladder.

Death - In extreme cases, other physical complications from abortion including excessive
bleeding, infection, organ damage from a perforated uterus, and adverse reactions to
anesthesia may lead to death. This complication is rare, but is real.

STATUS OF LEGISLATION ON ABORTION IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Constitution enshrines the basic rights of persons and citizens. The right to life is the most
fundamental right of all. From it proceeds all other basic human rights. n this Constitution, the
right to life and the protection of the unborn becomes an absolute value and norm that cannot be
repealed by any ordinary legislation, now or in the future.
Abortion is illegal in the Philippines. The Revised Penal Code (Act No. 3815, Article 256-259)
defines the various ways and means by which abortion is committed, by whom, and their
corresponding penalties: reclusion temporal, prison mayor, and prision correccional .
The penalties cover:
anyone who causes intentional abortion by using violence on the person of the pregnant
woman; or, if he acts without violence, acts without the consent of the woman;
any person who causes unintentional abortion by violence;
abortion practiced by the woman herself or by her parents;
abortion practiced by a physician or midwife dispensing of abortives;
any pharmacist who, without the proper prescription from a physician, dispenses of
abortives.
While it makes abortion punishable, the law has been hard to apply because no aggrieved party
or complainant comes to the courts to file a criminal case on an abortion.
But just because the law is hardly applied does not mean that crime is less offensive. It only
indicates that the right to life of the unborn is an issue that Philippine society, in general, has
refused to confront.

PREVELENCE OF ABORTION IN THE PHILIPPINES

No reliable statistics on abortion in the Philippines is available because abortion is illegal. No
woman, doctor or hospital will ever admit to having committed the crime for fear of legal
sanctions. It is estimated, however that one (1) out of four (4) pregnancies ends up in abortions.
Seventeen percent of pregnant women in Metro Manila undergo an induced abortion due to
unwanted pregnancy, the results of a recent research showed.
The research showed that women resort to various abortion methods ranging from taking certain
drugs or herbal preparations to approaching a "hilot" or traditional midwife to consulting a health
practitioner like midwife, doctor or nurse. One of the respondents in a study among abortees in
Tuguegarao, Cagayan, even had a hilot insert a barbecue stick in her sex organ to induce
abortion.

In Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, and Tuguegarao, where the abortion studies were made,
abortion, though illegal, is widely practiced.
In Metro Manila study made by Josefina Cabigon of the University of the Philippines
Population Institute, 17 percent of the 1,169 women surveyed admitted having had an
abortion.
Every year, as many as 750,000 women undergo induced abortion in illegal "clinics" all
over the Philippines. Many of these women eventually die from infection, hemorrhage
and other complications

Statistics compiled by the Department of Health Hospital Development Plan for 1988 to 1992
reveal that in 1986 alone abortion was third in the top 10 causes of hospitalization. A large
percentage of this is believed to be induced abortion.
In a thesis published in 1982 in Studies in Family Planning, 86 percent of 286 women
respondents from Metro Manila, Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao said that poverty was the
main reason for their undergoing abortion
The women's responses were corroborated by 106 practitioners interviewed in the same areas.
The study concluded that for every 100 pregnancies, there were about 33 abortions.