Baby's Body example essay topic

The methods of abortion are divided into two categories: surgical and medical. Surgical abortions are the most common, accounting for about 98% of the abortions performed in the United States. Suction curettage, also called vacuum aspiration, is the most common method for abortions from the 4th-12th week of pregnancy. The procedure can be done quickly and the risks of complications are small. A speculum is inserted into the vagina, and the cervix is cleansed with a surgical solution. The cervix is then dilated and the specially designed hollow tube is inserted into the uterus.

This tube is connected to a powerful pump with a suction force 29 times more powerful than a home vacuum cleaner. The procedure tears the baby's body into pieces and the hose frequently jerks as pieces of the baby are removed. In 20-30 seconds, the uterus is emptied. To ensure that no fragments of tissue are left in the uterus, the doctor scraps the uterine lining. The entire suction procedure takes only 5-10 minutes. The Dilation and Evacuation procedure largely replaced saline and chemical abortions.

This procedure can be performed for 4-6 months of pregnancy. A plier-like instrument is used because the baby's bones are already developed. The abortionist inserts the instrument into the uterus and feels for a leg, or other part of the body and, with a twisting motion, tears it from the baby's body. This is repeated again and again. The spine must be snapped and the skull crushed. The nurse's job is to reassemble the body parts to be sure that all were removed.

The unborn child feels intense pain because there is no anesthetic for the baby. Dilation and Curettage (also called D&C) is similar to the suction procedure. During this abortion the abortionist inserts a loop shaped steel knife up into the uterus. The placenta is then cut and the baby into pieces. Partial birth (also called D&X) is used for advanced pregnancies. A foot or leg is located and pulled from the vagina.

Facing down, the baby's legs hang outside the woman's body. Scissors are plunged into the baby's head at the tip of the neck and spread open to enlarge the wound. A suction tip is inserted and the baby's brain is removed. The skull collapses and the baby is delivered.

This procedure usually takes 6-24 hours. A hysterectomy is likened to an "early" Caesarean section. The mother's abdomen and uterus are surgically opened and the baby is lifted out. Many of these babies are alive when removed. To kill the babies, some abortionist has been known to plunge them into the buckets of water or smother them with the placentas. Others cut the cord while the baby is still inside the uterus depriving the baby of oxygen.

Medical abortions are a relatively new method to terminate a pregnancy. In this method, medications are used to cause the pregnancy to stop growing and be expelled in a manner similar to a miscarriage. During the salt poisoning method the abortionist injects a strong salt solution into the amniotic sac, which is the fluid surrounding the baby. The baby breathes and swallows the poison. It takes over an hour to kill the baby and the mother delivers the dead baby in a day or two. The babies are often referred to as "candy apple babies", because the effect of the salt solution burns and strips away the outer layer of the baby's skin.

This exposes the raw, red, glazed looking layer of tissue. The baby's head sometimes looks like a candy apple. This technique was originally developed from the concentration camps in Nazi Germany. RU-486 (or Mifepristone) is an abortion pill that destroys the lining of the uterus. This opens the cervix and leads to contractions that help dislodge and expel the embryo. When the lining of the uterus is destroyed, the unborn child cannot receive nourishment.

Basically, this pill works by starving the baby. Methotrexate is a FDA approved drug used for the treatment of certain cancers and chronic diseases. It has also been used to treat early ectopic (tubal) pregnancies, which are pregnancies that implant outside the uterus. When used in early pregnancy, methotrexate stops the rapidly growing embryonic and placental cells of early pregnancy from growing. Prostaglandin is a drug that causes a woman to go into labor at any stage of pregnancy. The potent hormone-like drug is injected into the amniotic sac that produces labor and premature birth.

The unborn baby, in some cases, is born alive and placed aside to die. Some abortionists now customarily kill the child first before evacuating the baby. An ultrasound is used to guide the abortionists in the injection of lethal potassium chloride into the baby's heart. Other abortionists use an injection of digoxin to cause fetal cardiac arrest. Work Cited Collison, William F. The Many Ways to do Abortions. 2002. web ways. htm Insel Paul M., and Walton T. Roth.

"Abortion". Core Concepts in Health. Ed. Kirsten Price.

9th ed. United States of America: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, 2002.173-191..