Abortion: Public Health and Relationship - Essay Example

? Abortion Public Health and Relationship Introduction Abortion is a process by which the fetus in the mother’s womb is killed with medical aid or other means. It is not necessarily that abortion is done with medical apparatus; it can be even done in traditional method. According to Trupin (2011) : “Abortion is one of the most common medical procedures performed in the United States each year. More than 40% of all women will end a pregnancy by abortion at some time in their reproductive lives”. When a woman’s life is threatened due to pregnancy an abortion is allowed by all countiries.However, we can observe that the practice of abortion is followed in many cases when it was completely avoidable.In some countries in Asia ,fetus killings is done in order to avoid the birth of girl infant. The ugly face of abortion is that, in many cases it can take away the life of women due to unsafe medical affair. Unfortunately, the more who are succumbed to abortion have confronted death especially in case of young pregnant women. As per WHO (2003, pg.83)“ The great majority of the deaths from unsafe abortion occur in developing countries where abortion is severely restricted by law”. Protecting the life of these women who are subjected to abortion is very important .Legal bodies, national and international organization concerned with human rights are not focus significantly on the abortion related death occurring in developing and underdeveloped. Many women get victimized to abortion because they cannot afford to look after the child or the conception happened illegally through illicit affairs. Ill Effects of Abortion Abortion in itself is illegal in ethical and moral context, as it is the destruction of a life. Moreover in an attempt to kill the fetus, most of the times the life of the mother is also lost. This can be due to the reason that most of abortion takes place in under developed or developing nation by inferior or unsafe medical process .In the website Boseley, (2009)writes that: “About 70,000 women die every year and many more suffer harm as a result of unsafe abortions in countries with restrictive laws on ending a pregnancy”. Unsafe abortion causes so many maternal mortality and in underdeveloped countries this could be closely related to social crime. Generally all the abortion taking place in Africa and Latin America can be counted as unsafe. The reason for unsafe abortion can be related to the unavailability of abortion service as and when it is required. The abortion is mainly allowed by law when the pregnancy is the result of rape, incest or fetal impairment .If the growth of the fetus is healthy and it is out of wedlock then an abortion attempt is illegal and a homicide. This kind of abortive measure is prominently observed in poor class, illiterate people or in village population. In many cases during the abortion, mother’s can die due to excessive bleeding or any medical complication. It is also understood fact that, a female undergone abortion can have problems in conceiving in future. There are series of health complication arise in women by abortion which are irreversible in nature. As per Abortion in Canada (2011) “Retained tissue is the result of an incomplete abortion.  This may cause excessive and prolonged hemorrhage. A life-threatening later complication is septic infection of the uterine lining”. Abortion a social evil on women’s health It is very unfortunate to understand that women all around African continent and underdeveloped and developing nations have less access to safe abortion. In the article Jacobson(2009)“Complications of unsafe abortion are among the leading causes of maternal death in many countries, and in some, like Peru, unsafe abortion is the single most important cause of maternal illness and death”. Naturally a woman should not be subjected to abortion .If in any case women needs abortion , it is the obligation of the government to make sure the procedure is safe and sound and cause less threat to women. Abortion is a serious health threat to women and it is highly caused due to the lack of sex related education among women and minor girls in a community. Lack of access to abortion service for women directly represents an impoverished public health system and human right facility. Abortions are generally done with proper skill, and if the government is less concerned about the health and rights of people then outcome can be opposite. Historically and traditionally, most of the countries disregard the practice of abortion due to the ill effects it cause to the health of women.Eventhough today people being subjected to punishment for the practice of abortion it is still prevalent at high rate in many developing countries. Abortion not only cause illnesses to health but also can harm the mental stability of a woman in certain cases In the article Cohen(2006) mentions that “For decades, they have charged that having an abortion causes mental instability and even may lead to suicide, and despite consistent repudiations from the major professional mental health associations, they remain undeterred”. Abortion and Mental health issues Most of the population dejects abortion for the ethical, moral and religious concerns. Abortion not only hampers the physical health of a woman but also pose risk on her mental stability. The antiabortion activists around the globe are consistently enforcing on the fact that despite physical risk, abortion can even lead to mental problems and suicidal attempts. But this is largely effective in cases where the abortion has been carried out without the consent from pregnant mothers. When women carrying a girl child are intimidated to undergo abortion, a very negative impact can be seen on their behavior and emotions. Although, abortion and mental health risks is an area surrounded with controversy many group are positive on this phenomena. According to Pederson (2008,pg.424-42)“Young adult women who undergo induced abortion may be at increased risk for subsequent depression”. When a young woman is induced to undergo abortion, she may suffer bouts of anxiety and depression and this can be harmful to her overall health condition. In young age the physical and mental health of women are more vulnerable to complexities and trauma. As per Life News(2006) “According to the study, women who have abortions were twice as likely to drink alcohol at dangerous levels and three times as likely to be addicted to illegal drugs”. If women are led to get victimized to alcohol and drug abuse the social stability of the community or nation get dwindling. A woman is a foundation to a strong and peaceful society and if she is disturbed then the whole system can face destruction. Abortion as a public health problem Despite all the awareness and world wide controversies against abortion, it is pathetic to find out that unsafe abortion is a major cause of death in many developing nations. It is sometimes difficult to attain real statistics and data on this subject as most of abortion happen under the cover. In countries with a liberal policy in relation to abortion and sufficient contraceptive service, abortion is still practiced widely without any reduction. The unlawful and poor practices of nurses and doctors and traditional healers are the factors which related to maternal mortality. Abortion is also a form of contraceptive measure in many African countries. Men who are against the sterilization, impregnates women who have neither knowledge nor access to contraceptive methods and ultimately end up with abortion. In his journal Sims (1986, pg.232-233) states that “The women want an abortion because they cannot feed the child, because they are unsupported, because they are ashamed, because it will other wise mean the end of any chance for an education “Many developing countries while having laws to curb forced abortion cannot practice it due to the secrecy of abortion act. Abortion is currently regulated like any other medical procedure in developing nation and if done with pressure from outside parties is certainly a crime. Human right laws are giving significant importance to a woman’s health, dignity and decision making right. The countries that are against abortion, but giving less importance to the woman’s health are receiving stronger calls to reform. There can also be seen effort from conservative governments and religious bodies to abolish the act of abortion which is a social crime. Ways to fight the abortion crime The abortion practice has become an issue of violence than controversy. Abortion is a visible attack on the health and human right of women .Many pregnancies around the globe end in violent abortions than estimated. It is the foremost duty of the law governing bodies and international health organization to make strategies to eradicate this social evil from the planet. First of all the population in African regions where unsafe abortion is high should be given appropriate sex education. The men and women of these regions should understand about sterilization, contraceptive methods and safe sex.Knowledge is a key element to fight any social evil and living in ignorance can only make things uncontrollable and unattended. The minor girls should be educated to refrain from sex until marriage to avoid teen – pregnancies. Education is the prior requirement to upgrade the social and economical status of a nation. Public health cannot be established without education and sex education is an integral part of it. Once the population is given information about the ill effects of uncontrollable sexual behavior, then prevention measures can be taken to avoid them. However there should be a presence of legal abortions to prevent unsolicited child births with the consent of pregnant mothers. In his book McBride (2008. pg.65) writes that “legal abortion is necessary to take care of cases where contraception fails or people lapse in their responsibility” Safe abortion for better public health In 21st century there had been a change in the mortality rate and child death rates from the previous decades. Antibiotics, sanitation, a septic delivery techniques and vaccination can be given credit to the safe abortion process. It is very fortunate to know that the pregnant mothers in today’s world are not in risky situation as those 100 years ago. However, the public health officials of many countries are diverting their attention to less important issue by giving abortion issues a back seat. In an abortion there is a risk of a mother and child to die, so it is cause of a twin death. So government and health sector should employ all means to educate women and men in eradicating induced abortion practices. There is a widespread notion that if abortion is legal then it has to be safe. This is not the real case, many hospitals and doctors conduct abortion in adverse conditions and mothers die due to excessive bleeding or other complications. So government should impose sizeable regulation on the medical practices of private and governmental hospitals to avoid malpractices. When abortion was illegal, doctors were more cautious to avoid police interrogation .Now that abortion is legal, hospitals and clinics are handling cases with ignorance and inattentiveness. According to WHO (1995,pg.115) “Unsafe abortion continue to take a tremendous toll of life and sufferings. The impact of problem is not limited to the lives of women and their families but also impact on the society as a whole”. Conclusion There is observation among people that induced abortion plays significant role in controlling population growth aspect. Many people find it easier to proceed to abortion than takes precautionary measure to avoid pregnancy. Also, majority of women are ready to take the pain and danger of abortion in the name of religion and social taboo. All over the world the legal, medical and public opinion on abortion is changing at a fast pace. Simultaneously the abortion techniques practiced in clinics and hospitals are renewed due to the controversies and arguments surrounding around this subject. It is been analyzed that the individual opinion is always against abortion and people regards it as a criminal or violent action. Moreover, the religious groups and catholic leaders consider abortion as a sin and debate argue against the legalization of this practice. Abortion is a deeply regarded secret. People talk less about it, when they undergo abortions and for the same reason it very difficult for the government to get real statistics of this procedure. Only abortion taking place in hospitals can be investigated by legal authorities .So to bring in awareness among the population about the evil side of abortion, health officials should perform campaigns in rural areas. The uneducated poor men and women should be warned about the life endangering effects of abortion .As per Donahue (2001, pg. 380-385) Teenagers, unmarried women, and the economically disadvantaged are all substantially more likely to seek abortions. It is also understood that women who undergo abortions are more at risk of giving birth to children who engage in criminal activities Bibliography Abortion in Canada. 2011. Physical Health Effects. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.abortionin canada. ca/health/physical_effects.html. [Accessed 21 May 11 Boseley, S.2009. Unsafe abortions kill 70,000 a year. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.guardian.co .uk/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/14/unsafe-abortions-global-report. [Accessed 21 May 11]. Cohen, S.A., 2006. Abortion and Mental Health: Myths and Realities. Guttmacher Institute, [Online]. Available at: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/gpr/09/3/gpr090308.html [Accessed 22 May 2011]. Donahue, J.J., 2001. THE IMPACT OF LEGALIZED ABORTION ON CRIME. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 26/2, 380-385 Jacobson,J.. 2009. Is Abortion a Public Health Issue?" Sotomayor Hearings, Day Two. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2009/07/15/is-abortion-a-public-health-issue-sotomayor-hearings-day-two. [Accessed 21 May 11] Life News. 2006. Abortion & Depression. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.abortiontv.com/Glitch/AbortionAndDepression.htm. [Accessed 22 May 11] McBride, D.E., 2008. Abortion in the United States: a reference handbook . 1st ed. California: ABC-CLIO. Pederson, W., 2008. Abortion and depression: A population-based longitudinal study of young women. Scandinavian Journal of public Health, 36/4, 424-42 Sims, P., 1986. Abortion as a public health problem in Zambia. Journal of Public Health Medicine, 18/2, 232-233 Trupin,S.R. 2011. Abortion. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/abortion/article_ em.htm. [Accessed 21 May 11]. WHO, 1995. Complications of abortion: technical and managerial guidelines for prevention and treatment. 1st ed. Geneva: World Health Organisation. WHO. 2003. Safe abortion: technical and policy guidance for health systems. 1st ed. Geneva: WHO Read More