TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY DEFINATION

Termination of pregnancy is when a woman decides to end her pregnancy by medical

means before the full term. The woman must be under 13 weeks pregnant to end the
pregnancy without giving reasons.
If she is between 13 and 20 weeks pregnant, the pregnancy may be terminated only
under specific conditions. If she is more than 20 weeks pregnant, it will be done only if
her or the foetus' life is in danger or there are likely to be serious birth defects.
https://www.gov.za/services/birth/terminate-pregnancy#:~:text=Termination%20of
%20pregnancy%20is%20when,the%20pregnancy%20without%20giving%20reasons.
An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. It uses medicine or surgery to remove
the embryo or fetus and placenta from the uterus. The procedure is done by a licensed
health care professional.
The decision to end a pregnancy is very personal. If you are thinking of having an
abortion, most health care providers advise counseling
https://medlineplus.gov/abortion.html
Abortions are performed up to the 24th week of pregnancy. They can be done medically
(with tablets) or surgically (a procedure in an operating room). Most women are well
afterwards. There is no evidence that having an abortion reduces your chances of
having a family when the time is right.
https://patient.info/womens-health/abortion-termination-of-pregnancy

WHY PEOPLE CHOOSE TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY

REASONS % NOTES
Not financially prepared 40%
Bad timing, not ready, or unplanned 36%
Partner-related reasons New or bad relationship
Would be a single parent
Partner isn't supportive
Partner doesn't want the baby
Partner is abusive
Partner is the "wrong guy"
REASONS % NOTES
Need to focus on other children 29%
Interferes with educational or job plans 20%
Not emotionally or mentally prepared 19%
Health-related reasons 12%Concern for their own health
Concern for the fetus' health
Use of medications, other drugs,
alcohol, or tobacco
Want a better life for a baby than they 12%
could provide
Not independent or mature enough 7%
Influence from family or friends 5%
Doesn't want a baby or to place the baby 4%
up for adoption
Previous surveys have had a list of answers to choose from. Common responses were:
 Having a baby would dramatically change my life.
 I have completed my childbearing.
 I don't want people to know I had sex or got pregnant.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/reasons-for-abortion-906589

 It would disrupt your career or education

 You aren’t in the right relationship or able to provide a stable family life
 Your financial situation isn’t good enough to provide the kind of life your child
would deserve
 You don’t have your own home or the right home for a family
 You don’t feel ready or able to care for a child
 You don’t want to have children or to add to your family
 Another child (or dependent) needs your care and attention so you can’t look
after another
https://www.132healthwise.com/why-do-women-choose-to-abort-their-pregnancies.php
Though never an easy decision, there are many reasons as to why women decide to
have an abortion. For some women the pregnancy they are faced with is not one they
choose. Women that become pregnant as a result of being raped, incest, or sexual
assault will often choose to abort. This is usually because these women were violated
and do not want to have to live with the thought and memory of such as act through the
birth of a child.
Some women also seek abortions because they are not emotionally nor mentally
prepared to be a mother.
Entering parenthood is scary even when planned and women who have no preparation
for such a daunting task often decide that abortion is best route. This is common with
women who become pregnant in high school or college and are left choosing between
becoming a mother and education. Most women are aware that without a proper
education it is extremely hard to find a job that can support both mom and baby. Studies
have shown that less than half of teenage girls who become pregnant before 18 are
able to successfully graduate from high school. Those women who become pregnant in
college usually drop out and never finish earning their degree.
On the other hand there are women who are happily pregnant but are faced with the
decision to have an abortion because the fetus is defective.
This usually means that when born the child will not be able to live a normal life due to
severe abnormalities. At the same time women who are going through a planned
pregnancy may need to abort because having the baby could be fatal. For example
there are cases when diabetic women contract a condition known as hyperemesis
gravidarum which causes uncontrollable vomiting which can lead to dehydration and
malnourishment.
https://www.abortion-clinic-boston.com/teen-pregnancy-cat-22/reasons-for-abortion

WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL,PHYSICAL,SPIRITUAL,AND EDUCATIONAL EFFECT OF

PREGNANCY TERMINATION
sychological / Emotional Impact
Following abortion, many women experience initial relief. The perceived crisis is over
and life returns to normal. For many women, however, the crisis isn’t over. Months and
even years later, significant problems develop. There is evidence that abortion is
associated with decrease in long-term emotional and physical health. 35, 55
Psychological / Emotional Impact – MEN
Abortion is not just a women’s issue. For men who are staring abortion in the face, it is
not a decision to be made lightly or without considering the possible consequences.
Gateway Women’s Care has a trained, professional male counselor on staff that is
available to help you consider all the options and make a decision that is best for you,
both in the short and long term.
Men involved in an abortion can experience long-term, life-altering consequences. If
you have been involved in an abortion, then Gateway Gateway Women’s Care is here
to help. Post-abortion support for men is provided by trained staff, and we ensure your
total confidentiality.
Relational Impact
Many couples choose abortion believing it will preserve their relationship. Research on
this topic reveals just the opposite. Couples who choose induced abortion are at
increased risk for relationship problems.
Women experiencing lack of support and pressure to abort from their parents were
more likely to choose abortion.
Spiritual Consequences
People have different understandings of God. Whatever your present beliefs may be,
having an abortion may affect more than just your body and your mind – for many, there
is a spiritual side to abortion that deserves consideration.
https://gatewaywomens.care/abortion-info/health-risks/#no6
Most women experience some of the following after an abortion:
1,2
 Bleeding – on average, bleeding lasts 14 days but can last as long as 21 days.
 Cramping
 Dizziness
 Drowsiness
 Nausea/Vomiting
These symptoms typically resolve within a week, sometimes longer.
Possible Complications
  Damage to the womb or cervix
 Excessive bleeding
 Incomplete abortion, requiring an additional surgical abortion procedure
 Infection of the uterus or fallopian tubes
 Scarring of the inside of the uterus
 Sepsis or Septic shock
 Uterine perforation
 Death
https://www.compasscare.info/health-information/abortion/abortion-risks-and-side-
effects/

 Heavy Bleeding
 Infection
 Incomplete Abortion
 Damage to the Cervix
 Scarring of the Uterine Lining
 Perforation of the Uterus
 Damage to Internal Organs
 Death
 Consider Other Risks of Abortion
 Abortion and Preterm Birth for future pregnancies
 Links to Abortion and Breast Cancer
Emotional and Psychological Impact of Abortion
There is evidence that abortion is associated with a decrease in both emotional and
physical health. For some women these negative emotions may be very strong, and can
appear within days or after many years. This psychological response is a form of post-
traumatic stress disorder. Possible symptoms:
 Eating disorders
 Relationship problems
 Guilt
 Depression
  Flashbacks of abortion
 Suicidal thoughts
 Sexual dysfunction
 Alcohol and drug abuse
 Spiritual Consequences
https://foundationsoflife.org/facts-about-abortion/risks-about-abortion/

PARENTAL EDUCATION ON TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY

Wait to introduce kids to abortion until age 7-9
I vividly remember the moment described by Susan (my wife) in the account above. It is
always heartbreaking to watch kids react to news of grownups behaving badly (slavery!
war! clergy sex abuse!), but it’s especially difficult when the child is too young to
process the news.
The Catholic Church has long held age seven to be (more or less) the “age of reason,”
and modern developmental psychologists back that instinct up. The fact is, kids younger
than age seven may not have the mental and emotional tools necessary to process
such traumatic information. For instance, they may not be able to grasp that they are
not in any personal danger of being harmed by abortion.
Also, you may find your young child processing the news about abortion in ways that
are socially unacceptable. About a year after Maria first learned about abortion, she was
dropped off at home by a friend’s parent after a play date. “Your daughter was telling us
that Barack Obama kills babies,” this woman mentioned, rather pointedly and with some
disdain. Oh boy. I explained the circumstances: Mr. Obama was running for his first
term, and when Maria had asked about his position on abortion, we told her he
supported it. The woman arched an eyebrow. “Mm-hmm,” she said.
We also heard back from teachers that Maria was sharing the news about abortion with
other kids in her class. This put us in the awkward position of telling her she shouldn’t
initiate the issue with her peers for a few years—not exactly the kind of prophetic
witness we had hoped to encourage. But her classmates at the time were also too
young to process it well (she was in a mixed grade classroom), and we were concerned
that her comments were going to draw angry reactions in some adults that she could
not handle at her young age. (Although we’re happy to report that as a young teen, she
retains her strong sense of compassion and justice and is very pro-life.)
On the other hand, as much as we want to protect our kids from news of the world’s
many evils, the reality is that they’re going to start hearing about it everywhere. Better
that they get the news from their parents than their peers, or another adult with a
different spin on things. Things may be different in your community, but our kids began
encountering public discussions of abortion at school and noticing discussions in the
news around age eight or nine.
2. Be age-appropriate
Kids of any age can be introduced to the beauty of fetal development using picture
books and online resources. Haul out the video or photo of their ultrasound, if you have
one. Every Catholic child should know the basics about human development: human life
begins at the moment of conception, when the individual begins to grow according to
the plan mapped out in his or her unique DNA; the human heart begins beating at about
18 days; the fetus begins responding to touch (and pain) between 6-8 weeks; babies
are viable beginning at about 24 weeks.
Kids younger than age 6 who ask, “What is abortion?” can be held off by telling them,
“That’s a question we’ll talk about when you’re older.” If you do go ahead and talk to
younger kids about abortion, take Kelly’s advice and keep your answers plain, simple,
and as non-graphic as possible.
Let slightly older kids (age 7-9) take the lead; answer their questions as best you can,
but avoid graphic or detailed descriptions. As Kelly points out, graphic images of
mutilated babies aren’t easily forgotten, and are truly the stuff of nightmares.
As kids enter the pre-teen and teen years, be sure to talk to them about what they can
(and should) do if they or a friend become pregnant. Be sure they know about local
resources, including crisis pregnancy centers. And make sure they know that you will
always be someone they can turn to for help, either for themselves or a friend. Teens
can also be turned on to various pro-life youth groups, such as Teens for Life (which
runs summer leadership camps) and Students for Life.
No parent wants to educate their kids about abortion. But if parents don’t educate their
kids about abortion, others will do the job for them—and the message won’t be one that
upholds universal human rights. Parish catechists and youth ministers are reluctant to
tackle the issue, given how fraught it is. The media routinely presumes the pro-abortion
position to be both reasonable and just, and routinely ignores or distorts information that
does not fit that narrative. The issue is unlikely to be fairly presented in a classroom
setting, either.
3. Teach compassion for people who participate in abortion
It is often said that Catholicism is all about “both/and” rather than “either/or,” and that
definitely applies to the abortion issue. The example of Jesus and the longstanding
tradition of the Church teaches us that respect and compassion are absolutely essential
to the proclamation of the Gospel. At every stage, kids should be taught that Christians
ought to seek the good of both the mother and her child.
Older kids and teens should be actively encouraged to consider the situation of women
who have abortions, listening to their stories empathetically. Real Choices: Listening to
Women; Looking for Alternatives to Abortion by Frederica Mathewes-Green is an
excellent resource for teens and parents. The book is dated, but still relevant;
Matthews-Green, a one-time supporter of legalized abortion, interviews women who
have had abortions to find out why, and comes away with some profound insights into
the problem.
Righteous anger, a commitment to prophetically proclaiming the truth, and compassion
for unborn children all too often leads opponents of abortion to emphasize truth-telling
over compassionate listening and empathetic relationship building. That’s natural,
especially for young people. You can help your kids temper that impulse with mercy by
pointing out people you (or they) know and love who have had abortions, or pointing out
that the odds are high that someone they know and love has had an abortion, even if
that person hasn’t shared that information.
https://www.teachingcatholickids.com/how-do-you-talk-to-kids-about-abortion/

In order to destigmatize abortion in our communities, we need to talk about it, and I
believe many of these conversations must start at home—between parents and
children.
The foundations we lay when our children are young pave the way for the development
of their ideologies, both good and harmful. Young people deserve factual information on
abortion from people who’ve had them. Sometimes that means parents opening up and
being honest with their children about their own experiences with family planning.
Actress Michelle Williams—who is currently pregnant and the parent to a teenager—told
her abortion story to an audience of millions during her recent Golden Globes speech.
She credited her success in life to the fact that she had the right to choose. Williams’
speech resonated with other parents who have had abortions and feel like their right to
choose positively impacted their lives in a number of ways.
But how do parents broach this conversation with their children? After having their own
abortion talks, these parents want you to know the experience doesn’t have to be
difficult, but transformative and strengthening for your relationship. Last names have
been withheld for privacy.
https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2020/01/13/having-the-abortion-talk-with-children-
is-easier-than-you-think-just-ask-these-parents/
Many parents feel hesitant to bring up the topic of abortion with their kids. But
considering that abortion is not covered in school sex ed classes, avoiding it leaves kids'
information sources to the internet or billboards, which are littered with anti-choice
propaganda, misinformation, and other polarizing viewpoints.
Talking to kids about abortion can be hard. Most of us have our own personal feelings
about abortion, and many of us have our own experiences with the procedure.
But, untangling facts about abortion from the politics of abortion is an important thing to
do if we want to do the more significant work of de-stigmatizing a necessary medical
procedure. And shattering stigma can have a profound effect on our children's future
health and their ability to access certain forms of medical care.
Some parents shared with us about how they discuss abortion with their kids. Here is
what they had to say:
Talk about abortion as one possible outcome of pregnancy.
Sarah Tarver-Wahlquist is a member of the Tucson Abortion Support Collective in
Tucson, Arizona. Sarah's oldest was eight when she started discussing abortion with
him. When he responded, aghast, and asked if abortion was “killing babies,” she
immediately regretting having waited so long to start the conversation.
“We now talk about abortion as one possible outcome of a pregnancy,” says Sarah,
“And we talk about some of the statistics — that one in three women will have an
abortion in her reproductive life, and that the majority of people who have abortions are
already parents — to emphasize that abortion is a normal part of life and a decision that
many people will choose to make.”
Sarah explains the different ways that people can feel about their pregnancies, and she
tells her kids, "It's okay if it feels weird to you to think about abortion. I know you
remember when I was pregnant and how happy we were, and how we talked about our
fetus as our baby. That was our experience, but it isn't everyone's experience, and it's
our job to support people to make their own decisions about what is best for their lives."
Talk about the reasons people might terminate their pregnancies.
Rachel C. from Denver says, “Basically, I explained it as a woman could be pregnant
and for whatever reason need not to be. Maybe she's sick. Maybe she isn't ready to be
a mother. Maybe the fetus is very sick. So she can have an abortion.”
Nekole S. from Seattle reminds her girls (eight and twelve years old) that it takes a lot to
raise a baby. “They also know my dad didn’t really stick around and they know some of
the implications of that.”
Nekole says that personalizing it can help kids understand and relate to reasons a
person might have an abortion.
“We talked about how some people don't want [abortion] to be an option,” says Rachel.
She says that she reminds her kids that it's important to let pregnant people choose
what they need to do to keep mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy.
Talk about why the choice is important.
Grace A., is an American expat living in Uruguay. “My discussions with my kids haven't
been because I needed an abortion, myself, but because in this age they have been
exposed to the idea pretty young,” she says.
Having kids who grew up in “Red Country” Texas, Grace says her kids regularly were
exposed to anti-abortion imagery from the time they could read.
When Grace began to consider broaching the subject of abortion with her kids (when
they were around six or seven years old), she remembered a story from her childhood,
Watership Down, that helped her understand the concept of abortion when she was a
child.
“In the book, the rabbits explain re-absorption of litters into the doe's body as a gift from
"Lord Frith," fulfillment of a promise made to Elahrairah the rabbit Prince that no rabbit
would ever be born into conditions that were not good for it (lack of food for the warren,
overcrowding, sick mother, hunters close by).”
Grace used that story to explain to her kids how pregnant anythings could choose not to
bring little ones into a bad situation and that we should trust that the pregnant person
knows best.
Nerd out on the science of it.
Nekole loves to talk about the science of reproduction whenever she talks to her girls
about pregnancy and birth control. She talks about the cells and how they multiply and
divide, the sperm and where it comes from, and the egg and where it comes from.
When she talks about fetal development, that's when she brings up abortion. Nekole
had an abortion at five weeks, and she's openly discussed it with her girls, explaining
exactly what was taken out of her uterus at that stage of her pregnancy.
“I think what’s helpful is I know how I think/feel about it, so the narrative is always the
same whenever we visit it,” Nekole says.
Since her abortion was the result of an unplanned pregnancy, she also uses that story
to illustrate the importance of always using protection.
“My story is that I got pregnant having unprotected sex when I was still bleeding, so it's
a nice segway into condoms no matter what,” she says.
Talk about what happens during an abortion.
When Samantha D.'s daughter was six, Samantha's friend stayed with them at their
Pittsburgh home when her friend was having an abortion.
Her daughter asked lots of questions, like why their friend wasn't feeling well.
Samantha's friend said that it was okay to discuss what was happening and so she was
able to tell her daughter about what happens during an abortion while she observed
someone experiencing one.
Sam let her daughter lead with questions, and she answered accordingly. “She asked if
there was a baby in her right now, and I told her that the sperm and egg had combined,
but it was not growing into a baby anymore because my friend had taken medicine to
stop that process,” says Sam.
Sam's daughter seemed to understand, and Sam says she was very considerate of her
friend’s comfort. “She even acted as a mini doula by serving things to her, asking her
about how she was doing, keeping quiet and generally calm in her presence, and
relaxing with her to keep her company as she rested.”
Ultimately, Sarah Tarver-Wahlquist says that talking to kids early and often about
abortion is much bigger than a conversation about a medical procedure. She says it's
part of a bigger narrative of talking to them about the importance of autonomy, consent,
and choice.
https://ravishly.com/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-abortion