Are you one of those people for whom the word Abortion is like a red herring and they feel absolutely scandalized just at the very mention of it?

You will be surprised to know that even though there is a lot of hue and cry over abortion apart from the countless wrong information which is doing the rounds, at the end of the day it is just another medical procedure. So let us bust all these myths about abortion through the following lines in this article!!

First let’s understand the meaning of Abortion

Abortion is the process of removing the embryo or fetus from the uterus before it is ready to be delivered. An abortion can only be done before the period of viability and not after it. There are no such things called late term abortions and everything after the viability period is called pregnancy terminations and not abortion.

Abortion does not mean the killing of a baby!

You must have heard the countless arguments opposing abortion in which a woman who thinks of going through abortion is emotionally blackmailed by the society on the grounds that she will be killing her ‘unborn child’ if she opts for abortion. Now this is a complete misconception, it is not a child that resides in a pregnant uterus but an embryo. Gradually the embryo graduates into a fetus and finally a baby, when the fetus develops body organs. A fetus can be termed as a baby only when it is born. That is why it is simply ridiculous to think that through abortion a mother is killing her child.

Partial birth abortions

Another myth is of partial birth abortions. Surprisingly, even though we hear politically motivated people talk about it but this is a term which is completely missing from the medical terminology. The very words partial birth and abortion are conflicting to each other and therefore there is no meaning to think of them like that. It is about time that we start looking beyond such misconceptions.

Third Trimester Abortions

Late abortions are also often wrongly called as third trimester abortions. It is believed that these abortions are done after 8.5 months that is after viability. We had discussed earlier in this article that an abortion after viability is a pregnancy termination. It is true that sometimes fetal anencephaly when the pregnancy is already in a mature stage but it is done to terminate only those fetuses which have failed to develop a brain. It is also a type of pregnancy termination, but under any circumstances cannot be called as Third Trimester Abortions.

Pro- Life

The term pro-life is not appropriate to use for activists who are against abortion. It should be pro birth because they are speaking in favor of the birth of a child. The life of a child starts after he is born.  For example, a person who is living cannot be called pre-dead even though it is obvious that he is going to eventually die someday. However this fact is often ignored by people who accuse the mother of being a murderer as she is killing her own child. Often women feel depressed and traumatized after an abortion, which to a large extent is because of the constant backlash that she receives from the society.

JWB Take

We believe that abortion is definitely an explorable option in circumstances such as unplanned babies, when both of the partners feel that they are not ready to be parents yet. Also in the cases of victims of sexual assault and rape, it is unjust to force a woman to have a child even though at this point she is completely unprepared for it.  A woman must have the right to decide that whether she wants to have a baby or not and in such a situation what is most important is the fact that she be aware of all the choices that she has. If her mind is filled with superstitious facts and rumors about abortion then it will not only damage her emotionally but may also result to far reaching consequences in her life. Let’s make it clear though, we are NOT Pro Abortion or Anti Abortion! We simply believe that it is about time that the choices and various decisions in the personal life of a woman be left on her rather to decide rather than on baseless theories and incorrect facts.

By Deep Mukherjee,

Columnist