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Abortion access
Definition of terms related
to abortion & pregnancy
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Terms must be used with great care. Because various groups define words differently, misunderstandings are common. Some often used and confused terms related to abortion are:
 | Abortifacient: medication which terminates pregnancy and induces an abortion. Since the pro-life movement defines the start of pregnancy differently from that used by the pro-choice movement and the medical profession, a medication can be considered as an abortifacient by pro-lifers and a contraceptive by everyone else. | ||||||||
| Abortion: This word has many meanings. Two of the most popular
are:
See also a list of definitions of "abortion" used by various organizations. | ||||||||
| Anti-abortion: This is a term whose meaning is in flux. Sometimes it is used as a derogatory synonym for "pro-life." Recently, it has been frequently used to refer to individuals and groups who take violent action against abortion providers or clinics, up to and including shooting staff and bombing clinics. | ||||||||
| Anti-choice: Derogatory term used to refer to pro-life advocates, implying that their prime motivation is to control women and restrict their freedom. It is not. Almost all "pro-lifers" appear to be motivated by the belief that a fertilized ovum, embryo and fetus are a human person. See "Pro-life". | ||||||||
| Baby: Normally, this means a very young child aged from birth to perhaps 1 year. The term is also sometimes used (particularly by pro-life advocates) to refer to a zygote, blastocyst, morula, embryo or fetus. | ||||||||
| Blastocyst: A stage of pre-natal mammalian development which (in humans) extends from the morula stage (a shapeless mass of cells about 4 days after fertilization), to an bilaminar (two layer) embryo stage (1 week after fertilization). | ||||||||
| Child: Normally, this means a person aged from birth to puberty. Sometimes it is used to refer to an unborn fetus as well - particularly by pro-life advocates. In legal usage, it often means a person who has been born but has not attained their 18th birthday. | ||||||||
| Conception: A synonym for "fertilization." | ||||||||
| Intact D&X Abortions A rare procedure in which the brain is removed from a fetus
when it is partly born. Perhaps 3,000 out of the 1.8 million yearly abortions in the US
use this procedure. The size of the skull is reduced; this permits the fetus to be removed
more easily through the woman's cervix. Its use is normally restricted to very rare
instances in which:
Testimony before a Senate committee indicated that a few doctors in the United States routinely performed D&X abortions for reasons other than stated above. One who did so was a physician in New Jersey. The alternative to performing a D&X is a hysterotomy. This is a type of Cesarean Section which is far more dangerous to the woman; it can cause perforation or tearing of the uterus, hemorrhaging, and/or complications in future pregnancies | ||||||||
| Embryo: A stage of pre-natal mammalian development which (in humans) extends from 2 to 8 weeks after fertilization. It is termed a "bilaminar" or two layer embryo during its second week and becomes a trilaminar (3 layer) embryo during its third week. At 9 weeks it is referred to as a fetus. | ||||||||
| Fertilization: The process that starts when a sperm contacts an ovum. It ends with the intermingling of chromosomes from both the sperm and ovum to produce a full set of chromosomes - 46 in most humans. The result is a zygote, often popularly referred to as a "fertilized ovum." If it has two X chromosomes, then the zygote is a female; if it has an X and Y, it is male. This is generally regarded as the start of pregnancy within the pro-life movement. Physicians and the pro-choice movement regard the start of pregnancy when the ovum develops into a blastocyst and attaches itself to the wall of the uterus. | ||||||||
| Fetus: A stage of pre-natal mammalian development which (in humans) extends from 9 weeks after fertilization until birth. | ||||||||
| Hysterotomy: A surgical procedure which involves cutting through the woman's abdomen into the uterus (womb) and removing the fetus. It is often referred to as a Cesarean section. | ||||||||
| Implantation: Attachment of the embryo to the wall of the uterus. This is generally regarded as the start of pregnancy by medical professionals and the pro-choice movement. | ||||||||
| Infant: A child; variously defined as aged from birth to 12 months, seven years, and even (in some legal applications) as old as 21 years. | ||||||||
| Life:
Pro-life advocates typically believe that the transition from human life to human personhood happens at fertilization. Pro-choice advocates typically believe that the transition happens much later (e.g. when the fetus is viable -- capable of living on its own, or when its higher brain functions start to operate, or when it is born). | ||||||||
| Meiosis is a process by which the number of chromosomes in a germ cell are halved. In humans, this is normally a reduction from 46 to 23. This happens to an ovum after it is fertilized by a sperm. It happens to sperm before they are released by the testes. | ||||||||
| Miscarriage Interruption of pregnancy prior to the 7th month. Usually used to refer to an expulsion of the fetus which starts without being induced by medical intervention. Approximately 25% of all pregnancies end in a miscarriage. This is a very inexact number, because many embryos are rejected by the woman's body before she is aware that she is pregnant. | ||||||||
| Morula: A very early stage of pre-natal mammalian development. This stage starts when the zygote has developed into a mass of 16 cells. This is typically 4 days after fertilization, and about 10 days before it becomes implanted in the wall of the womb. | ||||||||
| Oocyte: an ovum | ||||||||
| Ovum: The mature sex cell generated by females in an ovary. They are about 1/100 inch in diameter and are often (although not necessarily) released from alternate ovaries about once per month. Probably over 99% of ova die without being fertilized and given the opportunity to develop into a fetus. It is a form of human life because it contains human DNA; however, it is not regarded as a human person. | ||||||||
| Partial Birth Abortion (PBA): A recently coined synonym for intact D&X abortion. (see above) | ||||||||
| Pregnancy:
| ||||||||
| Pre-embryo: A zygote, morula, blastocyst or embryo before it develops a "primitive streak." | ||||||||
| Primitive streak: A marking which appears on an blastocyst about 14 days after fertilization, at about the time that it is implanted in the wall of the uterus. Division into identical twins is very rate after this point. (See "Twinning"). The streak will eventually develop into the fetus' spinal column. |
| Pro-abort, Pro-abortion: Derogatory term used to refer to the pro-choice stance, implying that they promote abortion. They do not. Their motivation is to give women choice in controlling their own bodies. See "Pro-choice". |
| Pro-choice: A belief that women should be given free access to abortions if she wishes to terminate a pregnancy. People who consider themselves "pro-choice" take many positions. Some believe that a woman should have free access to abortions up until fetal viability; others say that a woman should be able to choose to have an abortion later in pregnancy. |
| Pro-life: In general, this is movement which includes those who believe that life becomes human life at the instant of conception (or perhaps shortly after when a unique DNA is produced), and that it should be protected under law until birth. The term has been embraced by some who feel that abortions should be totally unavailable, even to save the life of the woman. Others would allow a woman to have an abortion to avoid disastrous or disabling health problems. At the other end of the spectrum are persons who would allow abortions if caused by of rape or incest. According to one Pro-life group, legislators who have vote in favor of a partial birth abortion ban are now calling themselves "pro-life:" Pastor Matt Trewhella of www.missionariestopreborn.com noted that now even a person "who is only opposed to partial-birth abortions can sell themselves as pro-life."1 |
| Sperm, Spermatozoa: The mature sex cell generated by males. They are about 1/500 inch long. Almost all of their length is formed by a tail. Tens of thousands are generated every minute by most males, starting at puberty. Over 99.999% of sperm die without being able to fertilize an ovum. |
| Stages of development: An ovum, after fertilization, is called a zygote. This becomes, in turn, a morula, blastocyst, embryo and fetus. At birth, the fetus becomes a newborn. Pro-lifers generally describe all stages of development after fertilization as a baby. |
| Trimester: A period lasting nominally 3 months. A human pregnancy is often divided into three trimesters, from fertilization to birth. U.S. state laws restricting abortions often differ among the trimesters. Canada has no laws regulating abortions. |
| Twinning: A process by which an morula, blastocyst or embryo divides in half to produce twins with identical genetic makeup. This normally happens at some time up to the 14th day after fertilization, before the "primitive streak" appears. Twinning does rarely happen later that 14 days and produce conjoined twins; these are popularly called "Siamese twins' |
| Viability: The ability for the developing fetus to live on its own if it were delivered by cesarean section or by normal delivery, and given expert medical care. This typically occurs sometime after the 21st week after conception. Abortions are allowed by various state and provincial medical associations only prior to viability. Terminations of pregnancies at or after viability are not usually performed, except for overwhelming medical reasons (threat to the woman's life, a dead fetus, or the need to terminate the pregnancy to avoid a very serious disability to the mother). The US Supreme Court defined viability (Roe v. Wade, 1973) as "potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid." |
| Zygote: A recently-fertilized ovum. |
Reference:
Pastor Matt Trewhella, "Coming home to roost: Fruit of the Ill-conceived Partial-Birth Abortion Strategy," at: www.missionariestopreborn.com
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Site navigation: Home page > "Hot" topics > Abortion > Facts > here |
Copyright © 1997 to 2007 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Last updated on 2007-MAY-25
Author: B.A. Robinson
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