Synonyms
Aborticide; Feticide; Misbirth; Miscarriage; Termination
Definition
Abortion is the termination of the process of gestation after the time when the zygote attaches itself to the uterine wall – normally 14 days after conception, but before the fetus is possibly capable of surviving on its own – normally 23–28 weeks from conception (Robinson 2015). A zygote is a fertilized ovum. An ovum is the mature sex cell generated by females in an ovary. Induced abortions are the intentional termination of a pregnancy before the fetus can live independently. An abortion may be elective, which is based on a woman’s personal choice, or therapeutic. Therapeutic abortions are abortions performed to save the life of the pregnant woman, prevent harm to the pregnant woman’s physical or mental health, terminate a pregnancy where indications are that the child will have a significant increased chance of premature morbidity or otherwise disabled, or reduce the number of fetuses to lessen health...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Dudley S, Mueller S (2000) Abortion facts – National Abortion Federation. Retrieved 9 Aug 2016. From http://prochoice.org/education-and-advocacy/aboutabortion/abortion-facts/
Farr AD (1980) The Marquis de Sade and induced abortion. J Med Ethics 6(1):7. https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.6.1.7
Halfmann D (2003) Historical priorities and the responses of doctors ‘associations to abortion reform proposals in Britain and the United States, 1960–1973. Soc Probl 50(4):567–591. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2003.50.4.567
James D, Roche N (2016) Therapeutic abortion, WebMD, 2004. Retrieved 9 Aug 2016
Joffe C, Weitz T, Stacey C (2004) Uneasy allies: pro-choice physicians, feminist health activists and the struggle for abortion rights. Sociol Health Illn 26(6):775–796. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0141-9889.2004.00418.x
Mohr JC (1978) Abortion in America: the origins and evolution of national policy, 1800–1900. Oxford University Press, New York
Page EW (1972) Book review the women and their pregnancies: the collaborative perinatal study of the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke. N Engl J Med 287(9):471. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejm197208312870923
Robinson BA (2015) Part 1 of 2 parts: glossary of terms about abortion or pregnancy that begin with letters A to L. Retrieved Aug 2016. From http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_defn.htm
Slack JD (2011) Abortion, execution, and the consequences of taking life, 2nd edn. Transaction, New Brunswick
Starr P (1982) The social transformation of American medicine. Basic Books, New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Walker, A.S. (2022). Abortion as Social Policy. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66252-3_2646
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66252-3_2646
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-66251-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-66252-3
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences