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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...
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References
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Walker, A.S. (2016). Abortion as Social Policy. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_2646-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_2646-1
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