Chronicle

The PASCAL ChronicleABORTIONAbortion is a medical procedure in which a pregnant woman has an embryo orfetus removed from the uterus before it is viable. In other words, the fetus isremoved before 24 weeks and when it is unable to live. An abortion done in thedeveloped world and by professionals is a safe medical procedure. However,unsafe abortions performed by those without proper training or outside a medicalenvironment can be lethal. According to the World Health Organisation, in2008 in some countries of Africa deaths caused by unsafe abortion are 80 per100,000 live births compared to 10 per 100,000 in Europe.There are many different opinions about the morality of abortion which are acombination of culture, religion, personal belief and responsibility. There arestrongly held views and arguments in favour of and against abortion. One organization,the Pro – Life Alliance in the UK says that there is ―a significant corelationshipbetween abortion and mental health problems‖, in addition, thereare better ways to deal with unplanned pregnancy than abortion, such as adoption.In contrast, another organization in the UK, the Pro-choice Majority, arguethat the abortion is a woman‘s ―fundamental right‖ and that this right should beprotected. Religious, moral and cultural feelings continue to influence abortionlaws around the world.According to information on the National Health Service website in the UK, there are three main methods of abortiondepending on the length of the pregnancy. These include the following:A. The abortion pill (up to 9 weeks of pregnancy) which involves taking two tablets which block hormones needed forthe pregnancy to continue;B. Vacuum abortion (up to 15 weeks of pregnancy) which involves removing the fetus, placenta and membranes bysuction using a syringe;C. Dilation and evacuation (from 15 to 24 weeks of pregnancy) which involves opening the cervix of the uterus andemptying it using surgical instruments and suction.Abortion in Cyprus is allowed with certain restrictions. This law was introduced in 1974 and amended in 1986. Accordingto the UN department of Economic and Social Affairs, abortion in Cyprus can be carried out for the following reasons:(1) To save the life of the woman; (2) To preserve physical and mental health of the woman; (3) Pregnancycaused by rape or incest; and (4) fetal deformity.However, it is illegal to have an abortion for economic or social reasons. Moreover, in order for an abortion to be carriedout two doctors need to give approval and in the case of rape there must be a police certificate. In addition, Cyprushas a family Planning Association which gives advice about avoiding unwanted pregnancies. However, Cyprus hasa pro-natalist policy, which means that the state tries to encourage couples to have more children since they believethat the annual birth rate is too low. Therefore, abortion is still a taboo subject in Cyprus and many routine abortionsare performed in private clinics. This means that there are no reliable statistics about abortions, how many are performedand if they are performed according to the legal requirements.Many religions do not believe in abortion and strongly advise women not to go through with it. Examples of these religionsare Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism and Christianity and their views are quite similar.I personally believe that abortion is every woman‘s individual choice and I don‘t think she should be influenced by herreligion or other people‘s thoughts or beliefs.ReferencesCyprus Family Planning Association, http://www.cyfamplan.org/FamPlan/National Health Service, http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Abortion/Pages/How-is-itperformed.aspxPro-Choice Majority, http://www.prochoicemajority.org.uk/Pro-Life website, http://prolife.org.uk/UN (Department of Economic and Social Affairs) www.un.org/esa/population/publications/abortion/doc/cyprus1.docWorld Health Organisation, http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2011/9789241501118_eng.pdfSophie Savvidou 4A68