What is abortion?

 

Introduction and purpose

Even before the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, but especially afterwards, public discourse has been hampered by terminological fluidity. Ask five people to define abortion and you're likely to get four or five different answers. As a result, people often just talk past one another. 

Regardless of where your beliefs fall along the spectrum of abortion policy positions, accuracy in communication is a vital skill set. Accuracy puts everyone on the same page and ensures "your message is clearly and accurately delivered," as well as "clearly and accurately received" [1].

"Precision of language is essential to creating an expression that matches the intention of the writer [or speaker]" [2], and "the possibility of misunderstandings, misinterpretations and even poor decisions, is radically reduced." [3]

Most importantly, the foundation of effective communication, always, is adherence to the meaning of words. This is especially true when discussing abortion and abortion policy. 

The purpose of this post is to affect more fruitful public discourse by providing the reader with basic, factual information, answering the question, "What is abortion?" It is left to the reader to employ this information, modifying their sentences as necessary to provide clarification and specificity when engaged in interpersonal communication, whether in the private or public sphere.

*No position on abortion or abortion policy is taken herein.  

Etymology and historical meaning 

According to Grant Barrett, a linguist and lexicographer, the world abortion "comes into English from the Latin" [4]. "In Latin," explained Barrett, the word "referred to a miscarriage, or the procuring of a miscarriage" [5]. Both "'Abortio' — a miscarriage, induced or otherwise — and 'abortiuum' — an abortifacient, a substance that induces abortion — go back at least as far as the seventh century A.D., according to the Oxford Latin Dictionary" [6].

Hence abortion, which came "into the English language around 1537," was the general, morally neutral "term for any pregnancy that didn't come to term — human intervention or no" [7]. And the definition of abortion has changed very little since that time. 

What is "abortion”?

Abortion is defined as the ending of a pregnancy before fetal viability [8] [9] [10], though "some medical dictionaries mention 20 weeks' gestation or 500 g as the limit" [11]. 

It is important to now emphasize that the definition of abortion does not include intent, as there can be different intentions for ending a pregnancy, or no intentions at all. For this reason, miscarriages are referred to as "spontaneous abortions," that is, the spontaneous, unintentional ending of a pregnancy. 

Accordingly, major medical societies and medical billing codes reflect the intent-neutral/intent-free nature of the term abortion — the ending of a pregnancy, "whether that pregnancy is wanted or unwanted, whether a woman is seeking the procedure to clean out her uterus after a miscarriage, or because of a dire fetal diagnosis, or to terminate a pregnancy that she had not expected" [12]

Some abortions are induced; here again, intent is irrelevant. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), "Induced abortion ends a pregnancy with medication or a medical procedure” [13] — this includes inducing labor. [14] As Kaiser Health explains, "Induction abortion is ending a pregnancy by using medicines to start (induce) labor and delivery," a method sometimes "done because of a severe medical problem." [15] 

Source: GrepMed

On occasion, a spontaneous abortion requires treatment through an induced abortion, such as in cases of incomplete (missed) or septic spontaneous abortions. This can involve various methods of induced abortion, including but not limited to the use of medication (mifepristone and misoprostol), a pre-viability cesarean section, or inducing labor. When labor-induction abortion involves the delivery of a living fetus, fetal demise is almost always inevitable due to fetal inviability [18]. 

Because inducing labor and delivery prior to fetal viability ends a pregnancy, it is medically classified as abortion. Nevertheless, the hope is that the fetus will survive.

Abortions are also sometimes performed to end pregnancies that are not viable, such as cesarean scar and cervical ectopic pregnancies.

Whether or not an abortion is spontaneous or induced, the intent-free definition of the term abortion (whether limited to 20 weeks or fetal viability) remains the same.

"The medical term abortion refers to any pregnancy that ends prior to 20 weeks. Such a pregnancy ending might be spontaneous or it might be induced." • Dr. Jeffrey Wright, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) 

Conclusion 

"Accuracy in communication is one of the most critical communication skills. It sounds so obvious and simple! Yet this essential aspect of communication is often overlooked. The impact can be massive. For better or worse. This applies to both verbal and written communications" [16]. Accuracy in communication begins with adherence to the meaning of words, in this case abortion. "An initial misunderstanding can quickly and easily escalate into" the total breakdown of dialog [17]. It is up to you to employ terminology accurately and utilize linguistic specificity on the subject of abortion and abortion policy. 

CITATIONS

[1] Matters, Margi. “Accuracy in Communication - Brisbane Psychologist Margi Matters: Ashgrove and North Brisbane.” Brisbane Psychologist Margi Matters | Ashgrove and North Brisbane, 14 June 2020, https://margimattersbrisbanepsychologist.com/2018/06/25/communication-and-accuracy/. 

[2] Hollander, Brooklyn. “Precision of Language.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2017, https://highschool.latimes.com/corona-del-mar-high-school/precision-of-language/. 

[3] Matters, Margi. “Accuracy in Communication - Brisbane Psychologist Margi Matters: Ashgrove and North Brisbane.” Brisbane Psychologist Margi Matters | Ashgrove and North Brisbane, 14 June 2020, https://margimattersbrisbanepsychologist.com/2018/06/25/communication-and-accuracy/.

[4] Beckerman, Jim. “Abortion Is the Word of the Hour. but Where Did It Come from?” North Jersey Media Group, NorthJersey.com, 10 May 2022, https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2022/05/06/abortion-definition-history-word-roe-v-wade-law/9646606002/. 

[5] Ibid. 4

[6] Ibid. 4

[7] Ibid. 4

[8] “Chapter 11: First- and Second-Trimester Pregnancy Loss.” AccessMedicine, https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?sectionid=263815963&bookid=2977#263816185. 

[9] “Abortion: Taber's Medical Dictionary.” Abortion | Taber's Medical Dictionary, https://www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/766365/all/abortion. 

[10] Grimes, David A., and Gretchen Stuart. “Abortion Jabberwocky: The Need for Better Terminology.” Contraception, Elsevier, 21 Oct. 2009, https://www.contraceptionjournal.org/article/S0010-7824%2809%2900415-6/fulltext. 

[11] Ibid. 10

[12] Zernike, Kate. “What Does 'Abortion' Mean? Even the Word Itself Is up for Debate.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/18/us/abortion-roe-debate.html. 

[13] “Abortion Care.” ACOG, https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/induced-abortion.

[14] Casey, Frances E. “Induced Abortion - Gynecology and Obstetrics.” Merck Manuals Professional Edition, Merck Manuals, 14 Dec. 2022, https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/gynecology-and-obstetrics/family-planning/induced-abortion. 

[15] “Induction Abortion.” Induction Abortion | Kaiser Permanente, https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/health-wellness/health-encyclopedia/he.induction-abortion.tw2562.

[16] Matters, Margi. “Accuracy in Communication - Brisbane Psychologist Margi Matters: Ashgrove and North Brisbane.” Brisbane Psychologist Margi Matters | Ashgrove and North Brisbane, 14 June 2020, https://margimattersbrisbanepsychologist.com/2018/06/25/communication-and-accuracy/. 

[17] Ibid. 16

[18] Borgatta, Lynn, and Nathalie Kapp. “Labor Induction Abortion in the Second Trimester.” Contraception, Elsevier, 31 Mar. 2011, https://www.contraceptionjournal.org/article/S0010-7824(11)00057-6/fulltext.