Editing Abortion (section)

===Induced===
An induced abortion is a medical procedure to end a pregnancy.<ref>{{cite web |vauthors=Cheng L |date=1 November 2008 |title=Surgical versus medical methods for second-trimester induced abortion |url=http://apps.who.int/rhl/fertility/abortion/CD006714_chengl_com/en/index.html |work=The WHO Reproductive Health Library |publisher=World Health Organization |access-date=17 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100801023058/http://apps.who.int/rhl/fertility/abortion/CD006714_chengl_com/en/index.html |archive-date=1 August 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In present-day English, the term ''abortion'', when used without further qualification, generally refers to induced abortion.<ref name=OED/>

A pregnancy can be intentionally aborted in several ways. The abortion method depends upon the [[Embryonic age|gestational age]] of the embryo or fetus, which gains mass as the pregnancy progresses.<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Stubblefield PG |chapter=10. Family Planning |title=Novak's Gynecology| veditors=Berek JS |editor1-link=Jonathan Berek| publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins| year=2002| edition=13| isbn=978-0-7817-3262-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| title=Risk factors for legal induced abortion-related mortality in the United States |pmid=15051566| journal=Obstetrics & Gynecology |year=2004 | vauthors = Bartlett LA, Berg CJ, [[Holly Shulman|Shulman HB]], Zane SB, Green CA, Whitehead S, Atrash HK |volume=103 |issue=4 |pages=729–737 |doi=10.1097/01.AOG.0000116260.81570.60| s2cid=42597014| doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Abortion law|Abortion laws]], regional availability, and the personal preference of the women and her doctor may inform the women's choice of a specific abortion procedure. 

Abortions can be characterized as either therapeutic or elective. When an abortion is performed for medical reasons, the procedure is referred to as a therapeutic abortion. Medical reasons for therapeutic abortion include saving the life of the pregnant woman, preventing harm to the woman's [[Health|physical]] or [[mental health]], preventing the birth of a child who will have a significantly increased chance of mortality or morbidity, and [[selective reduction|reducing]] the number of fetuses to lessen health risks associated with [[multiple pregnancy]].<ref name="roche1">{{cite web| vauthors = Roche NE |date=28 September 2004 |title=Therapeutic Abortion |publisher=eMedicine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041214092044/http://www.emedicine.com/MED/topic3311.htm |url=http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/252560-overview |archive-date=14 December 2004 |access-date=19 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="Williams Gyn, Chp 6" /> An abortion is referred to as elective or voluntary when it is performed at the request of the woman for non-medical reasons.<ref name="Williams Gyn, Chp 6" /> Confusion sometimes arises over the term ''elective'' because "[[elective surgery]]" generally refers to all scheduled surgery, whether medically necessary or not.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Janiak |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Goldberg |first2=Alisa B. |date=2016-02-01 |title=Eliminating the phrase 'elective abortion': why language matters |url=https://www.contraceptionjournal.org/article/S0010-7824(15)00624-1/abstract |journal=Contraception |language=English |volume=93 |issue=2 |pages=89–92 |doi=10.1016/j.contraception.2015.10.008 |pmid=26480889 |issn=0010-7824 |access-date=27 November 2022 |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124173416/https://www.contraceptionjournal.org/article/S0010-7824%2815%2900624-1/fulltext |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

About one in five pregnancies worldwide ends with an induced abortion.<ref name="Sedgh 2012" /> Most abortions result from unintended pregnancies.<ref name=bankole98/><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Finer LB, Frohwirth LF, Dauphinee LA, Singh S, Moore AM |title=Reasons U.S. women have abortions: quantitative and qualitative perspectives |journal=Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=110–118 |date=September 2005 |pmid=16150658 |doi=10.1111/j.1931-2393.2005.tb00045.x |url=http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3711005.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060117143856/https://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3711005.pdf |archive-date=17 January 2006}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, 1 to 2% of abortions are done because of genetic problems in the fetus.<ref name=BMJ2014/>