Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy by removal of the fetus from the uterus. In some cases, a pregnancy can be ended by taking certain medications administered by a physician. In 1973, in Roe v. Wade , the Supreme Court struck down laws banning abortion and declared that constitutional guarantees of privacy give women the right to decide whether and when to have children, including the right to abortion. Roe does not give women an unlimited right to abortion throughout pregnancy.
Most abortions take place early in pregnancy, when the fetus is very immature.
Abortions late in pregnancy are very rare. It is important to remember that women who choose to give birth also face the possibility of serious physical complications like hemorrhage, infection, diabetes, embolism, heart damage, severe high blood pressure, and impaired liver and kidney functioning. Recently, organizations that oppose women's right to make their own decisions about abortion have begun claiming that abortion causes breast cancer. There is no reliable, scientific evidence that women who have abortions commonly develop long-term serious psychological problems as a result of terminating the pregnancy. Dealing with an unintended pregnancy or intended pregnancy in which a severe problem has developed can certainly be stressful and emotionally painful.