Abortion - elective or therapeutic

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Early weeks of pregnancy

First trimester of pregnancy

Normal uterine anatomy (cut section)

Therapeutic abortion; Elective abortion

Improved methods of contraception can help prevent many unplanned pregnancies. This includes education related to abstinence, or, in the case of chosen sexual activity, contraception education.

Contraceptive methods do not always prevent pregnancy -- unplanned pregnancies occur even when couples practice adequate methods of contraception to the best of their abilities.

Sometimes, a woman chooses to terminate a pregnancy that results from a sexual assault, one that endangers her health, or one in which the fetus is abnormal.

Finer LB, Henshaw SK. Disparities in rates of unintended pregnancy in the United States, 1994 and 2001. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2006 Jun;38(2):90-6.

Review Date: 09/19/2006
Reviewed By: Audra Robertson, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.