Short answers, pulled from the story.
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. The unmodified word generally refers to induced abortion, meaning deliberate actions to end a pregnancy, while abortion that occurs without intervention is called spontaneous abortion or miscarriage. Miscarriage occurs in roughly 30 to 40 percent of all pregnancies.
When done legally in industrialized societies, induced abortion is one of the safest procedures in medicine. A 2012 study found that in the United States the risk of maternal mortality is 14 times lower after induced abortion than after childbirth. The CDC estimated the US abortion mortality rate at 0.43 deaths per 100,000 procedures in 2019, against 17.2 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Around 73 million abortions are performed each year worldwide, with about 45 percent done unsafely. Roughly 20 million unsafe abortions occur annually, with 97 percent taking place in developing countries. Unsafe abortions cause between 22,000 and 44,000 deaths and 6.9 million hospital admissions each year.
Modern abortion uses medication or surgery. A common medical regimen combines mifepristone, also known as RU-486, with misoprostol up to 10 weeks of gestation, and is 98 percent effective up to 9 weeks. The most common surgical method up to 15 weeks is suction-aspiration or vacuum aspiration, while dilation and evacuation is used after 12 to 16 weeks.
Current evidence finds no relationship between most induced abortions and mental health problems beyond those expected for any unwanted pregnancy. A 2020 study found about 99 percent of US women felt they made the right decision five years later, with relief as the primary emotion. Major medical bodies including the WHO and the American Cancer Society have concluded that abortion does not cause breast cancer.
Abortion has a long history traced to ancient China, Vedic India, ancient Egypt with the Ebers Papyrus around 1550 BCE, and the Roman Empire. One of the earliest artistic depictions is a bas relief at Angkor Wat around 1150. In 1920, Soviet Russia became the first country to legalize abortion after Lenin insisted that no woman be forced to give birth.
Abortion rates are similar between countries that restrict abortion and countries that broadly allow it. This is partly because countries that restrict abortion tend to have higher unintended pregnancy rates. Restrictive laws are associated with increases in the percentage of abortions performed unsafely rather than fewer abortions overall.