Prompt Cast
The Science Behind Abortion: Development, Procedures, and Risks
TLDR This episode of Science Vs delves into the science behind abortion, discussing the development of the fetus, the different abortion procedures, and the risks involved. Scientific studies show that a fetus does not have the necessary development to feel pain until at least 24 weeks, and there is no proven association between having an abortion and infertility or negative effects on mental health or overall quality of life.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Abortion is a politically charged issue in the US, and this episode of Science Vs explores the science behind abortion, including the development of the fetus, what happens during an abortion, and the risks involved.
04:58
The development of a fetus begins with the fertilization of the egg by sperm, resulting in the formation of a zygote that eventually folds in on itself to create the shape of the fetus, which is initially less than a millimeter in size.
09:59
According to scientific studies, a fetus does not have the necessary development to feel pain until at least 24 weeks or six months of development.
15:03
In the first trimester, there are two main ways to get an abortion: medication abortion, where pills are taken to terminate the pregnancy, and surgical abortion, where a doctor physically removes the pregnancy through the vagina.
19:55
Later abortions, which occur after 12 weeks, involve a procedure called dilation and evacuation (D&E) where the fetus is removed using forceps and is often dismembered during the process, and third trimester abortions are extremely rare and usually occur due to serious complications or fetal abnormalities.
25:13
The majority of women who have abortions are in their 20s and 30s, with teenagers making up only 12% of all women who get abortions, and 60% of women getting abortions in America are already mothers.
29:32
Women of all religious backgrounds, including Catholics and Protestants, get abortions, and the most common reasons for getting an abortion are financial constraints, unsupportive partners, and timing.
33:59
According to the UK's College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, there is no proven association between having an abortion and infertility, and studies have not found an increased risk of breast cancer or negative effects on mental health or overall quality of life.
38:44
The Turnaway Study found no evidence of mental health harms or regret among women who had abortions compared to those who carried unwanted pregnancies to term, and other studies have also found no significant psychiatric differences between women who had abortions and those who didn't.
43:24
Women who are unable to get an abortion that they want are more likely to still be in an abusive relationship with the father two and a half years later, and the violence from the man involved in the pregnancy declines significantly for women who have an abortion because they have broken ties with that person.
