The costs of an abortion

The cost of a first trimester abortion is about $350 to $900 for an in-clinic procedure, and between $350 to $650 for a medication abortion, which has to be done within 9 weeks. Abortions in hospitals cost even more. Beyond 13 weeks, it becomes extremely difficult to find a provider willing to perform a second trimester abortion. Plus, it becomes even more expensive than a first trimester abortion.

Lowen , Linda. "How Much Does an Abortion Cost?." About.com Women. New York Times Company, 04Oc. Web. 16 Jul 2012. <http://womensissues.about.com/od/abortion/f/Abortion-Cost-How-Much-Does-An-Abortion-Cost.htm>.

My image of abortion

My image of abortion is something people do when they can't give birth to a baby. For example, a teenage girl gets pregnant and she and her boyfriend can't afford to raise the baby. Another example is if giving birth might effect the mother's health (or life). I think abortion is necessary, but this is because of the society we live in. We need money to raise a baby. Abortion is an issue that still needs a lot of discussion.

A pro-life group

I found a pro-life group called the "40 Days for Life". This group holds community-based campaigns that tells people about the consequences they may face if they have an abortion. The name of this group comes from the bible, where the period of 40 days comes out several times such as in Noah's Ark. This group has most of it's campaigns in America and through those campaigns, 23 abortion centers closed following these campaigns. 40 Days for Life has been up since 2007 and also has had campaigns in cities in Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Belize, Denmark, England, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Poland, Puerto Rico and Spain. Their next campaign will be from September 26 to November 4. 

"40 Days for Life." . 40 Days for Life, 2012. Web. 15 Jul 2012. <http://www.40daysforlife.com/>.

The number of abortions in Japan

In 2005,there were about 290,000 abortions in Japan. This number is decreasing year by year, but is still a high number. This number is 21.4% of all the pregnancies in the country.  This percentage is also going down yearly, but only by a little. I think the number of abortions per year is decreasing because the number of people getting pregnant is decreasing. Therefore the number of the people having abortions is decreasing along with it. The reason why the number of pregnancies is decreasing is most likely because of the change in the society. Unlike in the past, woman have more freedom and have more opportunities to work like men do. Therefore, marriage and having a household isn't the only thing for woman anymore.


Johnston, Robert. "Historical abortion statistics, Japan." johnstonsarchive. Robert Johnston, 21 N. Web. 10 Jul 2012. <http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/ab-japan.html>

Comparing 2 countries with different laws on abortion

I would like to compare the laws in the United States of America and the country I talked about in the last blog entry, Afghanistan. In the US, it is legal to have an abortion, but individual states can make state-by-state laws on abortion. Therefore, some states have regulations that even have penalties. For example, in Louisiana it is illegal to have an abortion, except in the case in which the mother's health would be in danger. If you break that law, you would go into prison for up to 10 years and a fine of a maximum of $100,000. Comparing these 2 countries, Afghanistan is strict with this issue, but allows it in a specific case, but the United States has an overall law of it being legal to have abortions except in some states. I think this is because of differences between religious beliefs. In the Islam, their beliefs are based on the Old Testament, which has a strict teaching (ten commandments). Compared to that, America is more free in religion, so it doesn't restrict such issues as much.


"Find Law." Louisiana abortion laws. Thomson Reuters business, 2012. Web. 8 Jul 2012. <http://law.findlaw.com/state-laws/abortion/louisiana/>.

A country where abortion is legal

It is legal in Afghanistan to have an abortion only when the pregnancy might endanger the mother's health. Other cases (such as rape or request by mother) is not acceptable. In the Islam beliefs, it is forbidden to kill a person, but it doesn't say any specific details about abortion. Because of this, there are various interpretations made by different countries. Therefore, I think that Afghanistan thought the lives of the mothers were important and to make them give birth with the sacrifice of their lives would make doctors a murderer. In result, they decided to make it legal to have abortions only if the process of giving birth might affect the mother's life.

"Summary of abortion laws around the world." Summary of abortion laws around the world. Pregnant pause, 2010. Web. 3 Jul 2012. <http://www.pregnantpause.org/lex/world02.jsp>. 

 Syed, I.. "Abortion In Islam." Abortion in islam. Islami Research Foundation Inc., 2000. Web. 3 Jul 2012. <http://www.islamawareness.net/FamilyPlanning/Abortion/abortion3.html>.

The first practice of abortion

The first recorded practiced of abortion was in B.C. 1550 in Egypt. This was recorded in an ancient  medical text called the Ebers Papyrus. In the Ebers Papyrus, it suggests the use of a plant-fiber tampon coated with a compound that included honey and crushed dates when having an abortion. It also mentions a herbal abortifacient called pennyroyal, which is sometimes used in abortions. Yet this pennyroyal is toxic and is not a safe way to induct an abortion.

Head, T.. "When Did Abortion Begin?." Civilliberty.about.com. About.com, 2012. Web. 13 Jun 2012. <http://civilliberty.about.com/od/abortion/f/When-Did-Abortion-Begin.htm>.

List of questions about abortion part 1

1. When was abortion first practice?
2. Name a country where abortion is legal.
3. Why do you think it is legal in that country?
4. Compare 2 countries with different laws about abortion.
5. How many abortions cases are there in Japan per year?
6. Is that number increasing or decreasing?
7. Why do you think so?
8. Are there any groups that are against abortion?
9. Are there any groups that support abortion?
10. What kind of people do you think would have an abortion?
11. What is your image of abortion?
12. Are there any books/movies that focuses on abortion?
13. Are there famous stories about abortion that isn't published ?
14. How much does it cost to have an abortion?
15. Are there any differences depending on the case?