Have you ever been in a situation or known someone in a situation where an abortion might be necessary, but there was nowhere to go to get it? Abortion is a very controversial topic in this world, even though it has been practiced for many, many years. The procedure has been legal in the United States for as long as people can remember. The history of abortion, as well as the different procedures available, is why the issue has divided society into two groups: pro-life and pro-choice. The act of aborting is when “the pregnancy is removed from the womb, either by taking pills that involve taking medicine to cause a miscarriage, or by surgery in which the pregnancy is removed from the uterus. (Abortion Services, Counseling and Treatment) There are many reasons why a woman would want this for herself and her baby. A woman can take all safety precautions to ensure that pregnancy does not occur, but sometimes contraception fails. Some people simply cannot support a child whether financially, physically or mentally. Sometimes, the child is simply not wanted. Sometimes women want to prevent a baby from being born with birth defects or other medical problems. Victims of rape or incest do not want to carry the resulting child. Finally, physical or mental conditions could be dangerous for the woman if the pregnancy is not terminated. (Abortion: Reasons Why Women Choose Abortion) Even though there were reasons to have an abortion, there was a lot of controversy on the topic of abortion, which is why states began to criminalize abortion. Before the mid-1800s, abortion was legal, but then states, one after another, began passing laws making abortion illegal. One of the main reasons for the anti-abortion laws was the “fear that the population could end up… middle of paper… in a period that could take from several hours to several days. Finally, as in other procedures, the uterus is scraped to ensure that all contents have been completely removed. Like all other medical procedures, risks and complications are a given. All of these abortion procedures share some common risks. Such risks include a hole in the uterus or other damage to the uterus, a cut or torn cervix, incomplete removal of the contents of the uterus, infection, complications due to anesthesia, inability to get pregnant, possible hysterectomy, hemorrhage, emergency treatment and death. (ABORTION RISKS AND PROCEDURES) However, most of these risks are quite rare. There are many arguments about whether abortion should be legal or illegal. People are divided into two parties: pro-choice and pro-life. The pro-choice group is in favor of legalizing abortion, while the pro-life group is the exact opposite.