Home > Encyclopedia of Surgery > Abortion, Induced

Definition

Induced abortion is the intentional termination of a pregnancy before the fetus can live independently. An abortion may be elective (based on a woman's personal choice) or therapeutic (to preserve the health or save the life of a pregnant woman).

Purpose

An abortion may be performed whenever there is some compelling reason to end a pregnancy. An abortion is termed "induced" to differentiate it from a spontaneous abortion in which the products of conception are lost naturally (also called a miscarriage).

An abortion is considered to be elective if a woman chooses to end her pregnancy, and it is not for maternal or fetal health reasons. Some reasons a woman might choose to have an elective abortion are:

• Continuation of the pregnancy may cause emotional or...