Today we had a collaboration with the Violet Society to present "The Science and Ethics of Abortion". Abortion is a very focused on topic within recent times and involves lots of opinions and feelings to be shared across when discussing about it.

To start off, what is abortion? It is the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus. There are two types: induced abortion, which is medically terminated pregnancy or spontaneous abortion, which is caused by miscarriage. How is an abortion carried out professionally? A tube is inserted into the womb through the cervix and the embryo is removed using suction or it is removed surgically. Next, we also covered stem cell research. Stem cells are cells that haven't been differentiated, meaning they have the capability to become any type of cell such as a red blood cell. These can help regenerate and repair dead cells. Stem cells are found in bone marrow, liver and in the umbilical cord [more specifically in the blood of the embryo]. One downside is that adult stem cells are limited to what they can differentiate to. However, in 2006, scientists created pluripotent stem cells which are adult stem cells that have been modified in a lab to behave more like embryonic stem cells. Unfortunately, scientists have not yet found one that can develop into every kind of cell and tissue. These stem cells help replace damaged cells or dead tissue, for example, they can help people with cancer as they make new blood cells after their own cells have been destroyed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy. However, the patient could run into potential problems such as rejection or irregular growth. Abortions are generally very safe and the woman won't experience any problems. But like any other medical treatment, there’s still a small risk that something could go wrong. These are some of the side effects that women experience after an abortion: serious bleeding, cramping or nausea (which are only short term effects). Some long term effects include the damaging of the womb, incomplete abortion, which means they require additional surgery to fully get rid of the fetus. There are also possibilities of future health risks, affecting the mother herself.

Research has suggested that women who had undergone an abortion experienced an 81% increased risk of mental health problems, and nearly 10% of the incidence of mental health problems was shown to be attributable to abortion. There will also be an increased risk of breast cancer after an abortion. By going through a full-term pregnancy, it was associated with a statistically significant decrease in the risk of breast cancer; the risk was reduced by 14% for each additional birth. Complications that can arise from induced abortion, such as infection (the infection of the uterus can also be a serious condition because the infection can enter your bloodstream and travel throughout your body, but most importantly, it could lead to death) and damage to the uterus, can also lead to infertility. Teenage pregnancy, which are girls who are pregnant below the age of 19, can have a lot of effects upon childbirth. The most common effects are related to mental health. Research shows that the rate of having postpartum depression in teen moms is twice as high as in adult women - some symptoms of postpartum depression are overwhelming fatigue and anxiety. Since an adolescent mother’s body is not yet mature and is trying to finish its own growth and at the same time support the physical demands of the growing baby, the baby itself will also be affected. Some effects on the baby are premature birth, as a normal full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks, but the infant has to be delivered as early as 37 weeks for the safety of both the mother and infant. Early birth can cause a lot of health problems for the infant, including respiratory, digestive and vision problems. Teenagers are also at a higher risk of giving birth to low birth weight babies as they have had less time to grow in the womb. So, they have to be put on a ventilator in the hospital to help with breathing after birth. Around 85% of teen pregnancies are also unplanned. For teenage mothers that choose to give birth to the baby, they would have to balance motherhood and education simultaneously. As a result, irregular school attendance and poor school performance during and after pregnancy often lead to the girls dropping out of school. This hinders their formal education, resulting in employment and productive disadvantages while making them vulnerable to poverty, violence, crime and social exclusion.

Adolescent pregnancy can also have negative social effects on girls, their families and communities such as facing stigma or rejection by parents and peers as well as threats of violence. Especially in Asian communities, such as Malaysia, teen pregnancies are labelled as a disgrace - teens may even face eviction from their own homes. Teenage parents would also have to bear financial burdens as child care, medical costs, baby accessories are all necessities for babies. Sometimes without the help of their family, they would then need to drop out of school to get a job. For the public; in the USA, teen pregnancy costs taxpayers about $11 billion per year due to increased health care and foster care. Furthermore, teenage mothers have higher rates of depression and suicidal ideation than their peers who aren't mothers and are more likely to experience post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than other teenage women, as well. This brings up our final point: Pro-life vs Pro-choice. On one side, taking the life of a preborn baby is a violation of the fundamental right to life. On the other hand, denying a woman an abortion is denying her the right to bodily autonomy and the embryo could be donated for stem cell research. Some of our participants, including students and teachers shared their thoughts on this, where some went with pro-choice, as they believe it is the woman's body and no one but herself can choose whether or not to keep the fetus. Whereas some found it difficult to side with one as they found both sides to be reasonable. One's opinion on this matter can change and it would depend on the situation this is taking place in, the upbringing and the surrounding.

As a closing note, we are thankful for the opportunity to collab with the Violet Society and run a session with them, as well as to take on this topic of abortion and discuss and share the important findings with everyone.