ABORTION - A DEADLY ADVENTURE

The premarital relationship has become more frequent in recent times even with Christians youths irrespective of the fact that, there are a biblical injunction and a subsequent marked increase in the adverse effect. I want to quickly add that this adverse effect is both physical and spiritual. Physically the girls suffer more while spiritually the effect is the same for both boys and girls.

DEFINITION

Abortion denotes the expulsion of the conceptus before the age of viability or termination of pregnancy at any time before the fetus is capable of independent life. This age is on or before 28 weeks in Africa, 24 weeks in the UK, 22 weeks in US A. Types of Abortion

1.     Threatened abortion

2.     Inevitable abortion

3.     Habitual/recurrent abortion

4.     Incomplete abortion

5.     Missed abortion

6.     Therapeutic abortion

7.     Induced abortion

Abortion is largely divided into two main types

(a)        Spontaneous abortion commonly called a miscarriage. This can come in form of   inevitable habitual, missed, threatened and incomplete abortion

(b) Induced abortion: This is either medically/therapeutically induced or illegal/criminally induced.

For the purpose of this study, we are concerned with the 2nd part of the B above.

Causes   of induced  abortion   in single and married ladies:

1. Some say they are too young to mother a baby

2. They don't want their job or education to be disrupted

3. There is no husband proposal is not marriage, relationship with no commitment should not be intimate

4. Fear of church and society disapproval for there is a social stigma attached to it.

Reasons from married ladies

i.                     To postpone or stop childbearing ii. Disruption of education

ii.                   Lack of support from spouse

iii.                  Poverty with resultant inability to cater for additional child in all ramification

iv.                 Less common is contraception Complications?

THE DANGER INVOLVED

World Health Organisation (WHO) refers to unsafe abortion as a procedure for terminating an unwanted pregnancy done by a person who may lack the necessary skills or conducted in am an environment that lacks minimal medical standards or both.

Abortion and treatment of complications of abortion include medical and at times surgical intervention that causes pain, bleeding, infection and money.

Dangers are:

1. Perforation of the uterus, bladder, cervix

(a) Perforation of the uterus can lead to   pain,   bleeding, anaemia, infection, premature delivery stillbirth in a later date.

(b)  perforation of the bladder can lead to fistula with resultant incontinence of urine, infection/pelvic inflammatory disease,   renal failure   and finally death.

(c) Cervical Trauma can lead to weakness of the uterine neck, habitual abortion etc and family problem after marriage for it will be difficult for the couple to have a child as a result of these complications.

Infection can lead to sepsis and renal failure and death. Depression due to the physical disability and disappointment from the male counterpart. Late complications Tubal occlusion (blockage) that can lead to Ectopic pregnancy and secondary infertility as illustrated.

Infection: - Usually is that of the genitor-urinary tract i.e reproductive and urinary tract.

Infection may be localised and or extended to the various parts of the body. Infection can be introduced by instruments or the environment used or both and it can also be forming the existing bacteria in the tract.

Depending on   the   degree   of infection the person can have:

1.    Sustained fever

2.    Pain Lower abdominal pain

3.    Profuse   foul      smelling vagina discharge

4.    Burning   sensation   on urination

5.   Pain along the vein due to the extension  of infection to vein.

6.    Abscesses due to the circulation of particles of a blood clot from focus   of infection blocking small   blood vessels.   This also brings about severe rigour/fever.

How do we avoid this scourge?

1.    There should   be no fellowship in your house after group fellowship as such your guards will not be let loose.

2.    Propose in your heart to have a clean relationship.   No ownership until marriage is established.

3.    Treat one another as brother /sister until marriage

4.    Fellowship with   fellow Christian for better biblical understanding "Don't be unequally   yoked with   an unbeliever.

5.    Say no to greed for the love of money is the root of all evils-girls note.

6.    Build up your self-esteem by your self-discovery i.e know whose / whom you are, you are   of  God, you   are wonderfully  and  fearfully made as such when another person tells you, yours are beautiful   you   don't   get carried away for you know that already, you are of God you are bought with a price so your body do not belong to you 1^st Cor. 6:18 the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit if you defile it the Holy Spirit runs from you and you are heavenly disconnected.

7.         Above all, renew and transform yourself by the word of God. Make Jesus Christ your best friend. The Holy Spirit will be your guide. Avoid second death.

What is the reward?

Finally, the reward physically you will be out of danger you will not be sick not deceived or downtrodden at the end you have your Christian home.

Spiritually, God will abide with you if you don't defile His temple and you will drink the cup of righteousness as you obey the biblical injunction. God bless you.

In conclusion, with all these dangers and complications we see that it is not even healthy indulging in illegally induced abortion, more so as children of God sex before marriage is a sin and girls are the ones that suffers the immediate physical dangers. When we are even married we should guide against it for it is above all sinful in the sight of God.