According to Google, an abortion is “the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy.” However, the term abortion is being used as more than just that. Some have mistaken the term abortion with the removal of anything from the uterus. 

    There was a build up in confusion about when the term abortion should be used; this may have begun with a debate in whether or not it should be legal in many states, and trying to define exactly what an abortion is has become difficult. There was even confusion on what the difference is between an abortion and extracting uterine tissue from the uterus. 

     “But, what exactly is considered an abortion? Well, it turns out that it’s not that simple to define,” Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi from Helloclue.com, a science based reproductive healthcare program, said. “While different governments might have specific legal definitions for abortion, miscarriage, and ectopic pregnancy, it’s important to understand that these definitions do not reflect the complexity and reality of pregnancy.”

     An endometrial ablation is one of the non abortion terms that were confused with being an abortion, according to (organization you got this from). An endometrial ablation is a procedure where a thin layer of tissue is removed from inside the uterus. Since it’s a minimally invasive surgical procedure performed on females, it has been confused with abortions. 

     There are two main forms of abortion; they can be performed via surgery or by a pill. A surgical abortion involves suction that takes place inside the uterus in order to extract the pregnancy. The pill method involves using a pill that causes the uterus to contract which flushes out, or thoroughly strips the uterus of the uterine lining. The pill method is less invasive but tends to feel more painful. Some common symptoms are heavy blood flow and intense cramping. There are more procedures that classify as abortion, but these are the two main forms that most people are familiar with.

      Rather than mushing terms together and classifying any extraction from the uterus as an abortion, we need to stick to the medical term of abortion, and keep other uterine procedures separate because they are not all the same.