The World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Center for Health Statistics describes abortion expulsion of pregnancy before 20 weeks gestation or giving birth to fetus weighing less than 500 grams. Notwithstanding this, state laws vary significantly in their interpretations. Abortion approaches differ, and there is frequently controversy over what abortion implies. Abortion definition parameter variations not only scientific knowledge but also political and social perspectives. Generally, the term abortion implies “pregnancy termination,” whether by medical interventions, surgical procedures, or occurring on its own (miscarriage) (Jońska). Infanticide is the deliberate killing of a very young child either by suffocation, starvation, or dehydration. In the past, many societies had justified the practices since some cultures considered did not view children as human beings. Today, this practice is deemed to be unethical but still practiced. Abortion and infanticide are the most polarizing topics in healthcare ethics. Thus, this essay argues on the ethical basis of sex election and justification of abortion from a morally relevant point of view (Jońska).

The Scope of the Problem

Loss of pregnancy can occur spontaneously without induction. Miscarriage is another synonym for spontaneous abortion, which pertains to the termination of a pregnancy before the 20th week of pregnancy or the ejection of an unborn fetus weighing 500 g or less. WHO’s list of the crucial healthcare system for 2020 involves extensive abortion provisions. Abortion is a clear and modest health care procedure that is appropriately addressed by a broad continuum of health practitioners employing surgical or medication intervention. In the first trimester of gestation, a medical abortion can be effectively self-managed by the pregnant mother outside medical institution, wholly or partially part. This demands that the woman has access to correct knowledge, high-quality drugs, and the support of a skilled healthcare professional. Approximately 73 million abortions occur globally each year. The provision of post-abortion care is an essential reproductive health right that promotes equity and reproductive autonomy.

The stigma associated with abortion, and the inaccessibility to safe, affordable, prompt, and compassionate abortion treatment, directly harm women’s emotional and physical well-being throughout their lives. Lack of access to quality abortion care threats breaching a multitude of women’s and girls’ human health rights, including the right to life; the right benefit from technical progression and its revelation; the right to the maximum qualified psychological and mental health, the right to freedom of expression and prudently make decisions on the spacing, timing, number and of children; and the right to be free from cruelty, violent, dehumanizing, and unusual punishment and punitive. Unsafe abortion contributes to approximately 4.7–13.2 % of maternal fatalities every year. It is estimated that about 30 women die in wealthy nations for every case 100,000 unsafe expulsion of pregnancy. The figure jumps to 220 mortalities per 100,000 unsafe abortions in developing countries. It is estimated in 2012 that 7 million women are examined annually in hospital facilities for complications of unsafe abortions in underdeveloped nations alone. The possible health risk following abortion includes uterine perforation, damage to the genital tract, and heavy bleeding.

Sex-Selective Abortion

Sex-selective abortion is an illegal and unethical practice that involves the expulsion of pregnancy based on the anticipated sex of the child. Selective expulsion of the female embryo is a routine practice where male infants are valued in most regions of south and east Asia, China, and lesser depth in North America. The first documented sex-selective abortion cases are dated back to 1975 and progressed into a common practice in China, South Korea, and India in the late 1980s. This process impacts the human sex ratio with a comparative number of males to females in a given setting. Sex-selective abortion follows prenatal sex discernment through post-implantation tests and obstetric ultrasonography to check sex determination makers. Different cultural backgrounds place value on a boy child; thus, pregnancy test positive for female-related genes is disputed, making individuals seek pregnancy termination. Prenatal determination is prohibited in many states, thus preventing sex-selective abortions. Nevertheless, many people are shifting to infanticide to avoid raising children of unwanted sex or infant with congenital malformation (a Rabbi & Has, 2021).