The Abortion LibraryA curated guide to the Internet’s most important resources on abortion, by people who actually do them
Glossary
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M
N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
Abortion: traditionally in medical terminology, ‘abortion’ has meant any sort of pregnancy that ends in the first trimester, including miscarriages. A miscarriage later in pregnancy might instead be called a fetal demise or a stillbirth. In common usage, “abortion” implies act of someone ending their pregnancy intentionally (see ‘induced abortion‘).
Abortion ban: a bill or law prohibiting abortion. Different types of bans include gestational age bans, reason bans (eg, abortion may be illegal if the reason for the abortion is a genetic anomaly), and method bans (eg, specific prohibitions against telehealth abortion or a D&E procedure). The penalty for violating a ban may range from loss of medical licensure, fines, or criminal liability resulting in imprisonment.
B
Bill: a document proposed in a legislature that has the potential to become law if approved by that legislature.
C
D
Dilation and Curettage (“D&C”): a procedure that is usually only used for a non-pregnant uterus, which involves dilation of the cervix and removal of uterine contents with a horseshoe-shaped metal curette. Before more modern methods were invented, the D&C procedure was also used for pregnancy related care (miscarriages and induced abortions). Because of this historical use, the name D&C continues to be applied to pregnancy-related care despite its relative inaccuracy; if someone refers to a “D&C” for a pregnancy-related condition, they likely mean vacuum aspiration.
Dilation and Evacuation (“D&E): a procedure that can be used after 12 weeks of pregnancy that includes cervical dilation followed by removal of uterine contents using a combination of vacuum aspiration and instruments.
(Official definition from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
E
Embryo: the result of the division of the zygote up to 10 weeks’ gestational age (8 completed weeks after fertilization).
(Official definition from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
Emergency Contraception (“EC”): Contraceptives intended to be used after sexual intercourse or rape.
Emergency contraceptives, which include the hormones levonorgestrel (Plan B) and ulipristal acetate (Ella), and IUDs, prevent a pregnancy from starting, but will not end a pregnancy that has already begun.
F
Fertilization: A multi-step process that results in the formation of a zygote by the union of sperm and ovum.
(Official definition from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
G
H
Health disparity: preventable difference in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunity to achieve optimal health that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations.
(Source: CDC)
I
Induced abortion: an intervention intended to terminate a pregnancy so that it does not result in a live birth. If a pregnancy is not alive at the time of the intervention, it is not considered an induced abortion–it is called a miscarriage, fetal demise, or stillbirth.
(Official definition from American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
J
K
L
Labor induction abortion: a method of induced abortion which is used in the second and, rarely, third trimesters, in which a patient is given medication to induce labor and the fetus is expelled vaginally.
M
Medication abortion or Medical abortion: the use of medication(s) intended to terminate a pregnancy so that it does not result in a live birth.
(Official definition from American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
The most-used regimen in the United States employs mifepristone and misoprostol, but other regimens using misoprostol-alone, or misoprostol in combination with other medicines like methotrexate are also sometimes used.
Mifepristone: a medicine used primarily for medical abortion and management of miscarriage. It blocks the action of progesterone, and prepares the cervix for the actions of misoprostol. Previously known as RU-486, this medicine is not emergency contraception. Marketed under a different brand-name and in a different dose, mifepristone is also used for treatment of a hormonal disease unrelated to pregnancy, Cushing’s disease.
Misoprostol: a medicine that causes cervical softening (“ripening”) and uterine contractions. Misoprostol is used for medical abortion, medical management of miscarriage, prevention and management of postpartum hemorrhage, and for its other FDA-approved indication, prevention and treatment of stomach ulcers.
N
O
P
Parental Notification/Consent: the legal requirement that a pregnant person under age 18 must either notify, or get consent from, a parent or legal guardian before having an induced abortion.
Research has shown that young people seeking induced abortion almost always involve a trusted adult, when it is safe to do so. These laws mostly affect only young people in situations without a safe adult to confide in, and cause extra trauma by forcing the young person to explain to a judge in court why they need an abortion through a process called ‘judicial bypass.’
(For more, see the ACLU of Illinois.)
Pregnancy: a physiologic state of a woman that follows implantation of a blastocyst(s).
(Official definition from American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
Q
R
Reproductive Justice: the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities. (Definition from SisterSong)
S
Self-managed Abortion: any action taken to end a pregnancy outside of the formal healthcare system, and includes self-sourcing mifepristone and/or misoprostol, consuming herbs or botanicals, ingesting toxic substances, and using physical methods.
(Definition from the Society of Family Planning’s Interim Clinical Recommendations: Self-Managed Abortion)
T
Termination for Fetal or Maternal Reasons (“TFMR”): induced abortion performed because there is a fetal anomaly or a maternal health reason that makes the pregnancy more dangerous than usual to continue. (These are “exceptional cases” which are explored more in our article.)
TRAP law: Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider laws enact a restriction or barrier to abortion care in a way that is not applied to other similar medical providers, in an attempt to prevent induced abortions from occurring.
Examples include requiring admitting privileges at local hospitals, or requiring abortion clinics to have costly and unnecessary equipment or room layouts. These laws were a favorite method of restricting abortion access before the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, but may play less of a role in future abortion legislation after Dobbs.
U
V
Vacuum aspiration: Evacuation of the uterine contents using a vacuum aspirator. This method of using suction to remove a pregnancy is a safe procedural method to provide a first-trimester induced abortion and manage miscarriage.
(Official definition from American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)