Stopping something before it's finished, or terminating a pregnancy before the fetus can survive on its own.
From Latin 'abortus,' past participle of 'aboriri,' meaning 'to perish' or 'to be lost.' The prefix 'ab-' means 'away' and 'oriri' means 'to rise or be born,' so literally 'to fail to be born.'
The word 'abort' is used in space missions, computer programming, and medicine—it's fascinating how one Latin root became essential vocabulary across completely different fields!
Medical terminology weaponized by gendered policy debates. 'Abort' itself is neutral, but the word carries charged gendered context in reproductive rights discourse where women's bodily autonomy is contested.
Use technically when referring to procedure termination (mission abort, process abort). When discussing reproductive care, center women's agency: 'choosing to end pregnancy' or 'accessing abortion care' honors the decision-maker.
["terminating","discontinuing (technical contexts)","ending (pregnancy)"]
Women physicians and researchers pioneered safe abortion medicine. Reproductive autonomy remains central to women's equality and self-determination.
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