abortion

Everyday

1. An abortion is a medical operation or treatment that ends a pregnancy on purpose, so a baby is not born. tree →
2. (formal, rare) An abortion can mean a plan or attempt that fails and is stopped early. tree →

In the lessons

A serious adult topic in health education, news and politics; people have strong and different views about it. In science it is a medical word. Gentle words used instead include «termination». In older or technical language «abort» means stop early, as in «abort the mission».

Examples

• Abortion is a medical topic that adults often debate. tree →
• Some people support abortion rights and others are against them. tree →
• The news talked about new laws on abortion. tree →
• A doctor explained what an abortion is. tree →
• Different countries have different rules about abortion. tree →
• The space mission was aborted because of a fault. tree →

Note

Countable or uncountable. Verb: abort (also used for stopping a mission or computer task). Adjective: abortive (formal: failed). It is a sensitive subject; talk about it respectfully.