Abortion and miscarriage denote the premature expulsion of a fetus before it is capable of living independently.
Abortion may connote purposeful induction of the process either illicitly in order to avoid childbearing or therapeutically to protect the life of the mother. In medicine, however, abortion sometimes denotes the expulsion of the human fetus through any cause during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. (see also: Do an abortion vs Have an abortion )
- She decided to have an abortion.
Miscarriage (see also: Failure vs Neglect vs Default vs Miscarriage vs Dereliction ) differs from abortion in suggesting a natural expulsion rather than one produced artificially. In medicine miscarriage is used of any expulsion of the fetus occurring between the twelfth and twentyeighth weeks and before the fetus is capable of living independently.
- The pregnancy ended in miscarriage at 11 weeks.