Spontaneous termination of pregnancy: why words matter

Spontaneous termination of pregnancy: why words matter

Adopted in first reading last March, a bill aimed at improving the care of couples experiencing a natural abortion was validated by a final Senate vote on Thursday, June 29, 2023.

On Thursday 29 June 2023, Parliament definitively approved a bill on natural abortions, which should make it possible to better treat patients after a spontaneous abortion, with psychological support and sick leave without a day off. Employees will also be protected against dismissal in the event of ” late abortion (between 14 and 21 weeks).

The text provides for the establishment of a specific course involving doctors, midwives and psychologists in the management of spontaneous abortions, so that women and their partners are systematically informed and guided “, as detailed by our colleagues at Parisian. It will be up to each regional health agency to set it up, e to choose the name.

This precision is not irrelevant: it raises a pre-existing debate around the terminology used to designate this ordeal, and to measure the impact it can have on the person who suffers it. The speaker of the text in the Senate, Martin Lévrier, encouraged the ARS to favor “ spontaneous termination of pregnancy », considering that this term is « fairer and less stigmatizing doctor ” That ” maladministration “. In March 2022, a column published in The world invited her to change our vocabulary in favor of ” natural termination of pregnancy “. What are we talking about and why does this question remain important? Lighting.

What is a “miscarriage”?

First cause of consultations in gynecological emergencies, the ” spontaneous abortions » correspond to the anticipated and unwanted termination of an intrauterine pregnancy before the fetus’s viability phase, which is set between 20 and 28 weeks of amenorrhea depending on the country. As the Tribune du Monde reminds us, “ in 2022, in France, one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage in the first twenty-two weeks of amenorrhea » (livability threshold fixed in the hexagon). This is therefore 200,000 pregnancies per year.

What is the official term?

If the expression “ maladministration is commonly used, even health insurance uses that of ” spontaneous termination of pregnancy “. In accordance with the recommendations of the rapporteur Martin Lévrier, the bill initially entitled ” Bill to promote support for couples facing miscarriage “has been renamed” Proposal for a law to promote support for couples who face a spontaneous termination of pregnancy “.

Even doctors use the term ” miscarriage in contrast to that of induced abortion (IVG).

Why is terminology important?

As the signatories of the March 2022 forum explain in The world, terminology is important for overcome guilt. Indeed, ” have a miscarriage “it empowers people who are simply going through a natural termination of pregnancy. Changing the words also makes it possible to no longer minimize the possible physical and psychological consequences and, consequently, to improve the care of those affected:

“Let’s stop the expression ‘having a miscarriage’ that makes you feel guilty and invisible. Because nothing is wrong and everything is true.

Because we don’t “do spontaneous abortions”, but we suffer them. And that words weigh on our minds, dictate our thoughts and influence our actions. We speak of “natural termination of pregnancy”. Because that’s what it’s all about and what we experience in our bodies. »

Tribune of March 27, 2023

Proof that words remain an essential field of struggle for the evolution of our societies.


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Source: Madmoizelle

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