Abortion is not just a simple medical procedure. For many women, it is a life changing event with significant physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences. Most women who struggle with past abortions say that they wish they had been told all of the facts about abortion, its risks and the impact it may have had on their lives before they made their decision.

 

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Abortion Procedures

 

Manual Vacuum Aspiration: up to 7 weeks after last menstrual period  (LMP).

 

This surgical abortion is done early in the pregnancy up until 7 weeks after the woman's last menstrual period. A long, thin tube is inserted into the uterus. A large syringe is attached to the tube and the embryo is suctioned out.

 

Suction Curettage:  between 6 and 14 weeks after LMP. 

 

This is the most common surgical abortion procedure.  Because the baby is larger, the doctor must first stretch open the cervix using metal rods. Opening the cervix may be painful, so local or general anesthesia is typically needed. After the cervix is stretched open, the doctor inserts a hard plastic tube into the uterus, then connects this tube to a suction machine. The suction pulls the fetus' body apart and out of the uterus. The doctor may also use a loop-shaped knife called a curette to scrape the fetus and fetal parts out of the uterus. (The doctor may refer to the fetus and fetal parts as the “products of conception.”).

 

Dilation and Evacuation (D&E): between 13 and 24 weeks after LMP. 

 

This surgical abortion is done during the second trimester of pregnancy. At this point in pregnancy, the fetus is too large to be broken up by suction alone and will not pass through the suction tubing. In this procedure, the cervix must be opened wider than in a first trimester abortion. This is done by inserting numerous thin rods made of seaweed a day or two before the abortion. Once the cervix is stretched open the doctor pulls out the fetal parts with forceps. The fetus' skull is crushed to ease removal. A sharp tool (called a curette) is also used to scrape out the contents of the uterus, removing any remaining tissue.

 

Dilation and Extraction (D&X) (partial-birth abortion): from 20 weeks after LMP to full-term. 

 

This procedure takes three days. During the first two days, the cervix is stretched open using thin rods made of seaweed, and medication is given for pain. On the third day, the abortion doctor uses ultrasound to locate the legs of the fetus. Grasping a leg with forceps, the doctor delivers the fetus up to the head. Next, scissors are inserted into the base of the skull to create an opening. A suction catheter is placed into the opening to remove the brain. The skull collapses and the fetus is removed.

 

RU486 (not the same as the Morning After Pill), Mifepristone (Abortion Pill):

Within 4 to 7 weeks after LMP. 

 

This drug is only approved for use in women up to the 49th day after their last menstrual period.  The procedure usually requires three office visits.  On the first visit, the woman is given pills to

cause the death of the embryo. Two days later, if the abortion has not occurred, she is given a second drug which causes cramps to expel the embryo.  The last visit is to determine if the procedure has been completed.  RU486 will not work in the case of an ectopic pregnancy. This

is a potentially life-threatening condition in which the embryo lodges outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube. 

 

If an ectopic pregnancy is not diagnosed early, the tube may burst, causing internal bleeding and in some cases, the death of the woman.