Abortion Information:
Procedures, Risks, & Safeguards
Confirm Pregnancy First
If you think you might be pregnant, you might feel overwhelmed at the very thought of being pregnant. You might be considering options like abortion.
Before making your decision, it is very important to have your pregnancy confirmed with a medical test. There are many reasons that you could have missed your period or that you are experiencing other symptoms of pregnancy. There is no need to make an abortion decision now if you have not taken a medical grade pregnancy test yet. Even if you have taken a home test, it’s wise to take a medical grade test and even an ultrasound to confirm pregnancy. We can provide pregnancy confirmation for you at FCC.
Why Ultrasound?
1. An ultrasound is a highly effective tool in determining if your pregnancy is viable
An abortion procedure is performed on women who have a viable (capable of living) pregnancy. About 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, where a baby passes away of natural causes. Ultrasounds can detect a baby’s heartbeat, which is one of the factors indicating viability. If you have a miscarriage, talk to your doctor. You may need to seek miscarriage care from the hospital.
2. Ultrasounds can determine if your pregnancy is in your uterus
Ectopic pregnancy is a rare, but highly dangerous, condition for mom and lethal for baby. This condition requires emergency medical care. The abortion pill does not work on ectopic pregnancies, and the symptoms of chemical abortion mimic ectopic symptoms. This means a woman with an ectopic pregnancy who takes the abortion pills will likely delay seeking life-saving medical care because she believes her symptoms to be normal; caused by the pills. An ultrasound can inform you if your pregnancy is in your uterus.
3. An ultrasound will measure how far along you are
Abortion procedures vary depending on how far along you are in your pregnancy. It is extremely important to know how far along you are before taking the pill, because it becomes less effective the farther along you are. This can lead to complications, such as an incomplete abortion, heavy bleeding, hemorrhage, and infection. There are also state laws regarding how far along a woman can be to obtain a legal abortion.
Abortion Procedures & Risks
1Medication Abortion (up to 10 weeks of pregnancy)
Also known as: RU-486, the Abortion Pill, Chemical Abortion
You may have heard of the abortion pill referred to by different names. Even though the terms may be different, the medication is the same. The Abortion Pill is not the same as emergency contraception (i.e. Morning After Pill, Plan B, Ella). Medical abortion is a procedure that uses medication to end a known pregnancy up to 10 weeks gestation. Some people claim that it may be used at 11, 12, even up to 15 weeks gestation, but the data shows that the effectiveness of the regimen declines and the health risks increase after 11 weeks. You should be given a physical examination from a doctor to determine whether you’re a candidate for RU-486, and you should be given an ultrasound to ensure that you really are pregnant and within the gestational dating that RU-486 can be prescribed. Unfortunately, women have taken the abortion pills when they were not even pregnant. Ordering the abortion pill online bypasses all of the safeguards that protect you from danger, such as a pregnancy test and ultrasound. This is why having an ultrasound is essential if you are considering medical abortion. The potential health risks of medication abortion include: bleeding, fatal infections such as sepsis, undiagnosed ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, and incomplete abortion.
Taking the abortion pill is a three-step process:
1. First, you will be given a drug – mifepristone (also known as Mifeprex or RU 486) – that will cause the death of the embryo or fetus in your uterus.
Note: You should not buy Mifeprex online because you will bypass important safeguards designed to protect your health (and the health of others). Non-FDA approved drugs carry risks above and beyond expected side effects. Source: athomeabortionfacts.com
Note: Some women change their mind and decide they do not want to continue the medication abortion at this point. Call this hotline immediately and they will connect you with a network of caring medical professionals who can help reverse the effects of this medication in some cases. This is called abortion pill reversal. It is safe and effective in reversing the effects of the first abortion pill, if taken within 24-48 hours (but it has been shown to work up to 72 hours).
2. Second, you will be given another drug – misoprostol – that will cause cramping and contractions which will expel the embryo or fetus from your body (if the medication works). Women are usually not in their doctor’s office when they feel the effects of this drug. Common effects include moderate to severe cramping, bleeding, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, chills, breast pain, and discharge.
Note: Information is lacking about the long-term mental health effects of medical abortion, particularly, how women feel about giving themselves an abortion, and seeing baby parts expelled. Please call us if you feel distress and do not know what to do. Call your local funeral home to ask about laws regarding proper care for the remains.
3. Third, about seven to fourteen days after the first drug, you should follow-up with your doctor to ensure the abortion was complete. If there is anything left over, it may require a surgical abortion in some cases. This is a potentially serious condition, and this follow-up appointment is very important.
Note: If you still experience bleeding, cramping, or other symptoms 2 weeks or more after the abortion, or you experience no bleeding at all, seek medical care.
Note: Seek medical care if you experience any of the following:
- Prolonged heavy bleeding (defined as bleeding through two maxi pads per hour for two hours in a row, or one pad per hour for three hours in a row)
- Passing blood clots larger than the size of a lemon
- Severe pain or cramps, especially if the pain increases over time or doesn’t go away after taking pain medication
- Severe abdominal pain that doesn’t feel like uterine cramps
- Fever of 100.4ºF (38ºC) or higher
- Strong-smelling vaginal discharge
If you are considering a medication abortion, you deserve complete and honest information about the procedure & risks associated with it, and counseling on all other options available to you before you make a decision. You also need to know if you are truly pregnant and how far along you are with an ultrasound. Contact us today and we will provide you with all of those services, free of cost. No insurance is needed. Everything you share will be confidential and we will treat you with care and respect and without judgement. Though we do not refer or provide abortions, we’re here to help you walk you through all of your pregnancy options, offer alternatives, explain the risks, and encourage you through any distress you may be feeling.
2First-Trimester Aspiration Abortion (up to 12-13 weeks of pregnancy) Also known as surgical abortion.
Depending on how far along you are in the first trimester, this procedure may be done without dilation or anesthesia, but if you are further along in your pregnancy, the abortion provider may begin by using local anesthesia to numb the cervix. After it is numbed, the cervix must be stretched open. The abortionist inserts the dilator through the vagina and into the cervix. Once it has established a clear pathway, the abortionist will continue by inserting progressively larger dilators into the cervix. When the cervix has been stretched wide enough, they will suction out the baby. After the baby has been removed, the abortionist will inspect the cervix and other internal organs. To ensure the procedure is complete, some providers will use sharp curettage followed by final suctioning to ensure that none of the baby’s body parts have left over inside the uterus. Afterward, you most likely will be taken to a recovery room to recuperate. The recovery time after the procedure varies. Physical complications resulting from the abortion may manifest immediately or sometime later.
Note: Complications of surgical or induced abortions include but are not limited to:
Heavy bleeding, psychological distress (including a significantly increased risk of clinical depression or anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse, PTSD-like symptoms, and suicidal thoughts or behavior), incomplete or failed abortion, infection, organ damage, blood clots (emboli), RH sensitization, and in severe cases, maternal death. Long term risks may include increased risk for breast cancer, as well as preterm birth, placenta previa, and early infant death in future pregnancies. Data also clearly presents evidence that “many couples who choose induced abortion are at increased risk for problems in their relationships.” – carenet.com
If you are considering a first trimester surgical abortion, you deserve complete, honest information on the procedure and the risks that it entails. You also deserve to know all of the alternatives and resources available to you. Schedule an appointment or walk-in during open hours for a confidential consultation at no cost to you.
3Dilation & Evacuation (D&E) Second or Third Trimester (roughly 13 weeks of pregnancy and onward)
Pre-Procedure
The abortion provider begins by opening the cervix. At this stage in pregnancy, the cervix needs to be opened wider than in a first trimester abortion. To do so, the abortion provider will use dilators. For pregnancies that are early in the second trimester, dilation can take several hours or be overnight; dilation may take one to two days for pregnancies that are further along in the second trimester. Different methods exist to dilate the cervix, and the method used depends on many factors.
D&E Procedure
The abortion provider will begin by removing the dilators and then may use an ultrasound to locate the fetus and pregnancy matter. If it is early in the second trimester, suction aspiration may be enough to remove the pregnancy without the use of forceps. This is similar to a vacuum aspiration abortion procedure. After about sixteen weeks gestation, forceps are usually needed to complete the procedure. The abortion provider inserts forceps into the uterus, opens them, and begins to pull the fetus apart and out using a rotating motion. After the fetus and the contents in the uterus have been evacuated, the provider will check to make sure nothing internally has been punctured during the procedure and that the fetus as well as the pregnancy matter have been removed.
Fetal Demise
If the fetus has reached an age where he or she could live independently of the mother, the abortion provider may choose to inject the fetus with chemicals. Depending on the drug used, it is injected either into the amniotic sac or into the fetus’s heart or umbilical cord. The abortion provider may use ultrasound to direct the needle as it is being inserted. After the fetus has died, the provider may perform a D&E procedure to ensure nothing has been left inside the uterus.
Intact D&E
The more passes the forceps must make into the uterus, the more potential there is for harm. In cases when the cervix has been stretched open wide enough it is desirable for the fetus to be removed from the uterus intact. The abortion provider will insert dilators (usually laminaria) about two days in advance. Oftentimes the skull of the fetus is too big to pass through the cervical canal and must be crushed so it can be removed. The abortion provider may accomplish this through the use of forceps or by making an opening at the base of the skull through which the contents can be suctioned out. If complications arise, the abortion provider may pierce the skull with a sharp instrument and collapse it using forceps or suction. After this, the abortion provider can remove the fetus from the uterus otherwise intact. Many women who choose a late-term abortion do so because the fetus has been diagnosed with an abnormality. If this is the case, you have help, hope, and options. Call us so we can talk to you about all of your options.
If you are thinking about abortion, you are not alone. There are a number of options available to you that do not include abortion. As with any medical procedure, it’s important to understand what the abortion entails, side effects, possible risks, complications, and alternatives. If you are ready to talk to someone about your situation, call us and we can provide you with compassionate and confidential help.
- Medical Abortion. Mayo Clinic Website:https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/medical-abortion/about/pac-20394687. Published May 14, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- Controversial Oklahoma City abortion doctor stripped of medical license. Oklahoma News 4 Website: https://kfor.com/news/controversial-oklahoma-city-abortion-doctor-stripped-of-medical-license. Published January 14, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- “Clinical Trials Experience,” Danco Labratories, last modified March 2016, http://www.earlyoptionpill.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Prescribing-Info-and-MG_BW.pdf .
- Abortion (Termination of Pregnancy). Harvard University Website:https://www.health.harvard.edu/medical-tests-and-procedures/abortion-termination-of-pregnancy-a-to-zPublished January 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- Dilation and curettage. Mayo Clinic Website: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/dilation-and-curettage/about/pac-20384910. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- Questions and answers on late-term abortion. Charlotte Lozier Institute Website: https://lozierinstitute.org/questions-and-answers-on-late-term-abortion. Published February 24, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.