Whatever you may have heard, it is important to realize that abortion is not a simple procedure. There are several different abortion procedures, and each type represents risk to the pregnant woman. Most importantly, all of these methods have one thing in common: they take away a preborn baby’s right to life while they take the life of an innocent, preborn child.
- Suction or
vacuum aspirationThis procedure is commonly used around 5 to 12 weeks after the last menstrual period, the first trimester of a pregnancy. In the suction or vacuum aspiration abortion procedure, the fetus and placenta are literally sucked out of the uterus. There are two variations of this procedure. Manual vacuum involves use of a specially designed syringe to apply suction. Machine vacuum aspiration involves inserting a thin tube, or cannula, into the uterus. The tube is attached by tubing to a bottle and a pump which removes the tissue from the uterus. During the suction or aspiration procedure, the fetus is torn apart as it is removed from the mother’s womb, and the woman will experience cramping and often nausea, sweating, and faintness. Sometimes the procedure is incomplete and there is tissue that must be removed using a sharp surgical instrument in a D&C procedure. The vacuum aspiration procedure commonly causes irregular bleeding or spotting, cramps, and emotional reactions afterwards. More serious and dangerous complications include severe bleeding, infection, severe abdominal pain and swelling, vomiting, and rapid heart rate. In some cases, the mother may also suffer severe bleeding or blood clots, serious depression, injury to the uterine lining or cervix which could prevent future pregnancies, or even a hole in the wall of the uterus.
- Dilation and Curettage (D&C)In a D & C abortion procedure, used up to 16 weeks gestation, the woman’s cervix is dilated, and a curette – a spoon-shaped surgical knife – is inserted to scrape out the lining of the uterus and the fetus. Vacuum suction may also be used to remove the placenta and fetal tissue. During the procedure, the woman commonly experiences cramping, sometimes severe, nausea, sweating and feeling faint. The dilation and curettage procedure may sometimes cause heavy bleeding, infection, perforation of the uterine wall or bowel, or adhesions (scar tissue) that may cause problems with future pregnancies.
- Dilation and Evacuation (D&E)This method is a second-trimester abortion procedure used after 16 weeks gestation. For this procedure, the woman’s cervix is dilated sufficiently to insert forceps to grab the fetus and pull it piece by piece from the uterus. Depending on gestational age, the abortionist may have to crush the spine and skull in order to remove them. The placenta is also torn out of the uterus, and the uterine lining is scraped as in a D & C procedure. Risks of this procedure include cramping, excessive bleeding, infection, and damage to the cervix and uterus from the forceps and other medical devices used. The damage may even prevent future pregnancies or the ability to carry a future pregnancy to full term.
- Salt Poisoning
(saline injection)This method is used after 16 weeks. The abortionist inserts a needle through the mother’s abdomen to inject a salt solution into the baby’s sac. This solution poisons the baby and burns off the outer layer of skin. After 24 hours, the mother goes into labor and gives birth to a dead baby. However, some babies have been known to survive the process and be delivered alive; usually, they would be left to die although there are some rare cases when the baby survived very late-term abortion and were later adopted. Because this method does not always kill the baby, it is rarely used anymore.
chemical abortionThis method is used at six months gestation, during second trimester. In this method, artificially-produced prostaglandin is administered by way of a long needle into the amniotic sac after some fluid from the sac has been removed. Prostaglandin is a hormone that induces almost violent uterine contractions to enable premature labor. The baby is too young to be able to survive outside of the womb at this stage of pregnancy and hence, dies either on birth or is dead before it is born owing to the violent contractions. This method has not been used since the 1970s since it is not very reliable.
(Caesarean section)This is similar to a C-section, except the abortionist cuts the umbilical cord before the baby leaves the womb. This cuts off all oxygen and causes the baby to suffocate. If the baby survives, it is left to die.
- Intracardiac injectionThe abortionist injects poison into the baby’s heart. This causes the death of the fetus, but then another procedure is needed to remove the baby from the uterus. Being able to inject poison into the baby’s heart requires great skill and accuracy in order not to poison the woman during the process. There have been cases when the mother has died due to severe bleeding or sepsis. In some cases where the mother was pregnant with multiple children and wanted to reduce the number, all of the babies were killed.
- Chemical abortionsThis includes the pill RU-486, IUDs, methotrexate, Norplant, prostaglandins, and Depo Provera, which all cause early abortions. Some birth control pills kill the baby soon after conception if ovulation occurs.
- Partial-birth abortion (Dilation and extraction)This method was once used any time after four months gestation. In a partial birth abortion, the abortionist pulls the baby’s body except for the head out of the womb. The abortionist jams scissors into the base of the baby’s skull and opens them to enlarge the skull. Then a suction catheter is inserted and sucks out the baby’s brains, causing skull to collapse, and the dead baby is removed. In response to the outcry over the brutality of this abortion practice, President George W. Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2003.
What is an IUD?
An IUD, or intrauterine device, is a small plastic or copper and plastic object that is inserted into the uterus. IUDs prevent the baby from implanting onto the uterine wall, essentially causing an abortion. Mirena, a popular type of IUD, also contains a hormone called levonorgestrel, which prevents ovulation. Side effects of Mirena include ovarian cysts, pelvic and abdominal pain, depression, severe acne, and headaches, among other things. It can perforate the uterine wall or embed itself into it, which would require surgery to remove.
RU-486, the “Abortion Pill”
The most common method of abortion for a baby less than nine weeks old is RU-486, a.k.a. the abortion pill. RU-486 is actually a series of two drugs: a dose of mifeprestone at the abortion facility, followed by a dose of oral misoprostol 48 hours later. The second dose is usually taken at home, where the dead baby is flushed out of the womb. Side effects include pain, bleeding, nausea, heart palpitations, anemia, fainting, fatigue, breast and skin conditions, and fevers. One U.S. woman nearly died of severe bleeding as a result of taking the abortion pill.
No matter what Planned Parenthood abortion providers and other pro-abortion advocates say, the abortion pill is not safe nor is it painless. Women experience severe pain after taking the pills while their body delivers the dead baby at home alone.
Information from Prolife.com, NRLC.org, and LifeSiteNews.com