Abortion Procedures

Morning After Pill

The most common brand of morning-after pill sold in the United States is called Plan B®. It is reported to work within 72 hours after sex and can lower your chance of pregnancy by up to 89%.

The Morning-After Pill (MAP) Plan B is an extremely high dosage of chemical hormones. It contains the same chemical hormones found in some times of birth control. Plus, you may not even need it. You can only get pregnant on certain days of the month –around the time you ovulate. Typically, there are only about three to five days a month in which a woman can get pregnant. Unfortunately, most women looking for the morning-after pill are panicked because they think (or perceive) the clock is ticking and as a result they don’t take the time to evaluate their situation. If you weren’t fertile when you had sex because you were nowhere near ovulation, it is senseless to take the drug. It will only subject you to the possible side effects of nausea and vomiting and put a bunch of unnecessary hormones in your body.

Women who are considering Plan B® do not always know where they are in their cycle or if they are fertile, so they rush and spend money on a drug that they don’t need and that may harm their bodies.

U486: 4 to 7 weeks after last menstrual period (LMP)

Also known as the Abortion Pill, this medical abortion is used for women who are within 28 to 49 days after their last menstrual period. This procedure usually requires three office visits. The RU486 or mifepristone pills are given to the woman who returns two days for a second medication called misoprostol. The combination of these medications causes the uterus to expel the fetus.

Early Vacuum Aspiration: 7 weeks after LMP

This surgical abortion is done early in the pregnancy up until 7 weeks after the woman’s last menstrual period. The cervical muscle is stretched with dilators (metal rods) until the opening is wide enough to allow the abortion instruments to pass into the uterus. A hand held syringe is attached to tubing that is inserted into the uterus and fetus is suctioned out.

Suction Curettage: 6 to 14 weeks after LMP

In this procedure, the doctor opens the cervix with a dilator (a metal rod) or laminaria (thin sticks derived from plants and inserted several hours before the procedure). The doctor inserts tubing into the uterus and connects the tubing to a suction machine. The suction pulls the fetus’ body apart and out of the uterus. One variation of this procedure is called Dilation and Curettage (D&C). In this method, the doctor may use a curette, a loop-shaped knife, to scrape the fetal parts out of the uterus.

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

This surgical abortion is done during the second trimester of pregnancy. Because the developing fetus doubles in size between the thirteenth and fourteenth weeks of pregnancy, the body of the fetus is too large to be broken up by suction 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 laminaria a day or two before the abortion. After opening the cervix, the doctor pulls out the fetal parts with forceps. The fetus' skull is crushed to ease removal.

Abortion is not just a simple procedure; it may have many side effects. Abortion has been associated with preterm birth, emotion and psychological impact, and spiritual consequences. Please contact our center so that you can make an informed decision. Our center offers peer counseling and accurate information about all pregnancy options; however we do not offer or refer for abortion services.

Abortion risks

The following list contains the immediate risks associated with abortion...

• Heavy Bleeding
• Infection
• Incomplete Abortion
• Allergic Reaction to Drugs
• Tearing of the Cervix
• Scarring of the Uterine Lining
• Perforation of the Uterus
• Damage to Internal Organs
• Death

Long term risks...

• Increases the risk of breast cancer.
• May affect risk levels in future pregnancies.
• May increase the risk of emotional problems.
• Post-abortion stress symptoms.
• Adverse spiritual consequences.