Abortion Procedures

What is an abortion? 

Suction Aspiration

Suction aspiration, or "vacuum curettage," is the abortion procedure used in most first-trimester abortions. A powerful suction tube with a sharp cutting edge is inserted into the womb through the dilated cervix. The suction dismembers the body of the developing baby and tears the placenta from the wall of the uterus, sucking blood, amniotic fluid, placental tissue and fetal parts into a collection bottle. Risks include: puncturing of the uterus, hemorrhage, infection from fetal or placental tissue left in the uterus, and the necessity of surgery to take care of an "incomplete" abortion. 
 

During this dismemberment procedure (not to be confused with routine D&C’s done for medical reasons, such as to treat abnormal uterine bleeding or dysmenorrhea), the cervix is dilated or stretched to permit the insertion of a loop-shaped steel knife. The body of the baby is cut into pieces and removed and the placenta is scraped off the uterine wall. Risks of blood loss, incomplete abortion, uterine perforation and infection from D&C are greater than for suction aspiration.

 
RU486

Banned in other countries, RU486 uses two powerful synthetic hormones with the generic names of mifepristone and misoprostol, to chemically induce abortions in women five to nine weeks pregnant. The first of two deadly drugs used in an RU486 abortion (mifepristone) blocks necessary nutrients to the developing baby, starving the baby as the uterine nutrient lining disintegrates. 36 to 48 hours later, the woman is given a drug dose of artificial prostaglandins (misoprostol) which initiates uterine contractions and causes the embryonic baby to be expelled from the uterus. In 5% to 10% of cases, a surgical abortion is necessary to complete the RU486 abortion. Risks include: severe bleeding, nausea, vomiting, pain, heart attack, blood loss and even death. Seven women in the U.S. have died from RU486, not to mention the thousands of unborn babies killed by RU486. 

Methotrexate

The procedure with methotrexate is similar to the one using RU486, though the drug is administered by an intramuscular injection instead of a pill.

Dilatation (Dilation) and Evacuation (D&E)

Used to abort unborn children as old as 24 weeks, this dismemberment abortion procedure is similar to the D&C. The difference is that forceps with sharp metal jaws are used to grasp parts of the developing baby, which are then twisted and torn away. This continues until the child’s entire body is removed from the womb. Because the baby’s skull has often hardened to bone by this time, the skull must sometimes be compressed or crushed to facilitate removal. Risks include: incomplete abortion, cervical laceration and hemorrhage requiring hospitalization. 

Saline Abortion

Instillation abortions involve the injection of drugs or chemicals through the abdomen or cervix into the amniotic sac to cause the death of the child and his or her expulsion from the uterus. Several drugs have been used; the most common are hypertonic saline, urea and prostaglandins.

Saline abortions, otherwise known as "saline amniocentesis," "salting out," or a "hypertonic saline" abortion, are later-term abortions used after 16 weeks of pregnancy, when enough fluid has accumulated in the amniotic fluid sac surrounding the baby. Saline abortion is a type of instillation abortion.

A needle is inserted through the mother’s abdomen and amniotic fluid is withdrawn and replaced with a solution of concentrated salt. The baby breathes in, swallowing the salt, and is poisoned. The chemical solution also causes painful burning and deterioration of the baby’s skin. Usually, after about an hour, the child dies. The mother goes into labor about 35 hours after instillation and delivers a dead, burned and shriveled baby. Risks include: uncontrolled blood clotting, severe hemorrhage, central nervous system damage, seizures, coma and death. Babies have been born alive after a saline abortion. To read one survivor's story, click here. 

Urea

Instillation abortions involve the injection of drugs or chemicals through the abdomen or cervix into the amniotic sac to cause the death of the child and his or her expulsion from the uterus. Several drugs have been used; the most common are hypertonic saline, urea and prostaglandins.

Hypersomolar urea is sometimes used because other types of instillation abortions are too risky, though these urea abortions are less effective and usually must be supplemented with other chemicals to achieve the desired result. Risks include: incomplete abortion (requiring additional surgery), nausea, vomiting, cervical laceration, cervical detachment and endometriosis (an infection of the lining of the uterus). 

Prostaglandins

Prostaglandins are naturally-produced chemical compounds which normally assist in the birthing process. The injection of concentrations of artificial prostaglandins prematurely into the amniotic sac induces violent labor and the birth of a child usually too young to survive. Often salt or another toxin is first injected to ensure that the baby will be delivered dead, since some babies have survived the trauma of a prostaglandin birth and born alive. This method is used during the second trimester. Risks include: retained placenta, cervical trauma, infection, hemorrhage, hyperthermia, cardiac arrest, rupture of the uterus and death. 

Partial-Birth Abortion

Partial-birth abortions, also called Dilation and Extraction (D&X), or intact D&E (IDE), are late-term abortions performed at 20 to 32 weeks of pregnancy and even later. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist reaches into the uterus, grabs the unborn baby’s leg with forceps, and pulls the baby into the birth canal, except for the head, which is deliberately kept just inside the womb. Then the abortionist jams scissors into the back of the baby’s skull and spreads the tips of the scissors apart to enlarge the wound. As the baby flails in pain, the abortionist removes the scissors, a suction catheter is inserted into the skull and the baby’s brains are sucked out. The collapsed head is then removed from the uterus.

Because babies born at 23 weeks or later often survive, this procedure eliminates that possibility. More information on partial-birth abortion can be found here.

Hysterotomy

Similar to the Caesarean Section, this procedure is generally used if chemical methods, such as RU486, fail. Incisions are made in the abdomen. The uterus, baby, placenta, and amniotic sac are removed. Babies are sometimes born alive during this procedure. This method offers the highest risk to the mother’s health, because the potential for rupture during subsequent pregnancies is great. 

Abortion Statistics

US Abortion Statistics
MN Abortion Statistics
MN Abortion Report

 Fetal Development