You think you may be pregnant and having a baby right now may not seem possible.  There may be lots of reasons why.   So let’s consider one of your options:  the option of abortion. 

Is abortion right for you?  It’s considered “easy, quick and a woman can move on with her life”.  But is this accurate? Can a woman always be relieved as she is expecting? The largest abortion provider states “millions of women have had safe abortions” and “one in four women have had an abortion”.  Given those high numbers, let’s consider the number of women now suffering from depression, alcohol and drug addiction, broken relationships, and more.  Is abortion connected?  Not always, but frequently. 

TYPES OF ABORTIONS AVAILABLE:

• Medical abortion, known as the Abortion Pill.   This is an at-home abortion.  This means no one is required to supervise this medical event in a woman’s life.  No one is required to do an ultrasound to confirm her pregnancy, and no one is required to observe her blood loss, mental state, or otherwise.  This procedure is done without support for a woman’s health or care.  When you think of healthcare, you want to have both, health and care. 
• Surgical.  There are different types of surgical abortions depending upon the age of the fetus.  The most common type is a first-trimester abortion.  This is for pregnancies up to 13 weeks LMP.  The abortion provider first estimates the gestational age by pelvic exam or ultrasound.  Next, pain medication and sedation are given.  The person performing the procedure will likely do an ultrasound, confirming only to the physician that there is a living embryo safely in a woman’s uterus.  Next, the cervix must be opened using medical instruments. Then a thin plastic tube is inserted into the uterus and is attached to a vacuum device which is used to suction out the fetus.  A curette may then be used to scrape any remaining tissue and blood clots.

For later first trimester abortions, the cervix needs to be opened wider because the fetus is larger.  This is done through vaginal medications and/or laminaria to soften the cervix before the abortion.  During the procedure, the cervix is stretched open using dilator rods.  A plastic tube is then inserted through the cervix and into the uterus, then attached to a vacuum device.   The suction pulls apart the fetus and empties the uterus.  A curette may also be used to scrape any remaining fetal parts and/or blood clots from the uterus.

An abortion provider is not mandated to advise a patient if the pregnancy is already in a stage of miscarriage (In which case the surgeon could perform a procedure other than abortion.  This procedure is called a D&C).   It is possible that an abortion could be performed and the woman could leave a clinic under the assumption that she has had an abortion. A woman would likely process an abortion differently than the natural process of having a miscarriage.   The surgical abortion process is outpatient and the patient will do their recovery at home. 

POSSIBLE RISKS

• Medical Abortion known as the Abortion Pill.  The documented side effects of the abortion pill include abdominal pain, severe cramping, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, dizziness, fever, and chills. Risks include seeing embryonic parts expelled, a possible life-threatening infection known as sepsis (severe systemic infection), some fail to abort (which may require an additional surgical abortion procedure to complete the termination), undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy, possible hemorrhaging. Information is lacking about the long-term mental health effects of a medical abortion, particularly, how women feel about giving themselves an abortion and seeing fetal parts expelled.
• Surgical.   The documented side effects of surgical abortion are heavy bleeding, incomplete abortion, infection, organ damage, emboli, anesthesia complications, Rh sensitization, in extreme cases, death.  Late-term abortions carry the highest risks.   
• Long-term risks.  There is evidence of emotional, relational, and even spiritual risks following an abortion procedure. Most women say they initially felt relief and looked forward to their lives returning to normal. Some women report negative emotions after abortion, that linger, unresolved. For others, problems related to their abortion emerge months or even years later. After abortion, most women are able to become pregnant again.  However, abortion may increase the risk of complications that can impact future pregnancies and the health of future children.  Here are a few of the potential risks of future pregnancies and children: preterm birth, low birth weight, placenta previa.

At Pregnancy Resource Center Medical Clinic, you will be given an ultrasound at no charge if you are considering an abortion, and can therefore determine if there is a pregnancy or if the woman’s body is in the natural process of miscarriage.  This is important as 20% of first trimester pregnancies will end in miscarriage not requiring an abortion.

At Pregnancy Resource Center Medical Clinic, we do not benefit from a woman’s choice to parent, place for adoption, or abort.  We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.