Abortion Procedures

Surgical Abortion

Suction Aspiration

For this procedure, you lie on your back with your feet in stirrups, and the doctor applies a shot of anesthetic to your cervix to reduce pain. Your cervical muscle is stretched with cone-shaped rods until the opening is wide enough to allow the abortion tools to pass into your uterus. Then the doctor guides the suction device through the cervix into your uterus. When the suction machine is turned on, you feel the strong force of the vacuum which is used to pull the placenta and fetus into parts small enough to pass out of your body through the suction tube.

Dilation and Curettage (D&C)

The doctor opens your cervix, as described above, but in this case a loop-shaped knife is used to scrape the wall of your uterus. This cuts the fetus and placenta into smaller parts, pulling them out of your body through the cervix. There is a higher risk of perforating your uterus with this procedure. A general anesthesia is usually required.

Dilation and Evacuation (D&E)

Because the bones of the fetus are larger and stronger by this time, the doctor uses a medical instrument to pull the fetus into smaller parts and removes those parts from your body through the cervix. This procedure requires that your cervix is opened wider than with “Suction” or “D&C” methods, and there is greater risk of harm to your reproductive organs.

Partial-Birth Abortion

Laminaria (a type of seaweed that expands when moist) is used to dilate the cervix over a two-day period. On the third day, the membranes are ruptured. An ultrasound is used to locate the lower extremities. The doctor uses large forceps to grasp the fetus, and pull it down into the vagina. After the body is delivered, the skull is lodged in the cervical opening. The doctor makes an incision in the base of the fetal skull, inserts a suction catheter and empties the contents of the baby’s skull. Damage may occur due to the extensive stretching of the cervix during the procedure.