Medical Abortions: Before 14 Weeks

RU-486
RU-486 is a medical abortion that is used very early in pregnancy, no later than nine weeks after your last period. Your doctor would either give you an oral dose of, or inject you with, Mifepristone. This drug stops the natural function of your body. The lining of your uterus softens and breaks down. Two days later, you would return to the clinic for a check-up. If the baby hasn't been expelled, you will be given another drug (Cytotec or Misoprostol) to make your cervix dilate and your uterus contract in order to push the baby from your body. Often times, the clinic will give you this second dose to take home with you during your initial visit. This procedure can cause cramping, bleeding, nausea and diarrhea. In some cases, this procedure results in a failed abortion. If so, the doctor will want to perform a surgical abortion to extract the baby.

Surgical Abortions: Before 14 Weeks

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 and 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 & Curettage (D & C)
The doctor opens your cervix, as in a suction procedure, but in this case the abortion is done with a loop-shaped knife which is used to scrape the wall of your uterus, cutting the fetus and placenta into smaller parts—which are pulled out of your body through the cervix. There is a higher risk of your uterus being perforated with this procedure. A general anesthesia is usually required.

Surgical Abortions: After 14 Weeks

Dilation & Evacuation (D & E)
Because the bones of the fetus are larger and stronger by this time, the doctor uses a medical instrument resembling pliers to pull the fetus into smaller parts and removes those parts from your body through the cervix. This procedure requires your cervix to be opened wider than with suction or D & C procedures and there is greater risk of harm to your reproductive organs.

Surgical Abortions: After 22 Weeks

Dilation & Extraction (D & X or "Partial Birth Abortion")
Laminaria (a type of seaweed that expands when moist) is used to dilate the cervix over a 2-day period. On the third day, the membranes are ruptured. An ultrasound is used to locate the lower extremities. The doctor then uses large forceps to grasp a leg and pull it down into the vagina. After the body is delivered, the skull is lodged at 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 to your body may occur due to extensive stretching of the cervix during the procedure.


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