Methods of Abortion

 

First Trimester:

 

Abortifacients: Abortion-causing chemicals and devices can act to kill preborn children in the earliest days of life. While these methods may act to inhibit ovulation and prevent conception, they also act to alter the lining of the womb so the newly conceived child cannot implant in the uterine wall. If the child cannot implant in the lining of the womb to receive nourishment, he dies.

 

Suction: A powerful pump is hooked to a hose, which has a serrated suction tip attached to its end. After dilation of the cervix, the suction tip is inserted to the top of the womb and the pump is started. The baby is ripped apart and sucked through the narrow hose into a receptacle.

 

D & C: Used during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. After dilation of the cervix, a ring forceps is inserted into the womb and the baby extracted in pieces. Once this has been accomplished, a large curette is used to scrape the afterbirth (placenta) from the wall of the womb and to confirm that the womb is empty.

 

Second Trimester:

 

D & E: Used during the second trimester (4-6 months) of pregnancy. This method has largely replaced saline and chemical abortions, which too frequently resulted in live births, a complication from the abortionist's perspective. The baby is cut to pieces and the pieces are withdrawn with instruments or suction. This is followed by suction and curettage to insure that the womb is empty.

 

Third Trimester:

 

D & X: Also used for advanced pregnancies. Laminaria are used to soften, and partial dilatation allows passage of a ring forceps. A foot or lower leg is located and pulled into the vagina. The baby is extracted in breech fashion until the head is just inside the cervix. With the baby face down, scissors are plunged into the baby's head at the nape of the neck and spread open to enlarge the wound. A suction tip is inserted and the baby's brain removed. The skull collapses and the baby is delivered.

 

Lethal Injection: This late-term abortion method involves injecting potassium chloride into the heart of a baby inside the womb to cause cardiac arrest. Prostaglandins are administered to induce labor and the mother delivers a dead baby.

 

 

 

Complications of Abortion

 

Here are some of the physical, emotional, and psychological consequences:

 

 

Death Rates for women who have had an abortion are much higher than previously thought. A 2002 study debunks the claim that abortion is "safer than childbirth".

 

Women who have an abortion are involved in risk-taking behavior at higher levels than women who have not had an abortion.

 

Women who had an abortion in the year prior to their deaths were:

• 14 times more likely to die from homicide
• 7 times more likely to die of suicide
• 4 times more likely to die from accident-related injuries

 

Women who abort a first pregnancy are at greater risk of long-term clinical depression compared to women who carried a first pregnancy--even an unintended one--to term.

 

Having an abortion prior to carrying a pregnancy to term increases the risk of premature delivery and other problems associated with giving birth.

 

When they do carry a pregnancy to term, women who abort are:

• twice as likely to use alcohol
• ten times more likely to use marijuana.

 

There is strong evidence that having an abortion can increase the risk of breast cancer, especially if the woman's first pregnancy ends in abortion.

 

 

 

Healing from Abortion

 

There is healing through retreats - Rachel's Vineyard