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What are the abortion procedures?
SUCTION-CURETTAGE
This is the most used abortion
procedure during the first 12 weeks
of pregnancy. The first step
is to force open the tightly-closed muscle
at the neck of the uterus (the cervix) with
a series of metal rods called dilators.
A suction curette which is attached to a
powerful vacuum (approx. 20 times more
powerful than a household vacuum) is then
used to scrape and pull the fetus and
placenta from the wall of the uterus.
A curette (a sharp, spoon-shaped knife) is
then usually passed over the inside of the
uterus to make sure it is clear.
D & E (DILATATION & EVACUATION)
The cervix is forced open; the
doctor then alternates between cutting the
fetus and vacuuming it out of the uterus.
The skull must be crushed with forceps and
pulled out carefully so the bone doesn't cut
the mother. This form is used between
12 and 18 weeks.
SALINE (SALT POISONING)
After 16 weeks, a long needle is
inserted through the mother's belly into the
baby's sac and a solution of concentrated
salt is injected. The baby breathes in
and swallows the salt and is poisoned by it.
It takes over an hour to slowly kill the
baby. The mother will go into labor
about 24 hours later and deliver the dead
baby.
PROSTAGLANDIN ABORTION
This drug causes the woman to go
into labor at any stage of pregnancy.
It is used in middle and late pregnancy to
induce abortion. It's major
"complication" is "live birth." It
also can cause serious maternal injury.
Recently it has been used with RU-486 to
increase its "effectiveness."
HYSTOROTOMY
(Usually used when other methods
fail.) The doctor cuts through the belly and
uterus of the mother and removes the live
baby. The baby is then allowed to die
by neglect.
RU-486
This is an abortion pill, used
along with a prostaglandin drug. It is
"effective" in 90 - 95% of the time when
used between one and three weeks after she
has missed her first period. It
functions by starving the tiny embryo by
depriving him or her of a vital nutrient
hormone, progesterone. It kills a
developing baby after his or her heart has
begun to beat.
PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION (D & X:
Dilation and Extraction)
In this procedure, the doctor:
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forcibly turns the child in the womb
into a breech position;
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pulls the living child by the leg, out
of the mother, until only the head is
left in the birth canal;
-
stabs the child in the base of the
skull, and sucks out his or her brain
with a vacuum;
-
pulls the now-dead child the rest of the
way out of the mother.
An abortion can be performed
throughout ALL nine (9) months of
pregnancy.
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