Thinking About Abortion?
Although abortion clinics would like you to think abortion procedures are safe and easy, they’re not. Abortion is a serious medical procedure. Make sure you learn about the methods, side effects, and potential risks before you sign up.
Schedule an appointment with one of our peer counselors and get the facts about abortion.
The Types of Abortion
There are two main types of abortion: medical and surgical. Which method you have is determined by the number of weeks you’ve been pregnant. It’s important to get complete information based on your unique health and pregnancy before making a decision.
Medical Abortion
The Mayo Clinic writes, “Having a medical abortion is a major decision with emotional and psychological consequences. If you’re considering this procedure, make sure you understand what it entails, side effects, possible risks, complications, and alternatives.”
One method of medical abortion is the abortion pill. To qualify for this procedure, you must be 10 weeks and 0 days or less into your pregnancy. Although it’s called “the abortion pill,” it isn’t one pill and your abortion is finished. This method uses two very powerful drugs.
The first drug blocks a particular hormone known as progesterone. When you’re pregnant, progesterone helps the pregnancy stay attached to your uterus. The drug causes the lining of the uterus to thin so it no longer keeps the pregnancy implanted. The second drug causes labor-like contractions to remove the pregnancy from the uterus.
These are the potential risks of medical abortion according to the Mayo Clinic:
- Incomplete abortion, which may need to be followed by surgical abortion
- An ongoing unwanted pregnancy if the procedure doesn’t work
- Heavy and prolonged bleeding
- Infection
- Fever
- Digestive system discomfort
Surgical Abortion
Because surgical abortions are more invasive in the beginning, they are performed in-clinic by medical staff. There are many types of surgical abortions. Depending on how far along your pregnancy is determines the type of surgery you have.
The most common surgical abortion procedure is the Vacuum Aspiration method, which includes using a syringe or vacuum to remove the pregnancy out of your body.
Another abortion procedure is known as a D & C (dilation and curettage). This method uses a curette to scrape the lining of your uterus. If your pregnancy is farther along, forceps may be used to remove parts of the pregnancy.
These are the potential risks of a D & C according to the Mayo Clinic:
- Scar tissue on the uterine wall
- Damage to the cervix
- Infection
- Fever
- Perforation of the uterus
Before Your Abortion
Are you 100% sure about the number of days you’ve been pregnant? For a medical abortion, it shouldn’t be any longer than 70 days after the first day of your last period. If you’re not sure, your next step, before scheduling an abortion, is to have an ultrasound.
Care Net offers ultrasounds free of charge. Not only will ultrasound tell you if you’ve miscarried but you’ll also get a more exact date of how far along you are. Once you have the results from your ultrasound, you can sit with a peer counselor to talk about abortion procedures and your other options.
No one, not even your parents, boyfriend, or other friends, can force you to have an abortion. We want to give you as much information as possible so you can make a confident and empowered decision about your pregnancy.
