Be Fully Informed Before The Abortion Decision

How are the different surgical abortion procedures performed?

First Trimester (1 - 12 weeks)

1) Suction Curettage- The abortionist dilates (opens) the cervix with mechanical dilators or laminaria (a porous substance that is typically inserted a day before the abortion). Overnight the laminaria gradually dilates the cervix by soaking up fluid. The day of the abortion the abortionist attaches tubing to a suction machine, and inserts the tubing into the uterus, The suction created by the vacuum pulls the unborn baby’s body apart and detaches the placenta from the wall of the uterus, sucking the fetal parts and placenta into a collection bottle. ⁽⁷⁾

2) Dilation and Curettage (D&C, or sharp curettage) --This method is not as common anymore for abortions, because it requires more dilation and more time, and is considered less safe than suction curettage. ⁽⁸⁾ The cervix is dilated, and a curette, or loop-shaped knife, is inserted into the uterus to cut apart the unborn baby and scrape the uterine lining to detach the placenta. All body parts and membranes are then scraped out of the mothers body.

3) RU-486 - "The Abortion Pill"

Second Trimester (13-26 weeks)

1) Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) -- At this point in pregnancy, the unborn baby’s body is too large to be broken up by suction, and it will not pass through the tubing. (9) The cervix needs to be dilated more than in a first-trimester abortion, and this is usually accomplished by inserting laminaria a day or two before the abortion. The abortionist then dismembers the body parts. The skull is crushed and the spine is broken to facilitate removals. (10)

Second and Third Trimester

Dilation and Extraction (D&X) -- Congressional action in 1996 brought to light yet another procedure for aborting late-term unborn babies. This technique, called D&X abortion, does not dismember the fetus; rather, the fetus is delivered intact, without infusions.

As described and performed by abortion doctor Martin Haskell, D&X abortions take three days to complete. In the first two days, the woman's cervix is dilated with laminaria in two or more sessions, with medication given for cramping. On the day of the procedure, the laminaria are removed, and the patient is injected with Pitocin to induce contractions.

The abortion physician next determines the fetus orientation in the uterus through ultrasound, and locates the legs. Grasping a leg with large forceps, he then pulls the leg into the vagina, and delivers the fetus (live) up to the baby’s head with his hands.

Next, the physician slides his hand up the fetus’s back and hooks his fingers over the shoulders of the baby. Then a pair of scissors are inserted into the base of the skull to create an opening. Removing the scissors, he inserts a suction catheter into the opening, and suctions out the skull contents. (13) Minus its brains, the skull decompresses, and is easy to remove. Finally, the physician removes the placenta with forceps and scrapes the uterine walls with a suction curette. (14)

The above D&X procedure is described as "Partial Birth Abortion" by Politicians and the Media.

7. Warren Hern, Abortion Practices (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1990, pp. 108-117.
8. Stephen L. Corson, M.D., Richard J. Derman, M.D., M.P.H., and Louise B. Tyler, M.D., eds., Fertility Control (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1985, pg. 64.
9. Hern, op. cit., pg. 123.
10. Ibid., pg. 128.
11. W.K. Lee and M.S. Baggish, “ Live Birth as a Complication of Trimester Abortion Induced with Intra-amniotic Prostaglandin F2a,” Adv. Planned Parenthood (vol. 13, No.7, 1978). Quoted in Hern, Abortion Practice, pg. 183.
12. Hern, op. cit., pp. 124-125.
13. Martin Haskell, M.D., “ Second Trimaster Abortion: From Every Angle,” paper presented at the Fall Risk Management Seminar at the National Abortion Federation, September 13-14, Dallas, Texas.
14. Ibid.