ABORTION METHODS

During the pregnancy, the uterus becomes softer, and easier to perforate. Perforations may be "mild to severe," and may also cause scarring and hemorrhaging. Remember which organs are nearby. If the abortionist is not careful, he can pull part of the intestine through the uterine wall. In the event of a perforation, it is sometimes necessary to remove the uterus to control bleeding.

Dilatation (Dilation)  and Evacuation (D&E):

This method is generally used during the first half of the second trimester (13 to 20 weeks) but has been used to abort unborn children as old as 24 weeks. The baby is torn apart by special forceps, and the pieces are removed one by one. Larger babies must have their heads crushed so the pieces can pass through the cervix. This method involves the abortionist and staff manually crushing the baby -- requiring considerable effort at times -- and makes the abortion more 'real' to them, because upon assembling the parts of the poor little carcass, the staff can see for themselves what they have done. Many nurses have 'burned out' on this procedure and refuse to assist.

Usually, the cervix must be dilated for one to three days before such a procedure. The most popular method of cervical dilatation involves the insertion of dried seaweed sticks called laminaria, which absorb fluids and swell, thereby expanding the cervical diameter. Abortionists may also dilate the cervix quickly with a series of stainless steel rods of increasing diameter.

Saline Injection:

(Also called "Salt Poisoning," "Saline Amniocentesis," "Salting Out," or "Hypertonic Saline")
After 16 weeks, with this procedure, a long needle is inserted through the mother's abdomen and a solution of concentrated salt is injected into the amniotic fluid which surrounds the child. The baby breathes in and swallows the solution and usually dies in one to two hours, sometimes death takes many hours, from salt poisoning, dehydration, convulsions, hemorrhages of the brain and failure of other organs. The baby's skin is burned by the salt. The baby's thrashing, caused by the trauma of the saline, can be physically painful to his mother, and is often psychologically devastating to her. The mother goes into labor and a dead baby is delivered, usually within 24 to 48 hours.

Urea Injection:
Because of the dangers associated with saline methods, other instillation methods such as hypersomolar urea are sometimes employed, though these are less effective and usually must be supplemented by oxytocin or a prostaglandin in order to achieve the desired result. Incomplete or failed abortion remains a problem with urea methods, often precipitating the additional risk of surgery.

As with other instillation techniques, gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea or vomiting are frequent, but the most common problem with second trimester techniques is cervical injuries, which range from small lacerations to complete detachments of the anterior or posterior cervix. Between 1% and 2% of patients using urea must be hospitalized for treatment of endometritis, an infection of the lining of the uterus.

Prostaglandin Injection:

This drug causes a woman to go into labor at any stage of pregnancy. It is generally used in middle to late pregnancy to induce abortion. The potent hormone-like drug, prostaglandin, is injected into the amniotic sac. It produces labor and premature birth. The unborn baby, in some cases, is born alive and placed aside to die. In order to avoid what abortionists describe as "The Dreaded Complication" of a live birth from a  prostaglandin or salt-poisoning, abortionists now customarily kill the child first before "evacuating" the baby. Abortionists use ultrasound to guide an injection of lethal potassium chloride into an unborn baby's heart. Other abortionists use an injection of digoxin to cause fetal cardiac arrest. Sometimes salt is injected first, to kill the baby before birth and make the procedure less distressful for the mother. This method results in a very painful abortion for the mother. Prostaglandins are accompanied by serious problems of their own, including potentially lethal side effects.

Hysterotomy:

(Also called "Caesarean Section Abortion") This procedure is used in the last trimester. The womb is entered by surgery through the wall of the abdomen. It is the same as a live delivery except that the baby is killed in the uterus, or is allowed to die from neglect if he is not yet dead upon removal. This surgical method is done if a saline or prostaglandin abortion has failed or when a tubal ligation is done. This is a major surgery with inherent difficulties, possible complications, and a potentially painful recovery.

Dilation and Extraction (D&X): (More Information)

(Also called "Partial Birth Abortion") This method of abortion  was publicly unveiled in 1992 and is used to kill babies from 20 weeks through full term. Because the opening of the woman's cervix must be greatly enlarged, the abortion requires three days with repeated visits for insertion of laminaria. These are cylindrical shaped or tapered devices which are inserted into the cervix and which gradually increase in diameter as they absorb water to dilate the cervix. Three days later the abortion is performed. The abortionist  ruptures the membranes and drains the amniotic fluid. Using an ultrasound on the mother's abdomen, the baby is identified and orientated within the uterus. Having turned the unborn baby inside the uterus so that he or she is orientated feet first and face down toward the floor, the abortionist inserts forceps into the vagina, the cervical canal, and into the uterus and grasps one of the baby's legs. The other leg with the remainder of the torso up to the baby's neck is then pulled outside of the uterus. The head is "usually" too large to deliver, so a blunt scissors is inserted into the base of the living baby's skull and spread apart to enlarge the hole. The scissors are removed and a suction tube is inserted into the skull and the brains are suctioned out or "evacuated." This kills the baby, collapses the head, and the child is removed. Then the
afterbirth is cut away. To put the size of the unborn baby at 20 weeks of development into perspective, the majority of D&X aborted babies weigh about a pound, are approximately 8 inches in length (measuring from the top of the head to the bottom of the rump), and are fully formed, with feet roughly 1 inch to 1-1/2 inches in length. Babies born at this stage of development (19 or 20 weeks) have survived.

RU 486:
(Also called the "Abortion Pill") A French-developed powerful anti-hormone (steroid) called mifepristone that interrupts the natural life process by inhibiting production of the progesterone necessary to prepare the uterine wall to support the pregnancy. As a result, the tiny developing baby literally starves to death as the nutrient lining of the womb sloughs off, and muscular contractions cause the dead baby to be expelled from the uterus. It is used to induce abortions between the fifth to ninth weeks of pregnancy. Women first take RU486 alone. Within 48 hours, only three percent have a completed abortion. The remainder of the women, 97 percent, must take a second powerful drug, a prostaglandin. In approximately five to ten percent of the women who use the RU486 abortion method, the drugs fail to kill the developing baby and the women
usually have follow-up surgical abortions. RU486 can cause severe disabilities in babies who survive the abortion, can injure and possibly kill women, and could harm a woman's subsequent offspring. Preliminary findings of the first independent studies reveal serious under- reporting of the abortion technique's adverse side effects. At present, RU486 is only licensed for use in France, Britain and Sweden. It is being tested in other countries, including the United States, with the objective of marketing it extensively over the next several years. With RU486, a mother will more directly participate in ending the life of her unborn child, and verify that she has passed the "uterine content" that is her dead baby. Nearly half of the French women polled report that they find this verification process disturbing.

Methotrexate and Misoprostol:
Researchers have discovered that two prescription pharmaceuticals, Methotrexate (prescribed to combat cancer and rheumatoid arthritis) and Misoprostol (prescribed as a preventative against ulcers caused by common anti-inflammatory drugs) when prescribed in tandem can induce an abortion. A few doctors have recently used the drugs to induce abortion, while the Food and Drug Administration has approved the drugs to treat cancer and ulcers. Both drugs act on a woman's reproductive system. Methotrexate interferes with the vitamin folic acid and kills rapidly growing cells. It has been used for the termination of ectopic pregnancies...the life-threatening condition in which fertilized eggs grow outside the uterus. Methotrexate is a toxic drug that is normally administered by doctors experienced with anti-metabolite therapy. Toxic effects  such as nausea, pain, diarrhea, bone marrow depression, anemia, liver damage and lung disease are noted as occurring even at low doses. Misoprostol causes uterine contractions and is sometimes used off-label to soften the cervix when inducing labor. The women receive an injection of methotrexate and return 5 to 7 days later to receive the misoprostol vaginally. The women return home, where cramping and bleeding begins and the baby is usually aborted within twenty-four hours. As with RU486, the mother will more directly participate in ending the life of her unborn child, and verify that she has passed the "uterine content" that is her dead baby. No longer will an abortionist be present to share the guilt, or even a nurse to conceal the baby's tiny body. More than ever, women will be alone in dealing with the physical and psychological aftermath of an abortion. The drugs must be administered by the ninth week of pregnancy, after that, excessive bleeding is likely. Long term effects of the two drugs are unknown.

Abortifacient birth control:
(Also called "The Pill," "Depo-Provera," "Norplant," "the IUD," or "Emergency Contraception"). These abortion-causing chemicals and devices can act to kill preborn children in the earliest days of life. It is well known that abortifacient methods of birth control may act to inhibit ovulation and prevent fertilization. However, most women don't know they also act to alter the lining of the womb so that the implantation of a newly conceived child cannot occur. If the child cannot implant in the lining of the womb to receive nourishment, he or she dies.

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