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Have you
confirmed your pregnancy?
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What do you
understand about fetal development? |
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Are you sure you have a
viable,
uterine pregnancy? |
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Are you
aware of the potential emotional complications following an abortion?
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Do you know about
abortion procedures?
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Are you
aware of the potential physical complications following an abortion?
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Do you know your
legal rights
before and after an abortion? |
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What if
you've already had an abortion? |
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What other
options
do you have? |
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Pregnancy Confirmation
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It is important to confirm your
pregnancy at a place other than the abortion clinic.
Be tested by someone other than the abortion provider.
There may be a conflict of interest in their doing your pregnancy
test. The Community Pregnancy Clinic of Simi Valley will provide a
urine test free of charge.
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Viable Pregnancy |
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A viable pregnancy means one that is
capable of developing under normal conditions.
Approximately 30% of
all pregnancies result in a miscarriage.
An abortion performed when a
pregnancy is not viable can result in unnecessary physical and
emotional trauma and unnecessary expense.
Many pregnancy clinics, such
as ours, offer ultrasounds free of charge to determine viability. |
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Abortion Procedures |
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Suction Aspiration.
For this procedure you lie
on your back with your feet in stirrups, and the doctor applies a shot
of anesthetic to your cervix to reduce pain.
Your cervical muscles are
stretched with cone-shaped rods until the opening is wide enough to
allow the abortion tools to pass into your uterus. Then the doctor
guides the suction device through the cervix and into your uterus.
When the suction machine is turned on you feel the strong force of the
vacuum, which is used to pull the placenta and fetus into parts small
enough to pass out of your body through the suction tube.
During
surgery the doctor cannot see the inside of your uterus and operates
by touch alone, trying to detach the fetus from the wall of the uterus
with the powerful suction tip.
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Dilation and
Curettage.
The doctor opens your cervix, as described above, but in this case the
abortion is done with a loop-shaped knife which he uses to scrape the
wall of your uterus, cutting the fetus and placenta into smaller parts
and pulling them out of your body through the cervix.
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RU 486.
This is an abortion pill that must be taken very early in pregnancy,
by the seventh week.
Your doctor would give you a dose of mifepristone.
Your body would begin to behave hormonally as if you were not pregnant
and you would experience a heavy period.
Two days later you would
return to the clinic for a check-up. Next, you would be given prostastaglandin.
The prostaglandin causes your cervix to dilate, and
your uterus would push the fetus from your body, similar to labor.
This medication can cause serious cramping, bleeding, and heart
problems. RU 486 may result in a failed abortion. Then a doctor would
surgically remove the fetus.
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Dilatation and
Evacuation.
Because the bones of the fetus are larger and stronger by this time,
the doctor uses a medical instrument resembling pliers to pull the
fetus into smaller parts and remove those parts from your body through
the cervix. This procedure requires that your cervix be opened wider
than with "Suction" or "D and C" methods, and there is greater risk of
harm to your reproductive organs.
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Saline or
Prostaglandin.
This method is not used as frequently as it once was. These
substances are injected into the amniotic fluid which surrounds the
fetus in your uterus.
To do this, the doctor inserts a long needle
into your abdomen until the tip of the needle penetrates the uterus.
He then injects one of these substances into the amniotic fluid.
Saline is a poisonous substance, which eventually kills the fetus.
Prostaglandin causes the muscle tissue of the mother to push the fetus
out of the uterus.
Both saline and Prostaglandin methods would require
you to "give birth" to a dead fetus. The labor that precedes birth is
usually long and painful.
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Dilations and
Extraction (Partial Birth).
Laminaria (a type of seaweed that expands when moist) is used to
dilate the cervix over a two-day period.
On the third day, the
membranes are ruptured.
An ultrasound is used to locate the lower
extremities. The doctor then uses large forceps to grasp a leg, and
pull it down into the vagina.
After the body is delivered, the skull
is lodged at the cervical opening.
The doctor makes an incision in the
base of the fetal skull, inserts a suction catheter and removes the
brain and tissue from the skull.
This technique may be safer than a D
and E abortion because the fetus is not dismembered in the uterus,
however, damage may occur due to extensive stretching of the cervix
during the procedure.
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Legal
Rights
Abortion is surgery--you have a right to know what type
of abortion you will have and what this surgery will involve.
You
should also ask about the stage of development of the fetus. In
addition, remember that just because abortion is legal does not
guarantee a high standard of medical care.
Insist on knowing the name
of the doctor or person performing the abortion. In case of
complications or injury due to malpractice, you will need this
information.
Malpractice suits, which have been settled, are a matter
of public record, and can be accessed via the internet or telephone.
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Options
If you are
pregnant and you are thinking of having an abortion, you should know
your other options as well.
It is important that you examine all of
your options carefully and how they will affect you.
Gather as much
information as you can before you make a decision.
We
can provide confidential help. |
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Fetal Development |
Scientific and
technological advances have allowed us to directly observe life as it
develops in the womb.
From the moment of conception, life is formed
with the genetic blueprint for every detail of development.
Here are
just a few details: |
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>Day 20: Foundations of the brain, spinal
cord, and nervous system established |
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>Day 21: Heart begins
to beat |
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>Day 28: Backbone,
muscles, arms, legs, eyes, ears forming |
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>Day 35: Five fingers
can be seen |
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>Day 40: Brain waves
can be detected and recorded |
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>Week 7: Jaw, teeth
buds form |
>Week 8: Now called
"fetus", which means "young one." Everything is now present that will
be found in a fully developed adult.
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Click to enlarge |
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After The Abortion |
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Emotional Complications:
Some women experience an immediate feeling of relief
following an abortion, but many find themselves later coping with
feelings they did not expect.
They may have a difficult time talking
about these feelings. However, many women who have had abortions tend
to experience the same types of feelings.
Some psychologists have
labeled these feelings as Post Abortion Stress Syndrome.
The symptoms of Post Abortion
Stress Syndrome span a wide range and can affect men who have lost a
child to an abortion as well as women. |
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> Sadness |
> Long-term grief
reactions |
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> Anger |
> Sexual dysfunction |
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> Guilt |
> Memory repressions |
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> Flashbacks |
> Anniversary reactions |
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> Hallucinations |
> Increased alcohol and drug use |
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> Suicidal ideas
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> Difficulty keeping close relationships
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Physical Complications: |
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Although abortions in the United States
have become safer since legalized, complications may occur. As someone
considering abortion, you have the right to know of these
complications.
Hemorrhage
Sometimes women will bleed heavily during an abortion or a few days
afterwards. Occasionally it is necessary to give a transfusion to
replace the lost blood. Sometimes it is necessary to do a second
curettage procedure or a hysterectomy to stop the bleeding.
Infection
The uterus is susceptible to infection right after an abortion.
Infections are even more of a risk if you have Chlamydia or Gonorrhea.
Some symptoms of an infection are pain and fever. Infections are
generally treated with antibiotics but sometimes another curettage
procedure is necessary. If untreated, an infection can potentially
result in infertility.
Perforation
Sometimes abortion procedure tools are accidentally pushed through the
wall of the uterus during an abortion. If the instrument damages one
of your internal organs, it may be necessary to do major surgery to
repair the damage.
Effects on Later Pregnancy
Severe injury to the cervix may occur and may result in the early loss
of a later, wanted pregnancy. The risk of miscarriage in later
pregnancies is higher if a woman has had two or more abortions.
Continued Pregnancy
The fetus may be growing in your fallopian tube rather than in your
uterus. An abortion procedure would miss this and the continued growth
of the fetus in your tube is dangerous.
Death
Death has occurred after abortion, although this is rare. When
abortion is done after the first three months of pregnancy, the risk
of death increases.
The cause of death by abortion is usually from
heavy bleeding or from complications with anesthesia (the drugs used
to help relieve pain). |
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