What is Abortion?

Political/World Issues    

What is Abortion?

So many people have no idea.  Amazingly many people who oppose it have little knowledge of what abortion actually is.  I have come to believe that it is a major reason why we don't do anything about it.  If you knew, you couldn't help but desire to do something.  You would do something.

Abortion has become a word that has lost it's definition, a political term bantered back and forth. We have become callous towards a word that means so much more than “a legal and safe way to end pregnancy”, as Planned Parenthood defines it. It's more than “a forced removal of a fetus from the womb”, as Wikipedia describes.

This became apparent to me when I decided to educate myself on the procedures of abortion. I was disturbed. No, that's an understatement. My soul weeps and I am left speechless and in horror. Do you have any idea?

Prepare yourself -- once you know you will be moved into action.  Doing nothing will no longer be an option.  

(The following includes some graphic illustrations and photos along with detailed information on the procedures of abortion methods.  This post would be inappropriate for young children under twelve).

SUCTION CURETTAGE OR VACUUM ASPIRATION ABORTION:

The Stats:

Suction curettage (or vacuum aspiration) abortion is the most commonly used method of abortion around the world.  This is because most abortions are performed in the first trimester. 

 The National Abortion Federation (NAF) has reported that

"...virtually all modern first-trimester surgical abortions are accomplished by vacuum aspiration." 1

The Procedure:


Firstly, a speculum is placed in the vagina, a tenaculum is clamped to the lip of the cervix, and a cannula is inserted into the uterus.

Secondly, the amniotic fluid, placenta and fetus are suctioned through the cannula into a collection jar.  The fetus and the placenta are torn apart in the process.


Lastly, the uterine cavity is scraped with a curette to determine if any tissue remains.

(Images taken from www.nucleuscatalog.com)


The NAF reports that removing a fetus at 16 weeks old "forceps may be needed to extract some fetal parts such as the calvarium (skull) or spine."2

Although the suction curettage method isn't commonly used after 12 weeks gestation.

12 week embryo:

  To confirm and complete an abortion the embryos tissue must be examined after the abortion has been completed.  Small embryo parts are apparent at even 9 weeks gestation "and become easier to identify thereafter."

If body parts are too large the the abortionist uses " a ring forceps to remove any material that is wedged in the end of the cannula or lodged at the external os."5 

The Doctor's Description:

Warren Hern (author of Abortion Practice) describes his post-abortion procedure this way:

As the physician completes the procedure, he should inform the patient that the procedure is being completed… Keeping the vaginal bimanual examination hand sterile, the physician removes the speculum with the other gloved hand and proceeds to conduct a postoperative bimanual examination. If the uterine size seems larger than expected, the physician should replace the speculum and determine whether, in fact, the procedure has not been completed… As I complete the bimanual examination, I ask each patient to place the fingertips of both her hands over the uterus and rub constantly for 2 hours… this will help the uterus to contract and thereby stop the bleeding and cramps.6

After the examination is finished, Hern reassures the woman that "she is no longer pregnant." According to Hern, many of them cry.7

EARLY MEDICAL ABORTION:

The Stats:

Medical abortion describes another method of abortion usually used in the first months of pregnancy. The drug used is Mifepristone, sometimes also called RU486, which prohibits the hormone progesterone from functioning properly. 6

Medical abortion is often advertised as a more-natural procedure than surgical abortion.  Although the National Abortion Federation (NAF) emphasizes that there is no moral difference between medical abortion and surgical abortion. They write:

Some patients report that they prefer the medical abortion because it seems like a heavy period or a miscarriage rather than an abortion… It is important for the patient's postabortion well-being that she does not fool herself (into thinking she is not having an abortion) and that the provider does not participate in her self-deception.8

According to the NAF statistics, women who choose medical abortion "like that it is noninvasive and offers more privacy and control," while those who choose surgical abortion do so "because it is quick, predictable, and may be combined with sedation or anesthesia."9 

The Procedure:

This drug takes a three week process to complete abortion.  If it fails a surgical abortion is then scheduled, which the patient signs for before medical abortion is performed.

Unlike surgical abortion, women who medically abort most often see the embryo upon abortion.  Physicians are told to explain this fact to their patients, since patients likely will recognize a body.  These women are shown true to life size illustrations of the embryos (or "products of conception as the NAF states) to avoid potential trauma. 10

~ * ~

Defined!

Embryo: Unborn child after the third week of conception.

Fetus:  A term given to the embryo after week 8.

NAF: National Abortion Federation.  North America's official providers for abortion.

1st Trimester: Week 0-12
2nd Trimester: Week 13-27
3rd Trimester: Week 28- end of pregnancy (about 42 weeks)

Gestation: The process of carrying or being carried in the womb between conception and birth.

Planned Parenthood: In 1921 feminist Margaret Sanger first founded the American Birth Control League which later became Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1941. Planned Parenthood has since grown to have over 820 abortion clinics in the US with a total budget of $1 billion. 

Abortion: ...to be decided

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DILATION AND EVACUATION (D&E) ABORTION:

The Stats:

Worldwide 15% of all abortions are performed after the 2nd trimester.11  That's a little over 150,000 a year, in the United States alone.  It is amazing to note that 96% of all second trimester abortions are performed by the D&E method.12   

 The National Abortion Federation (NAF) reports that most women seeking second-trimester abortion are young and healthy.13 Serious health problems account for only a small proportion of abortions worldwide.14 According to the NAF, the most common reasons for a second-trimester abortion given are, denial or delay in recognizing pregnancy, financial difficulty for obtaining abortion, indecision, or changed circumstances.15

The Procedure:

To describe the procedure of D&E abortion: Forceps are inserted through the dilated cervix for the dismemberment and removal of the human fetus.  This requires a 10-12 mm cervical dilation.  But for gestations 17 weeks or more longer and heavier forceps must be used. 

 The NAF reports that "Bierer forceps are the weightiest and largest-jawed [with] fenestrated and sharply serrated jaws (to) provide the most traction."16 The NAF recommends that ultrasound guidance be used "in cases that require a considerable degree of force to remove fetal parts."17 This helps ensure that the abortionist does not accidentally grasp and tear the myometrium (uterine wall) while grasping and tearing apart the fetus.

The National Abortion Federation instructions for a D&E abortion are as follows:

Once the forceps has passed through the internal os, open the jaws as widely as possible to encircle the fetal tissue and avoid pushing fetal parts deeper into the fundus… After 16 weeks' gestation, fetal skeletal development is such that the surgeon can manually sense the presence of fetal parts within the closed jaws… After grasping a fetal part, withdraw the forceps while gently rotating it. This maneuver brings the fetus into the lower uterine segment before the grasped fetal part is separated (if necessary) and removed from the cervix… If a fetal extremity is brought through the cervix without separation, advance the forceps beyond the extremity to grasp part of the fetal trunk. Bringing the fetal trunk into the lower segment markedly reduces the number of instrument passes into the fundus… During the procedure, try to identify and keep track of fetal parts as they are removed. A "pouch' or surgical pan at the edge of the gable to catch fetal parts can assist this process."18

The Doctor's Description:

Warren Hern, who the NAF credits as being an "American innovator"65 in D&E technique, offers the following instruction:

It is better to use smaller forceps and take smaller amounts of tissue each time than to deliver fetal parts intact while traumatizing the cervix… At 16 to 17 weeks, fetal tissue is much more easily identifiable with the forceps and in some ways is easier to grasp and remove than in earlier gestations. The [skull] is about the size of a Ping-Pong ball and usually can be grasped readily with the Bierer. Collapsing it gives a definite sensation… At 18-19 menstrual weeks… fetal parts are significantly larger and more difficult to morcellate(tear into pieces)… [Abortion after the] 20-week gestation… can be a significantly more difficult procedure accompanied by unnerving hemorrhage. Forceps use must be sure and relatively rapid. There is frequently not much time for exploring the nuances of different tissue sensations. Grasping and collapsing the [skull is] often difficult. Stripping the [skull] of soft tissue is sometimes the first step in successful delivery of this part, followed by dislocation of parietal bones. In this case, care must be taken in removal because ossification is occurring and the edges are sharp… Regardless of the amount of dilatation, delivery of the [skull] and pelvis is sometimes difficult… The advantage obtained by having a softened cervix could become a disaster if a laceration develops at the level of the internal os as the result of too much force… The procedure changes significantly at 21 weeks because the fetal tissues become much more cohesive and difficult to dismember. This problem is accentuated by the fact that the fetal pelvis may be as much as 5 cm in width… [The skull] can be collapsed. Other structures, such as the pelvis, present more difficulty… A long curved Mayo scissors may be necessary to decapitate and dismember the fetus, since it may be impossible to apply forceps or to do so while avoiding the thinned-out cervix."19

To verify a complete abortion the fetal parts must be examined.  The foot is often measured to "estimate gestational age after abortion."20

Foot photo at 13 weeks

DILATION AND EXTRACTION (D&X) OR PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION:

The Stats:

Dilation and Extraction (D&X) is a variant of D&E.  In contrast of the D&E's piece by piece method, D&X delivers the aborted fetus intact and therefore is sometimes called "intact D&E" as in The Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 . Politically, it is known as partial-birth abortion.

The Procedure:

The syllabus of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act describes the difference between "usual" D&E technique and "intact D&E" this way:

In the usual second-trimester procedure, “dilation and evacuation” (D&E), the doctor dilates the cervix and then inserts surgical instruments into the uterus and maneuvers them to grab the fetus and pull it back through the cervix and vagina. The fetus is usually ripped apart as it is removed, and the doctor may take 10 to 15 passes to remove it in its entirety. The procedure that prompted the federal Act and various state statutes, including Nebraska’s, is a variation of the standard D&E, and is herein referred to as “intact D&E.” The main difference between the two procedures is that in intact D&E a doctor extracts the fetus intact or largely intact with only a few passes, pulling out its entire body instead of ripping it apart. In order to allow the head to pass through the cervix, the doctor typically pierces or crushes the skull.21

The National Abortion Federation (NAF) describes D&X:

Because the cranium represents the largest and least compressible structure, it often requires decompression… Decompression can be accomplished with forceps or by making an incision at he base of the skull through which the intracranial contents are suctioned. If the fetus is in cephalic presentation (head first) with the calvarium well-applied to the cervix, the surgeon can pierce the calvarium with a sharp instrument and collapse it externally.22

If the fetus is delivered feet first the baby's head is crushed with forceps or pierced with scissors.  The brain is then suctioned out by a vacuum aspirator.

If the baby is delivered head first the head is pierced with scissors as soon as the head appears.

The Doctor's Description:

 Warren Hern, who developed the Hern forceps, writes this in Abortion Practice:

Cervical obstruction by the calvaria (skull) is a paradoxical problem, since it is the opposite of having difficulty in recovering tissue… Small instruments cannot encompass it; large instruments… either push it away, cannot be closed once the [skull] is grasped, or, having grasped the [skull], cannot be withdrawn. Unless the [skull] can be collapsed and delivered, however, the procedure cannot be completed… and the risk of complications begin to increase. The most useful maneuver in this case is to grasp the presenting of the [skull] with the cervical tenaculum, stripping away the soft tissue (skin). When the skull bones are visible, they are grasped also with the tenaculum. A long curved Mayo scissors is then used to dissect the [skull] to the point that it is opened and decompressed. At this time, a forceps with a very strong blade and firm grasp… may be used to grasp the tentorium and skull plates, sometimes dismembering by torsion and sometimes by sharp dissection with the Mayo (scissors)… Once some dismemberment has taken place, the operator may take a somewhat larger forceps… As the tissue is pushed slightly up in to the uterine cavity, the forceps blade is opened and a moderate amount of tissue is grasped… With good dilatation and effacement, the entire fetus may be delivered.23

In 2007 the Supreme Court upheld the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which states: "punctur[ing] the back of [a] child's skull with a Sharp instrument, and suck[ing] the child's brains out before completing delivery of the dead infant -- is a gruesome and inhumane procedure that is never medically necessary and should be prohibited."24  

The NAF condemns both Congress and the Supreme Court for "denying reproductive freedom"25 and "ignor[ing] the best judgment of the medical community."26 Included among their reasons for why D&X can be more advantageous than D&E is the assertion that it "permit(s) more complete morphologic evaluation of an extracted fetus,"27 it "minimizes the risk of retained tissue,"28 and it gives grieving parents "the opportunity to view or hold an intact fetus."29

While D&X is prohibited, the Partial Birth Abortion Ban can be circumvented.   

The NAF advises abortionists to kill the baby by injection prior to performing a D&X procedure. According to the language of the Ban, it is "applicable only when a 'living fetus' is present at the outset of evacuation."30

The NAF offers the following advice for killing babies by injection:

Digoxin in doses of 1.0 to 1.5 mg appears to effect fetal demise. Providers may feel a change in resistance at the needle tip as it enters the fetus. Unless the needle is in the fetal cardiac chambers, aspiration will not usually yield fetal blood… fetal demise occurred in 43% at 2 hours; 75% at 3 hours , and 98% in 5 hours… Potassium chloride will not achieve fetal demise when injected into the amniotic fluid; injection into the fetal heart or umbilical cord is required… Needle placement should be maintained until fetal death is confirmed monographically. These technically challenging procedures are performed most commonly for multifetal pregnancy reduction… Clinicians typically administer agents to cause fetal demise 1 to 2 days before D&E, often in conjunction with cervical preparation.31

So, what is abortion?  It's destruction...legal premeditated murder. A heinous crime. Termination; a cruel tortuous death performed upon an innocent.  
Now you know.  

So what are you going to do about it?

Check out Voices of Dissidence to find out how you can begin to do something about abortion.

Main Resource: www.abort73.com