Q: Which abortion method is used most often?

• According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute's Issues in Brief, eighty-nine percent of abortions performed in the U.S. occur during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The most common type of abortion done in the first trimester is called a vacuum aspiration abortion.

• During a vacuum aspiration abortion, the woman's cervix is dilated (opened) artificially and a thin, flexible tube is inserted into the womb. The baby is torn from the womb by suction, often in pieces, into a container.

• Complications can include puncturing the uterus, excessive bleeding and infection. Infection sometimes results from missing all or part of the baby, which is why great care must be taken to insure that the baby has been completely removed. For this reason, many clinics will not perform a surgical abortion prior to seven weeks of pregnancy.

Other Early Abortion Methods

• A Dilation and Curettage abortion (D&C) can also be performed in the first trimester. It is similar to the suction aspiration abortion except that a loop-shaped knife or curette cuts the baby as it is being suctioned from the womb.

• Clinical trials have recently been completed on RU486 (also known as Mifepristone) and a drug known as Methotrexate.

• RU486 is a steroid that works by blocking hormones that sustain pregnancy. RU486 causes the baby to be detached from safety of mother's womb. Prostaglandin (Misoprostol) pills are given two days after RU486 to induce contractions, causing the baby to be expelled. Side effects include intense cramping and bleeding that can last more than a week. During the clinical trials, bleeding was severe enough in four women to warrant transfusions.

• Methotrexate, a treatment for cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, has only been approved recently for abortion. It stops the baby's cells from dividing. Even in low doses, Methotrexate has been known to have side effects, including nausea and diarrhea. The administration of Methotrexate is followed by insertion of a vaginal prostaglandin suppository (Misoprostol) after five to seven days to induce contractions. Both chemical methods have a four to ten percent failure rate, which can result in the need for a surgical abortion.

• What about birth control pills? Do they cause abortions? A helpful and extensive collection of information on this topic is available on the website of Eternal Perspective Ministries.

Late Term Abortion Methods

• The most common second-trimester abortion procedure is the D&E, or Dilation and Extraction, abortion. The woman's cervix is dilated using a gradually expanding material (lamanaria, dilapan or lamicel.) A curette is then used to dismember the child, the head is crushed and the baby is then removed from the woman via forceps. It can be a one-day procedure, but is often done over a period of 2-3 days. Some clinics also use intercardiac injections (basically a shot in the heart) in order to kill the baby prior to the abortion procedure. This serves to reduce the risk that a child could be born alive, and can soften the bones. Intercardiac injections are frequently used in cases of fetal reduction when the woman is carrying more than one child.

• Another method used primarily from 20-26 weeks of pregnancy, which can be used up to 32 weeks and beyond is known as intact D&E, D&X (dilation and extraction) or partial birth abortion.

• The number of abortions performed in this manner is not well known. Initially, those who represented abortion providers claimed that the numbers were quite low, but the actual numbers are thought to be much higher. Ron Fitzsimmons of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers admitted to lying about the number of partial birth abortions performed in the U.S. There is no evidence that a partial birth abortion is safer for the mother than any other abortion method. Obviously, it is not safe for the baby.

• Other later abortions can be performed by injecting a saline (salt) solution into the amniotic fluid, poisoning and burning the child; hysterotomy which is basically a caesarian-section in which the child is too young to survive and is left to die, and prostaglandin abortions which induce early labor. However, these methods are becoming increasingly more rare, and generally carry more risk.

• Many people think that abortion is only legal during the first trimester, however the companion decision to Roe vs. Wade known as Doe vs. Bolton opened the door for legal abortion until birth. While more recent court decisions have allowed for greater restrictions by individual states with regards to third trimester abortions, abortion is still legal in some states until birth.