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question aout how abortions work
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
firstly, im really really sorry if this topic is inappropriate or upsets anyone, that isnt my intention, im just looking to learn.
i was watching a tv programme a while ogo, could've been casualty/holby city, and the subject of abortion came up!
im just wondering what are the different ways of performin an abortion? ive heard it depends on how far through the pregnancy you are+that if it's only just begun you can just take tablets - is this true?
i know this is a sensitive subject, but i guess im just looking for information to learn. thank you to anyone that can help
L+C
i was watching a tv programme a while ogo, could've been casualty/holby city, and the subject of abortion came up!
im just wondering what are the different ways of performin an abortion? ive heard it depends on how far through the pregnancy you are+that if it's only just begun you can just take tablets - is this true?
i know this is a sensitive subject, but i guess im just looking for information to learn. thank you to anyone that can help
L+C
0
Comments
http://www.fwhc.org/abortion/ab-procedures.htm
When the pregnancy is further advanced there needs to be an operation. At this point the foetus is developing human characteristics and there's a debate over whether or not it can feel pain. I'm not sure, but i think the operation involves using some kind of hook to pull the foetus out of the womb. It's been a while since biology class at school though.
Don't you take two pill? The first one cutting off the oxygen supply and the second what you described?
Basically, from what I saw.. they have this tube, works like a hoover I guess, it's suction is so strong that it pulls the tiny baby apart, literally, until the 'bits' are small enough to come out. Meanwhile, on this scan you can physically see the baby, at such an early stage, struggle to stay away from the suction.
thinking about it now, this is probably an extremely late on abortion, but never the less it was nasty to see.
The most common I think is a D&C which stands for dilation and curratege(sp?)
They dilate the cervix, and remove everything thats in the womb - the womb lining and the embryo with it. Its the same procedure they use to empty any retained products after an incomplete miscarriage too or sometimes even for very heavy periods.
i went to a catholic school and i'm sure we were shown something similar.
That is no help to the OP, sorry!
I get fairly grossed out watching most operations, or even childbirth programs make my eyes water.
Graphic programs like that WILL have an effect on people. They only show them to schoolkids to push an agenda though.
:yes: i'm not really sure what point they're trying to make, an abortion is hardly pleasant. I'm sure women don't enjoy having them, and i think it's disgusting that they ridicule doctors etc for them, yet try to guilt trip women into going through with a pregnancy that they don't want.
why would you want to dissauade teenagers from having an abortion anyway if they wanted one? Theres a high enough teenage accidental pregnancy rate as it is.
Exactly, but how many people realise that?
What I mean is that those kind of abortion videos are clearly meant to dissuade people from having an abortion, and whether or not it's right to do that or not, there are enough people who think it is right that dissuasion is going to be practised in some schools. I just think there's a better way to go about it than gruesome shock tactics.
Also there's the school of argument that if teenagers are dissuaded from considering abortion as an option for them, they'll be more likely to practise safe sex to avoid getting into a position where they have to make that decision. I'm not saying I agree with this argument or not, just putting it out there.
Early surgical abortions are performed by MVA, whereby a suction pressure of 26mmHg (I often hear antis talking about Hoover pressures :rolleyes: ) suctions out the pregnancy. This can take place up to 14 weeks.
After 14 weeks, the pregnancy can be terminated either by medical means (usually reserved for people who have had a wanted pregnancy, but for whatever reason can no longer continue with it) or by a D&E whereby a combination of forceps and suction is used to remove the pregnancy.
That's how safe, legal abortions are done. For all the foetus bleating out there (I'm amazed with all the debunking they still show kids the 'Silent Scream'), you might want to research how illegal abortions are carried out, 19 million women go through them afterall...
You'd think. The reality is pretty different. It only causes shame, denial and more likely an abortion at a late-term gestation.
There is a legal limit, but I'm not 100% sure what it is. 26 weeks rings a bell in my head, but someone who knows more will be able to tell you exactly.
24 weeks, although few are carried out after 20 weeks
Dilatation and Evacuation i think.
As MoK said, the legal limit is 24 weeks, however, for cases of severe foetal abnormality, or the woman's life is at risk, it is legal up until birth.
Really? Gosh! I'd love to know about this method of contraception that's 100% effective, with no contraindications and no side effects. Then again, you do mention it yourself at the end of the paragraph that no method is 100% effective, so I guess accidents can happen after all...? Not to mention the pregnancies that were wanted, so no contraception was used in the first place, and in these circumstances, they are most likely to happen at a later gestation where something was detected at the 20 week scan.
You do realise that not all people can take the pill as it's not medically safe for them to do so? The same would go with emergency contraception. I've seen enough women who have used pills and condoms, yet still get pregnant.
Sterilisation and vasectomy is not 100% effective either. We had a patient who had become pregnant twice after a tubal ligation.
Voila.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RU486
Offer only good for the first two months of your first trimester.
Much less tramatic and invasive than the alternative.
Obviously much less invasive, but less traumatic? No way. People often assume that a medical abortion means popping a pill, getting a period and going on your way. The contractions caused by misoprostol are very intense, and very painful - there can also be a *lot* of bleeding. I've seen grown women take the tablets, leave the clinic, then come back 30 minutes later, bend double in agony and very worried as clinics won't often tell them how intense it can be (afterall, there's a reason that it's presented as the cheapest option.)
It can be a pretty long, drawn out process, it's not uncommon for people to still be passing blood and tissue 2 - 3 weeks after taking the second tablets. There's also the failure rate. It's currently presented as 2%, but I wouldn't be surprised that it's much higher. We always make an appointment for the women 2 weeks after the termination for an ultrasound scan to check that the uterus is clear - some turn up to this appointment, a lot of them do not - and the ones who don't, and the medication has failed will have a continuing pregnancy, some don't notice the pregnancy has continued until the 2nd trimester, and all failed medical abortions have to be either managed by more misoprostol or surgery.
Not trying to scare monger or anything, but we're getting more people choosing the medical option, thinking it's more 'natural' and it isn't helped by the media painting a picture of an abortion being in the woman's lunch hour and she then merrily pops back to her normal life. If I had to recommend a termination option to anyone, I'd always say to go with the surgery under a general anaesthetic.