Abortion Types & Procedures
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Abortion Types & Procedures
You’ve got options
Abortion Types and Procedures
There are two main types of abortion in the United States:
Medical Abortions
- Bleeding can be heavy and lasts an average of 9-16 days.
- One woman out of a hundred women need a surgical scraping to stop the bleeding.
- Pregnancies sometimes fail to abort, and this risk increases as pregnancy advances.
- For pregnancies 8 weeks LMP and beyond, identifiable parts may be seen.7
- By 10 weeks LMP, the developing baby is over one inch in length with clearly recognizable arms, legs, hands, and feet.8
Surgical Abortions
Surgical abortions are done by opening the cervix and passing instruments into the uterus to suction, grasp, pull, and scrape the baby out. The exact procedure is determined by the baby’s level of growth.
Aspiration/Suction9 – Up to 13 weeks LMP. Most early surgical abortions are performed using this method. Local anesthesia is typically offered to reduce pain. The abortion involves opening the cervix, passing a tube inside the uterus, and attaching it to suction device which pulls the embryo out.
Dilation and Evacuation9, 10 (D&E) – 13 weeks LMP and up. Most second trimester abortions are performed using this method. Local anesthesia, oral, or intravenous pain medications and sedation are commonly used. Besides the need to open the cervix much wider, the main difference between this procedure and a first trimester abortion is the use of forceps to grasp fetal parts and remove the baby in pieces. D&E is associated with a much higher risk of complications compared to a first trimester surgical abortion.
D&E After Viability9, 10– 24 weeks LMP and up. This procedure typically takes 2–3 days and is associated with increased risk to the life and health of the mother. General anesthesia is usually recommended, if available.
Drugs may be injected into the fetus or the amniotic fluid to stop the baby’s heart before starting the procedure. The cervix is opened wide, the amniotic sac is broken, and forceps are used to dismember the fetus.
The “Intact D&E” pulls the fetus out legs first, then crushes the skull in order to remove the fetus in one piece.
U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (2016, March 30). Mifeprex (mifepristone) Information. Retrieved April 8, 2016, from
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm111323.htm.
2Raymond, E. G., Shannon, C., Weaver, M. A., & Winikoff, B. (2013). First-trimester medical abortion with mifepristone 200 mg and misoprostol: a systematic review.Contraception, 26-37. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2012.06.011.
3Chen, Q. (2011). Mifepristone in combination with prostaglandins for termination of 10–16 weeks’ gestation: a systematic review. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, 159, 247–254.85.
4Chen, M. J., & Creinin, M. D. (2015). Mifepristone With Buccal Misoprostol for Medical Abortion. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 126(1), 12-21. doi:10.1097/aog.0000000000000897
5U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (2016, March 30). Mifeprex (mifepristone) Information. Retrieved April 8, 2016, from http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm111323.htm.
6U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (2016, March). Mifeprex label information. Retrieved from http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2016/020687s020lbl.pdf.
7The Endowment for Human Development. (2006). The Rapidly Growing Brain. Retrieved from http://www.ehd.org/movies.php?mov_id=28.
8The Endowment for Human Development. (2006). Right- and Left-Handedness. Retrieved from http://www.ehd.org/movies.php?mov_id=44.