Abortion Education
Call Today: Contact Us Today!
If you are thinking about abortion please contact us before you make a final choice. We are here to help you sort through all of your questions and concerns. There is a lot to educate yourself on before you make a decision, and we are here to help you every step of the way. If you are experiencing an ectopic pregnancy, a life-threatening condition where the fetus is developing outside of the uterus, abortion procedures will not be effective at removing the fetus from your body. Our Free and Confidential Ultrasound Scanning can determine if the fetus is properly located in the uterus.
Know your options, make an informed choice.
Emergency Contraception
Morning After Pill (Plan B)
Before taking any medication, you should understand what it is, what it could mean to your health and how it works. Call for an appointment and one of our staff will be happy to discuss it with you, confirm if you’re pregnant and advise you on your options.
What is It?
The “morning after pill” is a large dose of oral contraceptive. Known as Plan B, the pill is actually 2 tablets, one taken within 72 hours of intercourse and the second 12 hours later. It is NOT the same as RU-486.
How Does It Work?
Plan B is believed to act as an emergency contraceptive principally by preventing ovulation or fertilization. In addition, it may inhibit implantation. It is not effective once the process of implantation has begun. Things to consider:
- Plan B does not protect against HIV infection (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases.
- The most common side effects in the Plan B clinical trial were nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, headache, and menstrual changes.
- The manufacturer warns that Plan B is not recommended for routine use as a contraceptive.
Source
Manufacturer’s Prescribing Information for Plan B (Levonorgestrel) tablets, 0.75 mg. Mfg. by Gedeon Richter, Ltd., Budapest, Hungary for Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pomona, NY 10970. Revised Feb 2004. BR-038 / 21000382503
Methods of Abortions
RU486, Mifepristone: (Abortion Pill) – Up to 10 weeks after last menstrual period (LMP)
This drug is only approved for use in women up to the 70th day after their last menstrual period. The procedure usually requires two office visits. On the first visit, the woman is given pills to cause the death of the embryo. 24 to 48 hours later, she takes a second drug which causes cramps to expel the embryo. The last visit is a follow up ultrasound to determine if the procedure has been completed.
RU486 will not work in the case of an ectopic pregnancy. This is a potentially life-threatening condition in which the embryo lodges outside of the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube. If not diagnosed early, the tube may burst, causing internal bleeding and in some cases, the death of the woman.
Manual Vacuum Aspiration: up to 7 weeks after LMP
This surgical abortion is done early in the pregnancy up until 7 weeks after the woman’s last menstrual period. A long, thin tube is inserted into the uterus. A large syringe is attached to the tube and the embryo is suctioned out.
Suction Curettage: between 6 to 14 weeks after LMP
This is the most common surgical abortion procedure. Because the fetus is larger, the doctor must first stretch open the cervix using a series of increasingly thick metal rods. Opening the cervix may be painful, so local or general anesthesia is typically needed. After the cervix is stretched open, the doctor inserts a hard plastic tube into the uterus, and then connects this tube to a suction machine. The suction pulls the fetus’ body apart and out of the uterus. The doctor may also use a loop-shaped knife called a curette to scrape the fetus and fetal parts out of the uterus. (The doctor may refer to the fetus and fetal parts as the “products of conception.”).
Dilation and Evacuation (D&E): between 13 to 24 weeks after LMP
This surgical abortion is done during the second trimester of pregnancy. At this point in pregnancy, the fetus is too large to be broken up by suction alone and will not pass through the suction tubing. In this procedure, the cervix must be opened wider than in a first trimester abortion. This is done by inserting thin rods made of seaweed a day or two before the abortion. Once the cervix is stretched open the doctor pulls out the fetal parts with forceps. The fetus’ skull is crushed to ease removal. A sharp tool (called a curette) is also used to scrape out the contents of the uterus, removing any remaining tissue.
Abortion procedures may have various side effects including bleeding, infection, incomplete abortion, uterine scarring causing future infertility, and damage to cervix or uterus. Abortion has been associated with preterm birth, and emotional and psychological impact. For more information please contact the Pregnancy Resource Center so that you can make an informed decision.
The Pregnancy Resource Center offers confidential and accurate pregnancy testing, ultrasound, and options education; however, we do not offer or refer for abortion or provide birth control.