Methods of Abortion-- Can You Handle The truth?
information from the RFL pamphlet
Abortion--is it really just a simple medical procedure? Abortion doctors and advocates would like us to think so, but take a look at how abortions are actually performed, and what abortion doctors and clinic workers have to say.
Even now I feel a little peculiar about it, because as a physician I was trained to conserve life, and here I am destroying it. -Abortionist
Abortion in the United States is "legal" through all nine months of pregnancy. More than 4,400 surgical abortions are performed every day in this country. Millions more children are killed by contraceptive chemicals. The types of abortions performed during various stages of development differ greatly because as the child grows, she becomes harder to kill.
Fertilization through 12 weeks
At 18 days a baby's heart starts beating. At 40 days brain waves can be detected. By 8 weeks, when most abortions are performed, the major organs found in a fully-developed adult are present. In the first three months the baby can suck his thumb, perform a somersault, respond to touch, hiccup, and grasp an object. He's 2 1/2 inches long, and is already perfectly formed.
Sometimes we lied. A girl might ask what her baby was like at a certain point in the pregnancy. Was it a baby yet? Even as early as twelve weeks a baby is totally formed, he has fingerprints, turns his head, fans his toes, feels pain. But we would say, "It's not a baby yet. It's a tissue, like a clot."
-Kathy Sparks, former abortion clinic worker
types of abortions performed
Chemical contraceptives--The pill, the mini-pill, Depo-Provera, Norplant, the IUD, and emergency contraception (morning after pill). It is well known that chemical contraceptives can act to prohibit ovulation and prevent fertilization. However, most women do not know that these chemicals also act to alter the lining of the womb (uterus), rendering it hostile so that the implantation of a newly conceived child cannot occur. If the child does not implant in the lining of the womb and receive nourishment, he or she will die.
Chemicals that are designed to cause abortions 100% of the time include the RU-486 regimen (mifeprex and cytotec/misoprostal) and the MTX medical abortion (methotrexate and misoprostol). Women using these methods are usually aware that an abortion will result.
Manual Vacuum Aspiration--This relatively new procedure involves ultrasound technology and a hand-held syringe that creates a powerful suction. An ultrasound machine is used to detect the exact location of the child. A catheter connected to a syringe is then inserted into the uterus and the baby is sucked out of her mother's womb.
Suction-Aspiration--In this most common abortion method the cervix is dilated and a hollow tube with a knife-edged tip is inserted into the uterus. The suction machine, 29 times more powerful than a vacuum, rips the baby apart and sucks him into a bottle. An assistant to the doctor then puts the baby back together, like a puzzle, to make sure that nothing is left inside the womb.
Dilation and Curettage--In this rarely used method, a loop-shaped steel knife is inserted into the uterus, slicing the baby to pieces. Both the baby and the placenta are then scraped into a bowl.
You would just look in the buckets and see arms and legs. I have horrible dreams about that now.
-Kristin Breedlove, former clinic worker
4-6 Months
During this time period, the baby is 8-12 inches long and weighs about one pound. The baby can now hear sounds like his mother's heartbeat and voice. The mom can feel her baby moving. A baby born towards the end of the second trimester has a great chance of surviving.
types of abortions performed
Dilation and Evacutation--Because the bones of a baby are solidly formed by 12 weeks, the doctor must use an instrument that resembles pliers. He inserts the instrument and grabs hold of the baby's leg or another body part. He then uses a twisting motion to rip it from the baby's body. Later the child's spine is snapped and the skull crushed to fit through the birth canal.
Saline (used in second and third trimester abortions)--A 20% salt solution is injected into the sac and mixes with the amniotic fluid. The baby breathes and swallows this caustic fluid and dies painfully over a period of hours from salt poisoning, brain hemorrhage, and covulsions. The mother goes into labor about a day later and delivers a badly burned, dead baby.
If the abortion is well done, we don't have to watch the baby die. So we inject a salt solution. The result is like putting salt on a slug, but we don't have to watch it.-Dr. Russell Sacco, M.D.
Intracardiac Injection--Using ultrasound imagery, the doctor pinpoints the location of the baby's heart. A long needle, filled with fluid, is then injected into the heart causing an immediate heart attack. This method is primarily used in "pregnancy reduction" when the mother is carrying two or more babies but doesn't want to give birth to all of them. It is also used in selective abortion when a woman is carrying twins, one of whom has an abnormality.
Prostaglandin Abortion--A hormone, producing violent contractions is injected into the mother's uterine muscle. The baby is either crushed to death by the violent contractions or delivered barely alive and left to die.
7 months through birth
At the end of this time, the child has grown to an average or 21 inches and weighs between 6-9 lbs. She can use all five of her senses. Her heart pumps 300 gallons a day. During the third trimester the child is fully capable of living outside the womb.
types of abortion performed
Partial Birth--After several days of forced dilation of the mouth of the womb, forceps are inserted and used to pull one of the child's legs through the birth canal. The body of the child is fully delivered, with the head remaining in the birth canal. The doctor then punctures the back of the baby's head with sharp scissors and spreads the blades, tearing a hole in the baby's skull. Finally, the baby's brain is vacuumed out and the now-dead child is completely delivered.
Hysterotomy--This is simplet a Cesarean section performed late in pregnancy. The mother's abdomen and womb are surgically opened and the baby is lifted out. The child is either left to die or is killed by the doctor shortly after birth.
The doctors would remove the fetus while performing hysterotomies and then lay it on the table, where it would squirm until it died. ...They all had perfect forms and shapes. I couldn't take it, no nurse could.-former Planned Parenthood director
reality check
Photos of victims of these methods of abortions.
Abortion is not just a procedure--abortion is a direct act that takes the life of a child and can seriously harm his mother. If a woman does not recieve help and healing after an abortion she may suffer the rest of her life from physical and emotional pain.
For information on healing retreats call Rachel's Vineyard at 1-877-HOPE-4-ME
If you or someone you know is facing a pregnancy alone, please call America's Crisis Pregnancy Help Line at 1-888-4OPTIONS
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