Process of Abortion

Timeframe

According to the Feminist Women's Health Center, surgical abortions can be performed from the beginning of a pregnancy up until about 24 weeks. The exact type of abortion will depend on the pregnancy length. If a woman has only been pregnant for 4 to 5 weeks, she can have an early abortion with manual vacuum aspiration. If she has been pregnant for 6 to 13 weeks, a vacuum aspiration is usually performed. If her pregnancy has lasted between 13 and 24 weeks, she will need a dilation and evacuation procedure.

The Feminist Women's Health Center says that surgical abortions take about 3 to 4 hours. The procedure itself only lasts for about five minutes, while the rest of the time is preparation and recovery. There may be some cramping during the procedure, and the woman may bleed for up to 8 weeks afterward.

Steps

An early abortion with manual vacuum aspiration uses a device called an IPAS syringe. Thin, flexible tubing is passed into the woman's uterus. Suction is created manually with the syringe to remove the embryo. A vacuum aspiration abortion is similar, but the suction is provided by a machine.

A dilation and evacuation procedure involves two visits. On the first visit, the fetus is viewed through an ultrasound to determine its size. The cervix is then numbed, and a doctor inserts dilators to expand its opening overnight. The woman returns the next day to have the dilators removed. The doctor scrapes the uterine lining to terminate the pregnancy and sucks out the material with an aspirating machine.

Effectiveness

Overall, according to Health-Directories.com, surgical abortions are usually 95 percent effective in terminating a woman's pregnancy. If the abortion is not successful, the procedure can usually be repeated. According to the Feminist Women's Health Center, the complication rate is less than 1 percent, and surgical abortions normally do not affect a woman's future ability to have children.