Morning after pill
Vacuum aspiration (suction abortion)
Most abortions are preformed early in pregnancy; about 88% of abortions are done under 12 weeks of the pregnancy. Vacuum aspiration is the most common and safest abortion method, it is 98-100% effective and 85% of woman in England and Wales will have their unborn child aborted in this way. Abortion methods that take place in the ‘first Trimester’ of pregnancy (12-14 weeks) are considered to have the lowest complication rate.
When this procedure is being carried out the woman is put under local or general anaesthetic, and recovery time spent in the hospital is not required. A speculum is inserted at the opening of the vagina to help keep the vaginal walls open. Pair of probes is inserted into the womb (Cervix) to open it, a tube is then inserted through the cervix into the uterus, the vacuum machine is switched on the tube sucks the tissue from the uterus into a disposable jar that is attached to the end of the tube, the woman may feel a cramping sensation will this is happening and sometimes the head of the child is too big, if this happens the head will be crushed with probes before being sucked into the jar with the rest of the tissue being sucked out. After the procedure the woman will have no wound but minor stitches will be required. The Dilation and Curettage (D and C) procedure may be required if all of the tissue is not remove from the uterus. Vacuum aspiration can carry some minor complications, the woman may experience:
- Some injury to the cervix
- Infection may occur during the procedure to the uterus, by bacteria entering into the uterus.
- Blood colts in the uterus that cause cramping.
- Incomplete abortion (all of the tissue not being removed) will result in infection and bleeding.
If the cervix is damaged, its runs a possible risk that the mother will experience miscarriage or premature delivery next time she is pregnant.
After an abortion some women may feel less anxious about the whole baby idea, but many men and women may feel the after affects as a loss, they may find it difficult to talk about how they are feeling, but it has been proved that they may be felling any or many of the below:-
- Anger
- Guilt
- Sadness
- Flashbacks
- Memory repression
- Hallucinations
- Difficulty keeping close relationships
Prostaglandins premature labour)
This abortion method and tends to be long and painful, the procedure will take place on a ward instead of in an operating theatre. The woman will have hormones called prostaglandins will be inject into the sac surrounding the baby, the woman will be give pessaries to bring on the premature labour so she can give birth to the child too young to be able to survive outside the womb, the child may be alive for a short period of time after it has been born. But if the child is still alive it may be dropped into a basin of water to ensure it is dead, also if the woman’s cervix is not dilated enough for the baby’s head to be expelled from the body the head will again be crushed with forceps so that the whole body can be removed. This form of abortion normally takes place late in the pregnancy for example in the second or third trimester (after 18 weeks).
This form of abortion has a very high complication rate; the rate goes as high as 42.6%. These complications can include:
- A hypertonic reaction to the hormone
- Vomiting
- Cardiac Arrest
- Retention of the placenta
- Haemorrhage
Ru486-Mifepristone: Chemical-induced abortion
This abortion method is known as a ‘medical abortion’ or ‘Chemical abortion’ as appose to a ‘Surgical abortion’. The Ru486 abortion method uses two tablets called ‘Mifepristone’ and ‘misoprostol’, which contain powerful hormones that will chemically induce abortions in women in the ‘First trimester’ of pregnancy; this procedure requires the woman to make occurring visits to the clinic. The abortion is a long process and takes place in stages:-
- The woman’s first visit will consist of a medical examination to insure that she has no medical health conditions that will interfere with the abortion.
- If the woman is in a fit state to take the drug she will be given three tablets of ‘Mifepristone’. She will then stay in the clinic for 2 hours to see the result. If she vomits this method of abortion will be terminated and a surgical for of abortion will take place, if she does not vomit she will be sent home and instructed to return 36 to 48 hours later (2 days).After 12 hour 50% of the women start to bleed.
- When the woman returns 2 days later, she will be given a dose of artificial prostaglandins called ‘Misoprostol’. She waits in the clinic for 4-6 hours, 90% of women will abort during this time with the help of strong painkillers. 3% of women will abort at home.
- The woman will take a third visit to the clinic about 2 weeks later to insure that the abortion has taken place. If the abortion has not been completed then a ‘surgical abortion’ will take place to complete this abortion. 5-10% of women will have not aborted and will have to have a D&C abortion.
Ru486 can carry some side affects and some long term problems like:-
- Prolonged and severe bleeding (up to 44 days)
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Vaginal bleeding
- Vomiting
- Pelvic pain
The long term problems of RU486 include:-
- Affect future pregnancies
- Miscarriages
- Can cause severe malformations in later children
- Death
Dilation and curettage D&C
A D&C abortion would normally only take place if another abortion method failed. D&C requires a few hour stay in the hospital after the procedure. In this type of abortion the woman will be put under local or general anaesthetic, the woman’s uterus will then be enlarged (dilated) and an instrument called a ‘curettage’ will be used to scrape the remaining tissue (unborn child) in pieces out of the mothers body. With D&C the woman should experience abdominal cramps a lot like period pains after the procedure, but like with every abortion there are complications and risks, if all the tissue from the mothers’ body is not removed then there is an even bigger chance for complications to arise. These complications can include:-
- Infection in the fallopian tubes and ovaries which will result in the woman being unable to ovulate.
- Infertility
- Blood Clots
- Haemorrhaging
- Organ Injury - so there is a small risk that a hole will be made in the uterus as it is very soft.
- Increased bleeding and infection if there is any left behind tissue
Dilation and Evacuation D&E
D&E normally takes place in the second trimester of pregnancy (after 12 weeks). The woman will be given an ultrasound to verify how far along in pregnancy she is, after this she be given local or general anaesthetic, for the procedure to continue the consultant will have to enlarge (dilate) the uterus, then instead of curettage used in D&C the consultant will use a small pair of forceps to pull the placenta and fetus tissue from the uterus in pieces, because the form of abortion takes place later in pregnancy the body of the growing child will be larger, it is then vital that the consultant checks that every part of the body has been removed to reduce the infection risk. This procedure will require hospital stay after.
As with every abortion method there are risk and complications. D&C carry the risks and complications of:-
- Perforation of the uterus (hole or tear in the wall of the womb)
- Heavy bleeding
- Risk of miscarriage
- Premature delivery and low birth weight in the future
These types of abortion may also come with some emotional risks and complications for example the woman may experience:-
- Depression
- Feelings of guilt
- Unable to sleep
- Loss of interest 2 sex or work
The morning-after pill
The morning after pill is also known as ‘emergency contraception’, and is 97-99% successful. It is two pills which contain high-dosage of combined oral contraceptive (levonorgestrel, 250 micrograms and ethinyloestradiol, 50 micrograms). This pill is suggested to be taken when contraception fails or when a woman has had unprotected sex over a period of 72 hours. Two tablets will be taken within 72 hours and then a further two tablets will be taken 12 hours later. The affect of these two tablets is that they will destroy the implantation of a recently conceived human child.
The side effects to the ‘Morning-after pill’ consist of:-
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Infertility
- Breast tenderness
- Blood clots
The long term effect of the ‘Morning-after pill’ is a diminutive threat of thrombo-embolic and cardiovascular complications that will increase with age, obesity and smoking. However in most cases of the emergency contraception pill fertilisation in the woman may have not even taken place, in actual fact there are records of cases in the past of women who remained pregnant after using this method.
What does the law say about ABORTION?
Abortion used to be a crime; a few years ago abortion was an illegal procedure. In most western countries the law has changed over the years and abortion is now a legal procedure. The human fertilization act of 1990 is the law of Great Britain today; it says that abortions must be preformed before the end of the 24th week of pregnancy. This is because after this date there is a possibility that the baby can be born alive and survives there after for up to 25 weeks. Two doctors must agree that continuing the pregnancy means that there will be a risk to the woman’s future health. The woman may inherit severe damage to her mental health or physical health is greater if the pregnancy is terminated. Abortions permitted after 24 weeks are only proceeded in very special cases, and are very rare.
What biblical and church teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion?
The bible is there to help Christians, there are many scriptures in the bible that are used to help guide Christians to reach the right decisions. There are many passages in the bible that can help to guide Christians to the right decisions about abortion. Some of them are:-
Genesis 1:26-27
This scripture states that god created human beings in his own image and likeness. He said let then rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the, livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. This tell Christians that God is our only creator, he shows us that each human life is sacred and precious, it is a gift from God and since he provided us with it only he has the right to take it away. God wants us as humans to rule the world, by giving us humans this responsibility God is asking that we treat all living creatures with respect as we should respect ourselves and others.
Exodus 20:13
This scripture simply states “You shall not murder”, this indicates to Christians that abortion is going against the word of God, as it is a deliberate act of killing a new life. This also shows us that life should be respected, and if we are not allowed to murder (take away another humans life) then on God is.