SUCTION ASPIRATION
To abort an early pregnancy, this is the most widely used technique. The abortion doctor must first paralyse the cervical muscle ring and then stretch it open. A hollow plastic suction tube is then inserted into the uterus. This has a knife-like edge on the tip. The baby is literally sucked into a vacuum cleaner. The baby’s fragile body is distorted and dismembered by the violence of the suction force and dies, if not by trauma, then certainly from the shut down of his or her blood supply.
D&C
The abortion doctor stretches or dilates the mouth of the womb and inserts a surgical steel curette (a loop shaped steel knife) into the uterus. With this, the doctor cuts the placenta and the baby into pieces, and scrapes him/her out into a basin. Bleeding is usually profuse.
DILATION AND EVACUATION
This procedure is done between 13 and 24 weeks gestation. A pliers-like instrument is needed because the baby’s bones are calcified, especially the skull. There is no anesthetic for the baby. The abortion doctor inserts the instrument, seizes a leg or other body part and, with a twisting motion, tears it from the baby’s body. This is repeated again and again. The spine must be snapped and the skull crushed to remove them. The nurse’s job is to reassemble the body parts to be sure that all are removed. This is performed on a baby who is capable of feeling the slightest pain.
SALINE ABORTION
Saline abortion is done after the 16th week. A large needle is inserted through the abdominal wall of the mother and into the baby’s amniotic sac. A concentrated salt solution is injected into the amniotic fluid. The baby breathes and swallows it, is poisoned struggles and sometimes convulses. It takes 45 minutes to an hour for the baby to die. When successful, the mother goes into labour about one day later, and delivers a dead baby. The corrosive effect of the concentrated salt often burns and strips away the outer layer of baby’s skin. This technique can be used right up to the very end of a pregnancy.
(not done much anymore due to danger to the mother)
Prostaglandin Abortion
The action of this hormone is to produce violent premature labour and delivery of whatever size baby the mother is carrying. If the baby is old enough to survive the trauma of labour, he/she may be born alive, but the baby is usually too small to survive, or, if born alive, is left to die. It is such a harsh drug and produces high incidences of ruptured uteruses, that it is rarely used.
(It was used during the 1970’s and 80’s but because of risks it has largely been replaced by the D&E procedure.)
RU – 486
RU-486 (chemical abortion) is a powerful steroid drug that induces abortion without surgery. Its function is to kill a baby in a womb during the first 5 to 6 weeks of pregnancy. Developed by Roussel-Uclaf, it is not a ‘contraceptive’. Two drugs used are mifepristone and misoprostol. The first drug is an anti-progestin, which destroys the natural bond between the child in the womb and his/her mother. The second causes powerful contractions. The U.S. approved its use in Oct. 2000. (nrlc.org/ru486all.html)
FETICIDE
The deliberate killing of 20 week and older babies in the womb, prior to an abortion, by inserting a syringe full of potassium chloride into the unborn baby’s heart. This procedure was designed for babies with serious defects. The Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons approved it in June 2000. (the Interim, July 2000) This method is also used to ‘reduce’ the # of babies in a multi-fetal pregnancy.
HYSTEROTOMY
his is, in effect, a Caesarean section, performed not to save the baby’s life, but to terminate the unborn child. The mother’s abdomen is surgically opened, as is her uterus. The baby is then lifted out, and along with the placenta is discarded. This method is usually done late in the pregnancy.
PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION
This method is used to kill second and third trimester unborn babies by removing the baby’s entire body from the birth canal, except for the head, and then sucking out the brains. First, guided by the ultrasound imaging, the abortionist grabs the baby’s leg with forceps and pulls the baby out into the birth canal. Then the baby’s entire body is delivered, except for the head. At this point, a scissors-like instrument is jammed into the baby’s skull and the scissors are opened to enlarge the hole. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The child’s brains are sucked out. The baby is then evacuated.