Abortion is not just a simple medical procedure. For many women, it is a life changing event with significant physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences. Most women who struggle with past abortions say that they wish they had been told all of the facts about abortion and its risks.

Our trained consultants are available 24/7 to answer your questions about abortion and to connect you to local help. Call 1-800-395-HELP or e-mail us as at all hours. You can also read the information below to learn more about abortion procedures and the risks associated with abortion.

Source: Option Line

Abortion Procedures

RU486, Mifepristone: within 4 to 7 weeks after LMP
Also known as the Abortion Pill, this medical abortion is used for women who are within 28 to 49 days after their last menstrual period. This procedure usually requires three office visits. The RU 486 or mifepristone pills are given to the woman who returns two days later for a second medication called misoprostol. The combination of these medications causes the uterus to expel the fetus.

Early Vacuum Aspiration: within 7 weeks after LMP
This surgical abortion is done early in the pregnancy up until 7 weeks after the woman's last menstrual period. The cervical muscle is stretched with dilators (metal rods) until the opening is wide enough to allow the abortion instruments to pass into the uterus. A hand held syringe is attached to tubing that is inserted into the uterus and the fetus is suctioned out.

Suction Curettage: within 6 to 14 weeks after LMP
In this procedure, the doctor opens the cervix with a dilator (a metal rod) or laminaria (thin sticks derived from plants and inserted several hours before the procedure). The doctor inserts tubing into the uterus and connects the tubing to a suction machine. The suction pulls the fetus' body apart and out of the uterus. One variation of this procedure is called Dilation and Curettage (D&C). In this method, the doctor may use a curette, a loop-shaped knife, to scrape the fetal parts out of the uterus.

Dilation and Evacuation (D&E): within 13 to 24 weeks after LMP
This surgical abortion is done during the second trimester of pregnancy. Because the developing fetus doubles in size between the thirteenth and fourteenth weeks of pregnancy, the body of the fetus is too large to be broken up by suction 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 laminaria a day or two before the abortion. After opening the cervix, the doctor pulls out the fetal parts with forceps. The fetus' skull is crushed to ease removal.

Dilation and Extraction (D&X): from 20 weeks after LMP to full-term
Also known as Partial-birth Abortion, this procedure takes three days. During the first two days, the cervix is dilated and medication is given for cramping. On the third day, the woman receives medication to start labor. After labor begins, the abortion doctor uses ultrasound to locate the baby's legs. Grasping a leg with forceps, the doctor delivers the baby up to the baby's head. Next, scissors are inserted into the base of the skull to create an opening. A suction catheter is placed into the opening to remove the skull contents. The skull collapses and the baby is removed.

Immediate Risks of Abortion
Induced abortion carries a risk of several side effects. These risks include abdominal pain and cramping, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. In most abortions, no serious complications occur. However, the risk of complications is about 1 out of every 100 early abortions and in about 1 out of every 50 later abortions. Such complications may include:

• Heavy Bleeding - Some bleeding after abortion is normal. However, there is a risk of hemorrhage, especially if the uterine artery is torn. When this happens, a blood transfusion may be required.
• Infection - There is a risk that bacteria may get into the uterus from an incomplete abortion resulting in infection. A serious infection may lead to persistent fever over several days and extended hospitalization.
• Incomplete Abortion - There is a risk that some fetal parts may not be removed by the abortion. Bleeding and infection may occur. RU486 may fail in up to 1 out of every 20 cases.
• Allergic Reaction to Drugs - There is a risk of an allergic reaction to the anesthesia used during abortion surgery. These risks include convulsions, heart attack and, in extreme cases, death.
• Tearing of the Cervix - There is a risk that the cervix may be cut or torn by abortion instruments.
• Scarring of the Uterine Lining - There is a risk that suction tubing, curettes, and other abortion instruments may cause permanent scarring of the uterine lining.
• Perforation of the Uterus - There is a risk that the uterus may be punctured or torn by abortion instruments. The risk of this complication increases with the length of the pregnancy. If this occurs, major surgery, including a hysterectomy, may be required.
• Damage to Internal Organs - When the uterus is punctured or torn, there is also a risk that damage will occur to nearby organs such as the bowel and bladder.
• Death - In extreme cases, there is a risk of other physical complications from abortion including excessive bleeding, infection, organ damage from a perforated uterus, and adverse reactions to anesthesia may lead to death. This complication is very rare and occurs, on average, in less than 20 cases per year.

Source: Option Line

What Are Some of the Other Risks of Abortion?

Here are other important facts:

1. Carrying a pregnancy to full term gives protection against breast cancer that does not occur if the pregnancy is aborted.
2. Abortion causes a sudden drop in estrogen levels that may make breast cells more susceptible to cancer.
3. Most studies conducted so far show a significant link between abortion and breast cancer.

Abortion May Effect Risk Levels in Future Pregnancies
Scarring or other injury during an abortion may prevent or place at risk future wanted pregnancies. The risk of miscarriage is greater for women who abort their first pregnancy.

Abortion May Increase the Risk of Emotional Problems
Some women experience strong negative emotions after abortion. Sometimes this occurs within days and sometimes it happens after many years. This psychological response is known as Post-Abortion Stress (PAS). Several factors that increase the risk of Post-Abortion Stress include: the woman's age, the abortion circumstances, the stage of pregnancy at which the abortion occurs, and the woman's religious beliefs.

• Guilt
• Anger
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Suicidal Thoughts
• Anniversary Grief
• Flashbacks of Abortion
• Sexual Dysfunction
• Relationship Problems
• Eating Disorders
• Alcohol and Drug Abuse
• Psychological Reactions

Spiritual Consequences
People have different understandings of God. Whatever your present beliefs may be, there is a spiritual side to abortion that deserves to be considered. Having an abortion may affect more than just your body and your mind -- it may have an impact on your relationship with God. What is God's desire for you in this situation? How does God see your unborn child? These are important questions to consider.

Know Your Options
You have the legal right to choose the outcome of your pregnancy. But real empowerment comes when you find the resources and inner strength necessary to make your best choice. Here are some other options.

Parenting
Choosing to continue your pregnancy and to parent is very challenging. But with the support of caring people, parenting classes, and other resources, many women find the help they need to make this choice.

Adoption
You may decide to place your child for adoption. Each year over 50,000 women in America make this choice. This loving decision is often made by women who first thought abortion was their only way out.

Note: Our network of participating pregnancy centers offers peer counseling and accurate information about all pregnancy options; however, these centers do not offer or directly refer for abortion services.

Source: Option Line

If Abortion is So Bad, Why Do So Many Do It?

One of the reasons a woman may opt for abortion is to be free from the burden of raising a(nother) child. Time, circumstances, finances, and emotional health may leave them unprepared to consider a pregnancy.

Others may feel pregnancy is an inconvenience. Younger women may consider that they haven't completed their education and realize they still have their whole lives ahead of them. Some feel it will take too much to give a child up for adoption; plus, they are not willing to carry the child for 9 months and go through delivery.

Women who give in to the idea of abortion are often pressured into it by their partners. In many cases, these women find it difficult to choose the life of their child over their partner.

Whatever the reason, abortion should never be entered into without careful thought. The procedures can be dangerous, even life-threatening, and emotionally devastating.

Source: Option Line

I Had an Abortion - A Beaufort Woman’s Story

When I was 15, I had an abortion. The guilt that I felt was overwhelming. I no longer cared about what I allowed to happen to me, and I became very careless with my life. A few years later I received Christ as my Savior. When I accepted Christ I believed that He could forgive me of all my sins but one; the abortion that I had allowed. Part of me knew that He had forgiven me of that terrible sin, (as I had cried out to Him so many times) but I would not allow the forgiveness because I did not feel that I deserved it. I felt that I would always need to suffer in some way.

Years later I met a man, fell in love, and wanted to get married. But I could not marry this man without him knowing my past. This was the first time that I shared my ugly sin with someone. Surely this wonderful man would not want to marry me when he learned what I had done.

When my husband and I started talking about having children, I wondered how God could ever allow me to have children. I did not deserve children, not after what I had done. I finally shared with a close friend one day about the abortion that I had had some 12 years earlier, how I felt about not being able to forgive myself, and why I thought that God would not let me have children. And the simple words that she spoke to me that day impacted my life in an awesome way. She simply said, "Was Christ's dying on the cross not good enough for your sin? Were your sins too much for Jesus' suffering and death to handle?" Wow! I had never thought of it that way. I never realized that I was basically saying, "Okay God, I know you sent your Son to suffer this horrible death, all because you loved us, but I'm sorry, it just isn't enough for me."

You see, Christ died for all of our sins, not just certain ones, and He knew that I was going to have this horrible sin in my life when He died, and He still died for me anyway. I was finally able to ask for forgiveness and then accept it.

But God, in His love and grace, did not stop there. He took my ugly sin and used it for His glory. You see, He can use all things for His glory, even the stuff that we see as horrible and detesting. I have two children today and an incredible husband. And I know that I have a child waiting in Heaven to meet me some day. I have seen Christ's forgiveness and I have released my sin to be used for His glory. I have been cleansed through the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. Now, this is not the thing that I can say that I would do the same thing again if I had it to do over, but if God can use it for His glory, and if one unborn baby can be saved then this story is worth telling. And so is yours.

Living with Guilt following an Abortion

If you’ve ever had an abortion, you probably feel very much alone with the memories of your experience. More than a million American women will have an abortion this year, but hardly any of them talk about it. Why?

Most women who choose abortion are going against their own moral codes, and feel guilt afterward. Guilt stops them from talking about it or getting the emotional help they deserve.

Meet with a BWC counselor today to find out how you can be forgiven and set free from the guilt. There is hope. Call the Beaufort Women Center at 525-0300 so that you, too, can be forgiven and set free. You are not alone. There is hope.