Planning for Abortion
WARNING: Abortion is a very important medical procedure that can do serious damage to your physical and emotional health. It could affect the rest of your life. So, there are some things you should find out before having an abortion. Ask your abortion provider - and yourself - the following questions:
What will happen to me during my abortion?
In an early abortion your cervix will be forced open and a tube inserted into your uterus, which is attached to a suction machine up to 29 times more powerful than a vacuum cleaner. For a later abortion they must cut up the contents of your uterus before removing it with a suction machine. For a very late abortion, they will inject a salt solution into your uterus; the fetus' skin and lungs will be burned and he or she will die of salt poisoning; you will go through labor and give birth to a dead baby.
Return to top
What might go wrong during my abortion?
Possible complications of abortion include heavy bleeding, tearing of the opening to the womb (the cervix), puncture or tear of the womb, and infection. You may become sterile (unable to have another baby), miscarry another baby or give birth prematurely to a future wanted child. Abortion is a proven cause of dangerous ectopic (tubal) pregnancies. Among teenage women, the effects of abortion on later wanted pregnancies are even worse.
Return to top
How will I be cared for if something goes wrong?
You will be asked to sign a paper releasing your abortion provider from responsibility for any damage to your body. If abortion is such a simple, safe procedure, why must you sign this paper?
Ask whether or not your abortion provider has emergency facilities, and if not, where will they take you for care? Will an ambulance be called? Will all costs arising from the complications be cared for by the abortion provider?
Return to top
Will an ultrasound be done on me before my abortion?
Most abortion providers will perform an ultrasound just before the abortion to make sure you are pregnant and to check the size and position of the fetus. The abortion provider will turn the ultrasound screen away from you so that you don't see the contents of your uterus. Since you are paying for the procedure you ought to be allowed to see the screen.
If an ultrasound is not done for you, request one. Some non-pregnant women have had unnecessary abortions performed on them because ultrasound tests were not done.
Return to top
May I see the ultrasound? If not, why not?
If you were able to see the ultrasound image of the contents of your uterus, at six to eight weeks along in your pregnancy you would see a little person with hands, fingers, feet, toes, and a beating heart; this little one might be moving around vigorously or sucking a thumb. By ten to twelve weeks of your pregnancy, you would be able to recognize a face with eyes, nose, mouth and ears. By fourteen to sixteen weeks an ultrasound would show the sex of your child.
Return to top
What exactly am I aborting?
The abortion provider may say that the abortion merely removes a "fetus," a "blob of tissue," "the contents of your uterus," or "the products of conception." What they may not tell you is that what is inside you is alive and growing, that at conception the cells form a separate human being, that important information on this person (sex, hair color, eye color, personality traits) is already there. The abortion provider may call this a "parasite," but that is not a scientific term. (Ask whether they would call a wanted baby a "parasite.") "Fetus" is the scientific name for unborn offspring. If it's not alive, why is it growing? If it is not human, what is it?
Return to top
What will be done with the fetus after my abortion?
After the abortion, someone will look at your baby to make sure all his or her parts are there. Then, depending on local laws for the disposal of human waste, the baby may be disposed of either down the sewer, in an incinerator, in a trash container, or taken to a lab for similar disposal there.
Return to top
Why does my abortion provider seem to be in such a hurry?
You may find yourself wishing the doctor and nurses would stop and take more time with you. The reason they don't may be that the abortion provider is mainly interested in making more money and doesn't want to "waste" valuable time answering your questions. After all, the abortion provider will ask you for cash up front. This also explains why the abortion provider will never refer to the contents of your uterus as a baby, or allow you to see the ultrasound screen. This is also why he or she doesn't offer information on adoption, or other assistance should you decide to continue your pregnancy. The abortion provider wants to keep making money.
Return to top
Will the abortion provider 'be there' for me after my abortion?
You will probably be given a two week checkup after your abortion. However, some of the complications mentioned above may not show up until months or years after your abortion. It will be too late for a refund (if there were such a thing) after you've miscarried a wanted child, or find out you will never have children because of scarring and stretching occurring in an earlier abortion.
You may feel relieved immediately after your abortion, but many women have found that years later an abortion comes back to haunt them. Some women report feelings of guilt, depression, loss of empathy, lack of interest in sex, drug or alcohol abuse and lower self-worth for years after an abortion, even though at the time they thought they were strong enough.
Return to top
If abortion is my legal right, why does it seem 'wrong?'
The reason abortion is so difficult is that you are a person created in the image of God. God is love, and He is just, therefore you also have a sense of justice and love. You sense that this abortion will rob the life of another person made in God's image, your unborn child, and that it is unfair. Perhaps down deep you know that abortion is not a loving thing to do, and that God will judge it as sin against Him.
Stop before going through with it! Leave, even if you are already in the procedure room. Your abortion provider should not want to abort a reluctant patient. Even an insert used to dilate your cervix overnight can be safely removed by a competent doctor.
Return to top
Never stop asking questions.
If your pregnancy seems too difficult to bear alone - if it seems more difficult than an abortion would be - seek help from someone who will tell you the truth about abortion.
Return to top
|
