OVER 4000 BABIES ARE KILLED BY ABORTIONISTS EVERY DAY IN THE UNITED STATES...A TOTAL OF OVER 50 MILLION SINCE 1973.
Methods of Abortion
warning: contains graphic details not to be read by children under 13!
“Abortion” has become just a word. In every abortion, a baby dies. Every abortion is
evil. But abortion is a gruesome, horrifying “procedure.” Here are just some of the ways
an innocent preborn child’s life can be ended.
© 2005 American Life League, Inc. phone: 540-659-4171 • e-mail: [email protected] • web: www.ALL.org
First Trimester
Abortifacients: Abortion-causing chemicals
and devices can act to kill preborn children in the
earliest days of life. While these methods may act
to inhibit ovulation and prevent conception, they
also act to alter the lining of the womb so the
newly conceived child cannot implant in the uterine
wall. If the child cannot implant in the lining of
the womb to receive nourishment, he dies. Birth
control pills (including “morning-after” pills),
OrthoEvra, Depo-Provera and IUDs act prior to
implantation. Other methods of chemical abortion,
including RU-486, methotrexate and misoprostol,
act to kill the child after implantation.
Suction: A powerful pump is hooked to a hose,
which has a serrated suction tip attached to its
end. After dilation of the cervix (the mouth of the
womb), the suction tip is inserted to the top of the
womb and the pump is started. The baby is
ripped apart and sucked through the narrow hose
into a receptacle.
D & C: Used during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. After dilation of the
cervix, a ring forceps is inserted into the womb and the baby extracted in
pieces. Once this has been accomplished, a large curette is used to scrape
the afterbirth (placenta) from the wall of the womb and to confirm that
the womb is empty.
Second Trimester
D & E: Used during the second trimester (4-6
months) of pregnancy. This method has largely
replaced saline and chemical abortions, which too frequently
resulted in live births, a complication from the
abortionist’s perspective. The baby is cut to pieces
and the pieces are withdrawn with instruments or
suction. This is followed by suction and curettage to
insure that the womb is empty.
Third Trimester
D & X: Also used for advanced pregnancies.
Laminaria are used to soften and partially dilate
the cervix; further mechanical dilation allows passage
of a ring forceps. A foot or lower leg is located
and pulled into the vagina. The baby is extracted
in breech fashion until the head is just inside the
cervix. With the baby face down, scissors are
plunged into the baby’s head at the nape of the
neck and spread open to enlarge the wound. A suction
tip is inserted and the baby’s brain removed. The skull collapses and
the baby is delivered.
Lethal Injection: This late-term abortion method involves injecting potassium
chloride into the heart of a baby inside the womb to cause cardiac
arrest. Prostaglandins are administered to induce labor and the mother
delivers a dead baby.
Death rates for women who have had an
abortion are much higher than previously
thought. A 2002 study debunks the claim
that abortion is “safer than childbirth.”
Women who have an abortion are involved
in risk-taking behavior at higher levels than
women who have not had an abortion.
Women who had an abortion in the year
prior to their deaths were:
14 times more likely to die from
homicide
Complications of Abortion
If you have been told that abortion is a “safe and legal” procedure, please keep reading. Many problems can come up either during or after a “legal” abortion, problems that you might not have been told about. You deserve to know what can happen to you if you get an abortion. Here are just some of the physical, emotional and psychological consequences:
7 times more likely to die of suicide
4 times more likely to die from
accident-related injuries
Women who abort a first pregnancy are at
greater risk of long-term clinical depression
compared to women who carried a first
pregnancy—even an unintended one—to term.
Having an abortion prior to carrying a
pregnancy to term increases the risk of
premature delivery and other problems
associated with giving birth.
When they do carry a pregnancy to term,
women who abort are:
twice as likely to use alcohol
ten times more likely to use marijuana
There is strong evidence that having an
abortion can increase the risk of breast
cancer, especially if the woman’s first
pregnancy ends in abortion.
Additional details are available at
www.AfterAbortion.org
Shouldn’t abortion be legal for victims of rape?
Rape is a violent crime perpetrated on an innocent victim—the
woman. Abortion is also a violent crime perpetrated on an
innocent victim—the preborn baby. The violence of rape cannot
be erased by the violence of abortion. The victim needs our love,
compassion, and understanding. The child is a human being with
an inalienable right to life. The innocent child must not be
executed for the crime of the father.
What about abortion in the case of incest?
Abortion does not aid in the healing process. Instead, abortion
can leave physical, emotional, and psychological scars, which will
only add to the pain and agony of the incest victim. The child
conceived in incest is an innocent third party. Each human
being—from the moment of fertilization—is a unique, human
person with a right to live. The circumstances surrounding that
little one’s entry into the world are irrelevant.
Do pro-lifers believe that the life of the preborn
baby is more important than the life of the mother?
When the wellbeing of the mother is a concern, all efforts should
be made to save both the child and the mother. Intentionally
destroying the life of a developing child—for any reason—is unjust
and morally wrong. If medical efforts—such as treating an ectopic
pregnancy or cancerous uterus—indirectly end the life of the child,
it is not an abortion, since the intent was not to destroy the child.
What if the child has a disability?
Isn’t abortion a humane option?
Prebom babies with disabilities are people created in the image
of God and deserve the right to life. We do not advocate killing
preschool-aged children with spina bifida or Down’s syndrome,
and we shouldn’t advocate killing them in the womb either.
Prenatal diagnostic tests are often wrong. The baby may turn out
to be totally healthy. People living with disabilities need to be
supported and cared for, not regarded as burdens.
What about the effect “unwanted”
children have on our society?
Since abortion was legalized in 1973 there have been dramatic
increases in child abuse, violent crime, juvenile offenders and the
welfare rolls. By reducing abortion to a personal “choice” our
society has opened the gate to the widespread disintegration of
respect for all human beings. Aborting millions of children has
increased, not relieved, society’s problems. Which of these
“unwanted” children held the solutions to our problems?