Abortions can happen in many places, they can happen in hygienic hospitals through controlled medical treatments, or in unhygienic environments through illegal (back-street) and homemade procedures which tend to be unsafe. However, many controlled abortions tend to be more expensive which is why some women turn their heads and choose the illegal “backstreet” procedures instead, which are done in unsafe and unhygienic environments.
Illegal abortion methods
Many illegal abortions are carried out using ancient surgical methods. Some of these primitive and dangerous surgical methods include injecting poisonous solutions into the womb of a woman, or inserting objects intended to dislodge the fetus. These methods not only kill the baby, but they also harm the woman who is getting the abortion. These kinds of abortions are referred to as “backstreet abortions” because they are often done by someone with no surgical training, and in an unhygienic and badly-conditioned environment that is of great secrecy.
Medical abortion methods in controlled environments
So, what other methods are there for an abortion? For one, an abortion can happen naturally through a miscarriage. This method cannot be carried out by a doctor and can happen to any pregnancy at any given time. However, an abortion can also happen through multiple abortion procedures that are chosen relative to the stage that the pregnancy is in, that include surgical or medicinal methods. In a pregnancy of about nine weeks, drugs are used which differ from country to country, but the most common ones used in Canada are methotrexate and misoprostol. This is considered a medicinal procedure or abortion method. The methotrexate drug stops the embryo’s cells from dividing which prevents further development. After, Misoprostol is then inserted into the vagina which causes the womb to contract. This, in turn, expels the embryo from the womb within a week which causes a woman to experience cramping and bleeding. Other medicinal abortion methods include labor induction methods, saline abortion, urea, and prostaglandins. Another method considered to be a medicinal method of abortion is using emergency contraceptives. The emergency pill is used by women as an emergency contraceptive. This method is a series of pills that women take and is a method that is used after intercourse. This method acts to either delay the release of an egg from the ovaries, or to prevent the implantation of the fertilized egg. This method has caused a lot of controversy and is considered to be a method of abortion, because its effect occurs after fertilization which therefore kills the embryo/baby.
Surgical abortion methods in controlled environments
Along with several medicinal abortion methods, many women turn to surgical methods in order to terminate their pregnancy and kill their unborn baby. One of the most common surgical methods is called suction aspiration (surgical aspiration, vacuum abortion, suction dilation and curettage (D&C)). This method is used approximately for 90% of all abortions in Canada and is generally used between six and fourteen weeks of a pregnancy. Suction curettage (suction aspiration) can be done under general anesthesia, but it is usually done in a clinic with local anesthesia injected into the cervix of a woman to control pain. In this method, the cervix is forcefully opened with a compressed seaweed preparation called laminaria. Sometimes, prostaglandin misoprostol is used to soften the cervix and make it easier to expand, instead of using “compressed seaweed preparation”. After the cervix is dilated, a hollow plastic tube is inserted into the uterus through the cervix and attached to a suction machine. The suction machine is then turned on and tears the fetus into small parts, which are sucked through the tube into a collection bottle. Frequently, a sharp loop-shaped knife called a curette is then put into the uterus to release any remaining tissue so that it can be suctioned out. When the suctioning is completed, the physician conducting the abortion must observe the fetal parts and tissue in the bottle to see if the abortion is fully finished and the baby is dead. The next method is used by less than 1% of Canadian women who get an abortion and is called menstrual aspiration. This method is very similar to suction aspiration; however, menstrual aspiration refers to an early abortion from three to ten weeks after conception, and uses a syringe for suction not a suction machine. In this method, a thin hollow tube is inserted into the slightly opened cervix. The tube is than attached to a large syringe and the embryo is suctioned out. Other surgical abortion methods that take place in Canada are dilation and evacuation, dilation and extraction, and hysterotomy and hysterectomy (caesarean delivery as an abortion method).
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