What is a Surgical Abortion?
Surgical abortion is better known as a “ Suction D and C”. IT DOES NOT INVOLVE CUTTING or any actual surgery. The word “surgical” is used to explain that it is a procedure performed by a physician. It is used for pregnancies between 5 and 13 weeks. A Suction D&C is performed by gently opening up the cervix (the mouth or opening of the uterus), inserting a special sterile plastic straw and suctioning the pregnancy out of the uterus. Most Suction D&Cs take 1-3 minutes. The physician examines the tissue to be sure the pregnancy was successfully terminated before the patient goes home. The failure rate of a Suction D&C where the pregnancy continues is less than 1 in 10,000.
What is a Medication Abortion?
Medical abortion is also known as “the pill abortion.” It is used for between 5 and 10 weeks of pregnancy. You receive two different pills—the first--Mifiprex—blocks the action of progesterone and causes the pregnancy to die; the second—Cytotec—causes the uterus to cramp and expel the pregnancy. This can take hours to several days. The failure rate of a Medical Abortion where the pregnancy continues is 8% or 800 in 10,000. The only way to be confident that a Medical Abortion has successfully terminated the pregnancy is to follow up with your provider at 2 weeks for an ultrasound of the uterus.