Need to confirm a pregnancy test?
If you think you might be pregnant, you have many choices facing you right now, and it can be overwhelming to be faced with so much all at once. You might be considering options like abortion that you haven’t previously thought about. At Moore Options, we're here to help you no matter what choice you make, but first there are some important things to think about if you are considering abortion.
Before having an abortion, it is very important to have your pregnancy confirmed. There are many reasons that you could have missed your period or that you are experiencing other symptoms of pregnancy. It will only add to your concerns to start thinking about abortion if you have not taken a pregnancy test yet. Even if you have taken a home test, it’s wise to take another confirming test. Visit us or contact us and you will be able to meet personally with a trained peer counselor who can help you interpret the results of your pregnancy test if you have any questions and assist you as you move forward.
If you have had a positive pregnancy test, it is vital to have an ultrasound before an abortion. An abortion procedure should only be performed on women who have a viable (capable of living) pregnancy. An ultrasound is a highly effective tool in determining the health of your pregnancy and is very important for your safety.
Additionally, abortion procedures vary depending on how far along you are in your pregnancy. An ultrasound will assist in determining the gestational age of your pregnancy and what type of abortion procedure you may be facing. Everything at the pregnancy center is confidential so your privacy will never be compromised.
Abortion Procedures
Medication Abortion, RU-486, the Abortion Pill, Medical Abortion, Chemical Abortion[1]
You may have heard of the abortion pill referred to by different names. Even though the terms may be different, the medication is the same. The Abortion Pill is not the same as emergency contraception (i.e. Morning After Pill, Plan B, ella). Medical abortion is a procedure that uses medication to end a known pregnancy.
Before a medication abortion, you should meet with your doctor to discuss terminating your pregnancy. You should be given a physical examination to determine whether you’re a candidate for RU-486, and you should be given an ultrasound to ensure that you really are pregnant and within the gestational dating that RU-486 can be prescribed. Unfortunately, women have been given the abortion pill when they were not even pregnant.[1]
Ending your pregnancy through the abortion pill is a three-step process.
First, you will be given a drug that will cause the death of your embryo or fetus, thus ending your pregnancy.
Note: Some women change their mind and decide they do not want to continue the medication abortion at this point. Contact us and we will connect you with a network of caring medical professionals who can help reverse the effects of this medication in some cases.
Second, you will be given another drug that will cause you to expel the embryo or fetus from your body. Women are usually not in their doctor’s office when they feel the effects of this drug. Some women have experienced, nausea, weakness, fever/chills, vomiting, headache, diarrhea, and dizziness.[2]
Third, about seven to fourteen days after the first drug, you should follow-up with your doctor to ensure all the contents of your uterus have been expelled. If there is anything left over, it may require a surgical abortion in some cases. This is a potentially serious condition, and this follow-up appointment is very important.
First-Trimester Aspiration Abortion (up to twelve or thirteen weeks of pregnancy)[3]
Depending on how far along you are in the first trimester, this procedure may be done without dilation or anesthesia, but if you are further along in your pregnancy the abortion provider may begin by using local anesthesia to numb the cervix.
After it is numbed, the cervix must be stretched open. The abortion provider inserts the dilator through the vagina and into the cervix. Once it has established a clear pathway, the abortion provider will continue by inserting progressively larger dilators into the cervix.
When the cervix has been stretched wide enough, the abortion provider suctions out the contents of the uterus. After the embryo or fetus along with the pregnancy matter has been removed, the abortion provider will inspect the cervix and other internal organs.
To ensure the procedure is complete, some providers will use sharp curettage followed by final suctioning to ensure that nothing has been left over inside the uterus.
Afterward, you most likely will be taken to a recovery room to recuperate. The recovery time after the procedure varies. Physical complications resulting from the abortion may manifest immediately or some time later.
[1] Medical Abortion. Mayo Clinic Website: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/medical-abortion/about/pac-20394687. Published May 14, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
[2]“Clinical Trials Experience,” Danco Labratories, last modified March 2016, http://www.earlyoptionpill.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Prescribing-Info-and-MG_BW.pdf.
[3] Abortion (Termination of Pregnancy). Harvard University Website: https://www.health.harvard.edu/medical-tests-and-procedures/abortion-termination-of-pregnancy-a-to-z. Published January 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
