“Abortion is safe?” BEWARE: read the fine print!

In just about every contract, we are told to read the fine print. This is also true of abortion which is being marketed as a safe/simple procedure. Despite the fact that there are NO requirements to report abortion complications and definitely none that follow long-term abortion related injuries, the abortion industry claims that abortions are safe. However, a look at abortion consent forms reveal that there are, in fact, serious complications associated with abortion. In addition, they reveal that if a complication occurs, the abortion patient, not the clinic, may be held financially responsible for continued care once transferred to a hospital.

A first trimester abortion occurs within the first 12 -14 weeks of pregnancy. One of the most common terms for an early abortion is the D&C or vacuum aspiration abortion. In describing what takes place in this kind of abortion, Planned Parenthood writes on their website that the abortionist, “will empty your uterus with machine-operated suction or with a hand-held device that creates suction through a syringe. D&C (dilation and curettage) refers to use of medical instruments to open the cervix or mouth of the uterus so that the uterus can be emptied — dilation — and the use of a narrow metal loop called a curette to clean the walls of the uterus — curettage. This method is used from four to 16 weeks after a woman’s last period.”

This California handbook on abortion describes the early method this way, “ First-trimester abortions usually are completed by medical abortion (usually to 9 weeks) or aspiration curettage (often referred to as dilation and curettage, or “D&C”)…In a Dilation and Curettage (“D&C”) abortion the cervix is dilated and the walls of the uterus are scraped to remove the contents of the uterus. D&C is a general term and can refer to vacuum aspiration as well as use of the metal curette…”

Other terms used to describe aspiration abortion include:

Surgical abortion (elective or therapeutic)
Vacuum aspiration
Suction curettage
Manual vacuum aspiration (“MVA”)
Electric vacuum aspiration (“EVA”).

Surgical abortion is the most common term for abortion procedures that use uterine aspiration or evacuation as the handbook mentioned above describes further:

Vacuum aspiration is typically used for first-trimester abortions, but suction may be used to complete early second trimester procedures.
Vacuum aspiration is the primary method through 12-14 weeks.
Suction is accomplished with a hand-held manual vacuum aspirator (“MVA,” sometimes referred to as manual uterine aspirator, or “MUA”) MVAs can be used for termination up to 12 weeks gestation, and as part of terminations at later gestations.
The MVA or manual uterine aspirator must be emptied a few times at earlier gestations.
Electric suction machine (electric vacuum aspirator, or “EVA”) are used after about 9 weeks

Electric vacuum aspiration involves the use of an electric pump or suction machine connected via flexible tubing to a plastic or metal cannula, according to IPAS.

The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP) has identified the manual vacuum aspiration procedure (MVA) (demonstrated in video here) as more “gentler” than electronic vacuum aspiration (EVA) because they state that in earlier abortions the, “pregnancy tissue may be easier to identify.” The term “pregnancy tissue” is used instead of the term preborn baby, in an effort to make abortion appear strictly medical and not as killing. The abortion industry generally uses the same nondescript terminology to market abortion as Saynsumthn has posted about previously.

As for risks to these simple methods, the ARHP issues this warning regarding dilation of the cervix, “Excessive force in dilation of the cervix can cause cervical or uterine injury. In addition, over dilation should be avoided with MVA because it can compromise the vacuum pressure.” And they also state that risks associated with MVA, (which the same abortion rights medical group claims is safer than D&C) include:

Incomplete evacuation
Uterine perforation
Cervical laceration
Pelvic infection
Hemorrhage: Heavy bleeding
Hematometra: This is a condition in which the uterus is distended with clots and blood, which fosters continued bleeding.
Unrecognized ectopic pregnancy

The ARHP identifies the IPAS manual aspiration syringe as the most commonly used product for these abortions. Yet, according to the IPAS instruction manual there are serious risks associated with uterine aspiration/uterine evacuation abortion procedures, noting that one or more of the following complications may occur during or after procedures:

Uterine or cervical injury
Perforation
Pelvic infection
Vagal reaction
Incomplete evacuation
Acute hematometra

And adding that, “some of these conditions can lead to secondary infertility, other serious injury or death.”

But, abortion is safe right? And, early abortion is safer, correct?

Well…that is how the profitable abortion industry pitches it. And, they make this claim without any nationwide requirement that abortion injuries, complications, long-term physical effects, or deaths are reported.

ANSIRH which has published it’s abortion training manual online describes abortion as posing “no long-term risk” while the pro-abortion ACOG also claims that abortion is a “low-risk procedure” unless you wait then, they claim that, “the longer a woman waits to have an abortion, the more risk it carries for her.”

In addition, Planned Parenthood and the general abortion lobby also claim that abortions and specifically early abortions are safe. In fact, a simple glimpse at the Planned Parenthood website, where a girl would go when seeking an abortion and you read this about the risks:

There are many myths about the risks of abortion. Here are the facts. Abortion does not cause breast cancer. Safe, uncomplicated abortion does not cause problems for future pregnancies such as birth defects, premature birth or low birth weight babies, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, or infant death.

While Planned Parenthood calls abortion risks a “myth” when they are marketing the abortions to women online, once the appointment is booked and the actual abortion needs to be performed, Planned Parenthood sings a much different tune. According to a Planned Parenthood abortion consent form published online, the abortion business requires women to acknowledge that the following risks could occur in connection with any surgical, medical, and/or diagnostic procedure:
(A) Potential for infection.
(B) Blood clots in veins and lungs.
(C) Hemorrhage.
(D) Allergic reactions.
(E) Even death.
And these risks and hazards that may occur with a surgical abortion:
(A) Hemorrhage (heavy bleeding).
(B) A hole in the uterus (uterine perforation) or other damage to the uterus.
(C) Sterility.
(D) Injury to the bowel and/or bladder.
(E) A possible hysterectomy as a result of complication or injury during the procedure.
(F) Failure to remove all products of conception that may result in an additional procedure.
Risks and hazards that may occur with a medical/non-surgical abortion:
(A) Hemorrhage (heavy bleeding).
(B) Failure to remove all products of conception that may result in an additional procedure.
(C) Sterility.
(D) Possible continuation of pregnancy.
They have to acknowledge that the doctor or medical assistant told them that the following risks and hazards that may also occur:
(A) Cramping of the uterus or pelvic pain.
(B) Infection of the female organs: uterus, tubes, and ovaries.
(C) Cervical laceration, incompetent cervix.
(D) Emergency treatment for any of the above named complications.
(E) Other as written…

And, this long list of risks is not limited to Planned Parenthood abortions. (Whole Woman’s Health, Philadelphia Women’s Center, Potomac Family Planning Center, Desert Star Family Planning among others tell women that abortion could end in death.

The Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health in Tennessee notifies women of the following potential risks including death once they agree to the procedure:

Heavy Bleeding
Incomplete Abortion
Missed Abortion
Laceration of the Cervix
Perforation of the Uterus
Infection
Death

If the abortion patient is unfortunate enough to suffer from a complication which requires emergency care outside the abortion facility, the Knoxville abortion patient must sign that she is, “responsible for any expenses incurred for an emergency room visit or for care at another facility.”

The Atlanta Women’s Center abortion clinic in Georgia has a much longer list of serious complications which include: hemorrhage, shock, cardiac arrest, uterine rupture, sterility, amniotic fluid embolism, DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation, Asherman’s Syndrome), perforation, infection, incomplete abortion, hematometra, cervical lacerations, incompetency, loss of fertility and death to name a few. They go on to tell patients that:

“If during the course of the abortion procedure, any unforeseen conditions or complications arise, and the doctor in his/her professional medical judgment decides that different or additional procedures including, but not limited to, anesthesia or blood transfusion or the association of another doctor, or hospitalization at a hospital may be necessary, I give my consent to such. I assume all financial responsibility for payment for additional services.”

But, lest you assume the attitude of “sticking the cost of emergency care on the patient” is limited to your rank-in-file abortion facility only, think again. While the multi-million dollar abortion chain Planned Parenthood soft pedals abortion risks before the procedure, release forms published online indicate that they make no promises about the outcome of an abortion. In fact, this Planned Parenthood abortion consent form which claims the abortion could result in death, tells women that if they have to be transferred for emergency medical care during their abortion, Planned Parenthood will not pay for it, writing :

“No promise can be made about the outcome of your abortion. In the unlikely event that you need emergency medical care that cannot be provided at Planned Parenthood, you will be responsible for paying for it. This is the case even if Planned Parenthood sends you to a hospital because of a problem.”

Which, of course, Planned Parenthood has done.

The pro-life group, Operation Rescue along with the help of many pro-life activists outside the abortion centers, has documented 53 abortion-related medical emergencies outside abortion clinics in 2015. Out of those, Operation Rescue states almost half took place at Planned Parenthood facilities, where the most common of the life-threatening complications included hemorrhage and perforated uteri. And they say that in Texas, documents from a recent court case that is now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court indicated that about 1,000 women are hospitalized with serious abortion complications each year in that state alone, giving a better glimpse into serious maternal injuries that actually occur during violent abortion procedures.