Therapeutic Abortion Methods

In many cases where a woman is seeking an abortion, the pregnancy is causing her serious harm in regards to her health. If the pregnancy should continue on to term, the mother will experience significant health risks, with may very well result in death. In order to terminate this pregnancy—be it wanted or unwanted—a woman should seek information from her physician about therapeutic abortion methods. These methods can vary depending on the health of the woman and fetus, as well as the gestation period of the pregnancy and preference of the treating physician.

Therapeutic terminations can also take place when it is known that the fetus has died in the womb. Often, a woman can experience a life threatening infection if the fetus is not immediately expelled. Additionally, therapeutic terminations can take place when a woman in carrying multiple fetuses. In this instance, one or more of the fetuses are aborted so that the others will have a more viable chance making it to term and being born without any major difficulties. This is a heartbreaking decision to make, but often time necessary since a woman’s body may not be able to carry multiple babies to term without significant damage.

Most therapeutic termination methods involve medicines. A woman, especially one with a medical problem, can take a pill or a series of pills in order to cause a miscarriage and abort the fetus. This must be done early on in the pregnancy—before eight weeks—or else the option has passed. If it is too late for a medical trmination, a surgical termination will be the only option. In the case of multiple births, this is the only option since the doctor will be choosing the fetus or fetuses least likely to survive to term. The surgical options usually involve a quick technique that involves dilating a woman’s cervix and inserting an instrument that scrapes the uterine lining. The embryo is then expelled with the lining and the woman experience little to no discomfort or pain. This procedure is usually done without anesthesia, but may be performed under localized anesthesia if necessary.

Also read our article about Abortion Laws