by yoursl | Aug 13, 2015 | Abortion, Women's Sexual Health |
Abortions are either chemical, which involves the use of medications to cause the uterus lining to shed and abortion to occur, or surgical, which involves a doctor using surgical tools inserted into the vagina and uterus to remove the fetus via outpatient surgery. Neither abortion method is without risk, although the amount of risk involved in abortion is equal to the risk involved in a colonoscopy, according to a 2014 study by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Women who chose chemical abortion take on more responsibility for their own care than women choosing surgical abortions because chemical abortions typically conclude at home as opposed to clinics or medical centers. It is imperative that women choosing chemical abortion be able to obtain necessary care at emergency departments or hospitals should a complication arise. Chemical abortions, also referred to as medical abortions, can only be performed during the first nine weeks of pregnancy. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit organization that has been compiling abortion statistics for decades, medical abortions accounted for one-quarter of all abortions performed before nine weeks in gestation in 2008. The two medications used during chemical abortions are mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone, also known as RU-486, is a synthetic steroid that works by blocking the effects of the natural hormone progesterone which is required to maintain the lining of the uterus during pregnancy. Once the uterine lining breaks down, the lining is lost along with the developing embryo. First approved for use in France in 1988, mifepristone was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States in September 2000,...
