• Heavy bleeding (hemorrhage)
• Use of RU-486 can also cause bleeding which can go on for a month.
• Cervical laceration (tearing of the opening to the womb) occurs to 5% of women.
• Puncture or tearing of the womb (can occur, but go unnoticed and untreated).
• Infection - ranges from mild to fatal; sometimes caused by pieces of the baby being left inside the womb.
• If the bleeding is severe enough, or if the puncture in the womb is severe, it may become necessary to remove the uterus (hysterectomy).

• likelihood of miscarriage is three time greater after an abortion.
• risk of ectopic (tubal) pregnancy increases by 30% after one abortion; 160% after two or more abortions; this causes you to lose the baby and your fallopian tube, thereby reducing your chance of conceiving another baby.
• premature deliver of future babies because of damage to the cervix; over 3,000 children each year develop cerebral palsy because of their premature delivery after the mother's previous abortion.
• sterility - statistics show between 1 out of 50 to 1 out of 20 women can never have another baby.
• infertility - caused by scraping that damages the lining of the uterus, leaving scaring that makes it difficult to get pregnant again.
• breast cancer - a National Cancer Institute study found a 50% increased risk of breast cancer among 1,800 women who had abortions. The risk was doubled for those women whose abortion took place before age 18 or over age 30. The majority of studies uphold these results.
• psychological disturbances, including feelings of guilt, depression, feelings of detachment from others, increased drug or alcohol abuse, nightmares and flashbacks, decreased maternal bonding, insomnia and suicidal thoughts. These can occur years after the abortion.

The death rate associated with abortion is 3 times higher than childbirth.

• The "Morning-After Pill" (Emergency Contraception): Given within 72 hours of sexual intercourse, this is a mega-dose of progesterone. It makes the lining of the womb inhospitable to the fertilized embryo, making it difficult for the baby to attach. This causes an early abortion.
• Suction Curettage: A small plastic tube about the size of a straw is connected to a vacuum-like machine. The abortionist suctions around the uterus, tearing away the baby from its lining, into pieces small enough to pass through the tube and into the machine. Dismembered fetal parts are then reassembled to assure a complete abortion.
• Dilation and Curettage (D & C): Similar to the first method, except the baby is bigger and a sharp spoon-shaped knife (curette) is inserted into the womb to cut the baby apart into small enough pieces and to scrap the lining of the uterus. Again the pieces are suctioned out and must be reassembled.
• RU-486 (The Abortion Pill): This is actually several pills. The first, a steroid, prevents the formation of the placenta so that the baby starves to death. Then another drug is taken to induce labor, causing the fetus to be born. Accompanied by heavy cramping and bleeding like that of a heavy period. This procedure needs three visits to the abortionist's office and takes several days to complete (average is 9.4 days). If any fetal tissue remains, a surgical abortion is required.
• Methotrexate: Similar to RU-486, except the drug is administered by a "shot". A second drug is inserted into the vagina to trigger labor and expulsion of the baby.

• Dilation and Evacuation (D & E): Similar to a D & C abortion. The child is larger and must be dismembered by a curette; also the head is crushed and removed by forceps. Primarily used from on the 13 to 20 week old baby.
• Saline Solution: This is a less popular method at this time. A concentrated salt solution is injected into the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby. The baby swallows and inhales this solution and dies 1 to 2 hours later from poisoning, dehydration, hemorrhaging of internal organs and convulsions. The mother then goes into labor and delivers a dead or dying baby.
• Prostaglandin Abortion: Hormones are given that induce labor, and the mother goes into a labor that is usually violent and very painful because of the high concentrations of the hormone. Not used much because of the danger of delivering a live baby.
• Hysterotomy: An early C-section is performed, usually after the baby has been killed by brain aspiration, intercardiac injection (causes the baby to have a heart attack), or cutting the umbilical cord and allowing the baby to bleed to death.
• Partial Birth Abortion (Dilation and Extraction or D & X): After the mother dilates, the entire body of the baby, except for the head pulled out of the mother. While the baby is still alive, a blunt, curved Metzenbaum scissors is forced into the base of the skull and are spread to enlarge the opening. The brain is then suctioned out with a suction catheter. The head collapses and the baby is removed the rest of the way from the mother's birth canal.
• Intercardiac Injection: An ultrasound is used to locate the baby's heart. Fluid is then injected into the heart, causing a heart attack, and killing the preborn baby. Used in hysterotomy abortions: also commonly used when multiple babies are present in order to kill a few that the others may have a better chance of living, or when a baby is "defective" in some way.

It's a fact...

Q2: Do you feel anxious at the idea of telling a loved one about your abortion? Is your abortion a secret that is holding you back from greater intimacy with others? When you do choose to share you abortion experience with others, are you overcome with strong feelings such as anger, grief, or guilt? Is there an increased distance between you and your parents, siblings, or partners because of the past abortion?

Q3: Do you have trouble talking about the abortion issues as a political issue? When you do talk about it, do you find it hard to respect opposing views, or do you become overly emotional, either in support or in opposition to it?

Q4: Do you tend to look at life in terms of "before" and "after" the abortion(s)? Are there traits about your "self" before the abortion that you lost but would wish to regain? Has the abortion changed the way you look at yourself? Have you lost interest in taking care of yourself? Have you tried to become less attractive to avoid the risk of becoming involved in a relationship, love, and sex?

Q5: Do you become angry or depressed more easily? Have you experienced "reconnects" to your abortion, such as nightmares, flashbacks, or hallucinations, such as hearing a baby cry?

Q6: Was there a period after your abortion when you experienced a increase in the use of alcohol or drugs? Have you experienced other forms of emotional deadening? Have you experienced any suicidal thoughts? Do you take risks that put your life in danger? Have you developed any eating disorders?

Q7: Do you have trouble finding, building, or maintaining good relationships with people of the opposite sex? Do you have trouble with issues of trust and control?

Q8: Have you lost the desire for sexual intercourse? Do you have increased pain during intercourse? Have you become promiscuous because of low self-esteem? Have you lost a previous desire to have children, or are you filled with an anxious desire to have a child as soon as possible?

Q9: Do you experience periods of depression, heightened anxiety, or cramping during certain months of the year, particularly during the month of your abortion or the due date of the aborted pregnancy?

Q10: Did you have a faith in God that you have now lost? Are you afraid of God? Are you angry at God? Have you rejected Him for emotional rather than thoughtful reasons?

This information was taken from Hope and Healing, published by the Elliot Institute. For more information or to obtain a sample copy of this writing, contact:
Elliot Institute
P. O. box 7348-H
Springfield, IL 62791-7348
217.525.8202.
Their website address is: www.afterabortion.org.

Feel free to call Focus on the Family Crisis Pregnancy Ministry for referrals to post-abortion counseling groups near you at:
719.531.3460.

EX126 "Are You Struggling with Post-Abortion Stress?" Used by Permission - Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO 80995
Revised 5/3/00 Copyright © Focus on the Family. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured.