Most common second and third trimester abortions are:

Dilatation (Dilation) and Evacuation (D&E): Used to abort unborn children as old as 24 weeks, this method is similar to the D&C. The difference is that forceps with sharp metal jaws are used to grasp parts of the developing baby, which are then twisted and torn away. This continues until the child’s entire body is removed from the womb. Because the baby’s skull has often hardened to bone by this time, the skull must sometimes be compressed or crushed to facilitate removal. If not carefully removed, sharp edges of the bones may cause cervical laceration. Bleeding from the procedure may be profuse.

Dr. Warren Hern, a Boulder, Colorado abortionist who has performed a number of D&E abortions, says they can be particularly troubling to a clinic staff and worries that this may have an effect on the quality of care a woman receives.  Hern also finds them traumatic for doctors too, saying "there is no possibility of denial of an act of destruction by the operator.  It is before one's eyes.  The sensation of dismemberment flow through the forceps like an electric current." [1-2]

Prostaglandins: are naturally produced chemical compounds which normally assist in the birthing process. The injection of concentrations of artificial prostaglandins prematurely into the amniotic sac induces violent labor and the birth of a child usually too young to survive. Often salt or another toxin is first injected to ensure that the baby will be delivered dead, since some babies have survived the trauma of a prostaglandin birth and been born alive. This method is used during the second trimester.

In addition to risks of retained placenta, cervical trauma, infection, hemorrhage, hyperthermia, bronchoconstriction, tachycardia, more serious side effects and complications from the use of artificial prostaglandins, including cardiac arrest and rupture of the uterus, can be unpredictable and very severe. Death is not unheard of. [3-8]

1. Warren M. Hern, M.D., Abortion Practice (Philadelphia: J.B. Lipincott Company, 1984), pp. 153-154. See also Human Life Federalism Amendment, cited in note 10, p. 36.

2. Warren M. Hern, M.D., and Billie Corrigan, R.N., "What About Us? Staff Reactions to the D & E Procedure," paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Planned Parenthood Physicians, San Diego, California, October 26, 1978.

3 . Nancy K. Rhoden, "The New Neonatal Dilemma: Live Births from Late Abortions," The Georgetown Law Journal, Vol. 72 (1984), p. 1458.

4. Liz Jeffries and Rick Edmonds, "Abortion, The Dreaded Complication," The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 2, 1981, 4 page insert.

5. Warren M. Hern, M.D., Abortion Practice, cited in note 50, pp. 123, 125. 66. Ibid., p. 125.

6.  Ibid., p. 125.

7. James R. Scott, Danforth’s Obstetrics and Gynecology, cited in note 58, p. 726.

8. Willard Cates, M.D. and H.V.F. Jordaan, "Sudden Collapse and Death of Women Obtaining Abortion Induced by Prostaglandin F2 Alpha," American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol. 133 (February 15, 1979), pp. 398-400. See also David Grimes, M.D., et al, "Midtrimester abortion by intra-amniotic prostaglandin F2a: Safer than saline?" Obstet Gynecol, Vol. 49 (1977), p. 612 and A.C. Wentz, et al, "Posterior cervical rupture following prostaglandin-induced midtrimester abortion," American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol. 115 (1973), p. 1107.