Abortion

Abortion is available in two main ways in the UK.

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Medical Abortion - Up to 9 weeks 6 days

 

One is a medical abortion which involves taking pills to end your pregnancy. This is available up to 9 weeks and 6 days of pregnancy. It can be done in a clinic or you can be given all the pills to take at home. The first pill blocks progesterone, the hormone that nourishes your pregnancy and allows the baby/foetus/embryo to grow. 1 to 2 days later you will be given (or will have already been given to take home or had posted or prescribed for you) four misoprostol tablets. These begin to soften the cervix, which is usually tightly clenched together to keep the pregnancy safely in the womb. As it softens, it will become looser to allow the baby to pass through it more easily when you are delivering the baby in the abortion. These tablets may also cause labour pains and labour contractions to begin. Finally, 3 hours later, you will be given 2 extra misoprostol tablets. If labour hasn't already started, it should start now. You may experience mild to very severe bleeding, cramping and pain. 

You will probably not speak to any doctor before during or after this experience. 

You are asked to take a pregnancy test 3 weeks later to see if the process has worked. If not, the procedure can be started again, or you can consider surgical options.

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Surgical Abortion - Up to 23 weeks 6 days​

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In this procedure, your babies life will be ended by a doctor either by using suction - this is called vacuum aspiration, or as the pregnancy progresses into the second trimester, the doctor will be using a curette, suction and forceps if necessary - this is called dilation and evacuation. 

In first trimester abortions,tablets or pessaries similar to those used in medical abortion are used to loosen up the cervix. In later term procedures, after 19 weeks, the doctor will pack the cervix with small rods which will expand and dilate the cervix overnight.

From 19 weeks onwards, the procedure will generally ake place over two days. On the second day, you will be placed under general anaesthetic while your baby is removed using a curette, forceps and suction. 

If you are over 22 weeks, you may be offered a procedure called feticide. Feticide (sometimes foeticide) means injecting your baby's heart with a substance that stops the heart beating and ends our baby's life. The abortion procedure then continues by removing the baby as in the 19 week method of abortion. Feticide is done to make sure the baby does not suvive the abortion procedure, as at 22 weeks, many babies are capable of surviving with appropriate medical support.

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