D&E (Dilation and Extraction)

This is one of the most common second trimester abortions. The baby is now too large to pull from the uterus by simply using the suction machine, so the mother’s cervix must be dilated much more than in first trimester abortions. After dilation is accomplished, the abortionist begins the procedure by rupturing the amniotic sac (which contains the unborn child), and then begins the process of dismembering the baby and pulling it out of the uterus in pieces.

To pull apart the baby, the abortionist uses suction and a pair of forceps. He or she inserts the forceps into the uterus and starts to open and close it, until a part of the baby or placenta is grasped. The piece that is grasped is then torn off and pulled out. This process is repeated until the abortionist has pulled everything out that can be felt with the forceps. Then, the curette is used to scrape any remaining parts off the sides of the uterus. After that, the suction machine is used to vacuum up whatever debris is still left.

Sometimes the baby’s skull is too large to pull out of the uterus, so the abortionist has to crush it first with the forceps. The ‘calvaria sign’, which is when the baby’s brains flow out of the uterus, signals that the skull has been collapsed and the abortionist can now remove it more easily.

Throughout this whole procedure, all of the extracted baby parts are placed on a tray and reassembled- so the abortionist can make sure that the entire baby is accounted for and that there are no parts that are left behind.

Often, a baby will be killed one or two days before the D&E procedure to make it easier for the abortionist to perform it. This extra step, called a ‘ditch’, is done by inserting a long needle through the mother’s abdomen and into the heart of the baby. A chemical agent (usually digoxin) is injected, causing the baby’s death. The advantage of taking this extra step is that the chemical causes the baby’s body to soften, making the dismemberment and removal much easier. Ditching does have one potential downside though; because the chemical used is toxic, it is crucial for the abortionist to know that he or she has inserted the needle into the baby and not the mother. To make sure, the abortionist will sometimes let go of the needle before injecting the chemical to see if the baby jumps around, independent of the mom’s movements. If the baby does move around, the abortionist knows that he or she has hit the baby and can then inject the chemical.

Intact D&E

This procedure is a variation of the D&E, the major difference being that the baby is removed whole, rather than being pulled out in pieces.

Normally, the abortionist will use a chemical to kill the baby first or will position the baby so that the skull can be crushed. Sometimes though, the baby will actually survive the procedure and emerge alive. In the abortion industry, when a baby is born alive, it is referred to as the ‘Dreaded Complication’. Since most Intact D&E abortions are performed on babies who are too young to survive once separated from the mother, the usual response to a live birth is to set the child aside and allow it to die on its own. The abortion industry calls this practice ‘comfort care’. In some cases, abortionists have been seen actively killing the baby by: drowning it, crushing the tracheal tube, or snapping the neck.

Instillation

The abortionist first sticks a long needle through the mother’s abdomen and into the baby’s amniotic fluid sac. Some amniotic fluid is drained from the sac and replaced with either a saline or urea solution. By doing this, it usually kills the baby, but it might take hours; some women have reported feeling the baby violently moving around. Once the process of killing the baby has been started, the woman is given drugs to induce labor – to deliver the dead child.

There have been cases where babies have survived this process, so some abortionists inject a drug into the baby’s heart prior to delivery to make sure that it is dead. Photos of babies killed by the instillation procedure usually show large chemical burns covering their entire bodies.

Induction

The woman is given a drug (usually prostaglandin or oxytocin) that causes her to go into labor. Often the abortionist will kill the baby at the same time, in order to avoid the possibility that the mom will deliver a live baby. In some cases, the labor-inducing drug will actually kill the baby; however, it is well established that live births are a possibility with induction procedures.

Just like Intact D&E abortions, Induction is usually performed on babies who are too young to survive outside the womb.

Hysterectomy & Hysterotomy

Out of the more than one million American babies that are killed by abortion each year, approximately 5,000 babies are killed by these procedures. The reason that these two procedures are relatively rare is because they have a higher incidence of complications and death of the woman, than any other second trimester method.

During a hysterectomy abortion, the mother’s entire uterus (including the baby) is removed, in which the baby usually dies.

The hysterotomy abortion is similar to a cesarean section (C-section); the abortionist does not remove the uterus but cuts it open and removes the baby. If the child was not killed prior to the removal, it will be set aside to die.