Morality of surgical abortion at twenty weeks.

Surgical abortion at twenty weeks : is morality determined solely by the outcome ? Richard

A strong body ofopinion contends that late terminations of pregnancy are better carried out by surgical methods. We show that the suggested advantages ofgreater safety and patient acceptance are based on out-of-date or inaccurate (biased) data. The advantages ofmedical methods are, however, equally unproven. However, we argue that the adverse emotional and symbolic effects oflate surgical terni...

Surgical abortion at twenty weeks: is morality determined solely by the outcome?

A strong body of opinion contends that late terminations of pregnancy are better carried out by surgical methods. We show that the suggested advantages of greater safety and patient acceptance are based on out-of-date or inaccurate (biased) data. The advantages of medical methods are, however, equally unproven. However, we argue that the adverse emotional and symbolic effects of late surgical t...

Surgical abortion prior to 7 weeks of gestation.

The following guidelines reflect a collation of the evaluable medical literature about surgical abortion prior to 7 weeks of gestation. Early surgical abortion carries lower risks of morbidity and mortality than procedures performed later in gestation. Surgical abortion is safe, practicable and successful as early as 3 weeks from the start of last menses (no gestational sac visible on vaginal u...

The constitutional morality of abortion.

Cervical dilation before first-trimester surgical abortion (<14 weeks' gestation).

First-trimester surgical abortion is a common, safe procedure with a major complication rate of less than 1%. Cervical dilation before suction abortion is usually accomplished using tapered mechanical dilators. Risk factors for major complications in the first trimester include increasing gestational age and provider inexperience. Cervical priming before first-trimester surgical abortion has be...