re: Kennedy reaffirms he supports full term abortions

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If the baby is viable, the pregnancy ends with birth.

Do you really believe that a baby is killed at 8.5 months?

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What’s the procedure for a later-term abortion?
Most people ending a pregnancy in the second or third trimester undergo a surgical abortion. This procedure is called dilation and evacuation (D&E).

D&E can usually be done on an outpatient basis in a clinic or hospital.

The first step is to soften and dilate the cervix. This can be initiated the day before the D&E. You’ll be positioned on the table with your feet in the stirrups, much as you would for a pelvic exam.

Your clinician will use a speculum to widen your vaginal opening. This allows them to clean your cervix and apply a local anesthetic.

Afterward, your clinician will insert a dilating stick called a laminaria stick into your cervical canal. This stick absorbs moisture and opens the cervix, as it swells. Alternatively, your clinician can use another type of dilating stick called Dilapan, which can be inserted on the same day as the surgery.

Your clinician may also choose to give you a drug called misoprostol (Cytotec), which can help prepare the cervix.

Just prior to the D&E, you’ll likely be given intravenous sedation or general anesthesia, so you’ll probably sleep through the procedure. You’ll also be given your first dose of antibiotic therapy to help prevent infection.

Your clinician will then remove the dilating stick and scrape the uterus with a sharp-tip instrument called a curette. Vacuum suction and other surgical instruments will be used to extract the fetus and placenta. Ultrasound guidance may be used during the procedure.

It takes about half an hour to complete the procedure.

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