Considering Abortion?

In a mistimed pregnancy, abortion is an option many women consider. Crossroads Family Ministries offers a pre-abortion consultation and pregnancy evaluation at no charge. Included in these services is:

• Pregnancy Testing
• Options Counseling
• Abortion Q & A

Below is some basic information about the various methods and procedures.

Early Abortion

Medication Abortion / Abortion Pill / RU-486 (5 to 7 weeks): Is a 2-pill process, taken orally, using the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol. The first pill is administered in the abortion clinic and the second is given to the patient to take 36-48 hours later at home. After the second pill, the uterus contracts to expel the fetus. This method of abortion has a 90-95% successful abortion rate with a surgical abortion being needed if the uterine contents was not fully expelled. For this reason, a follow-up visit should be scheduled.

Vacuum Aspiration (6 to 9 weeks): The cervix is enlarged and a powerful suction tube is inserted into the uterus to remove the contents.

Dilation and Curettage (8 to 16 weeks): The cervix is enlarged and a steel loop-shaped blade is inserted into the uterus to scrape the walls of the uterus, removing

the contents. This procedure may be followed by suction aspiration.

D&E (13 to 20+ weeks): In this late term abortion the cervix is dilated, either mechanically or with laminaria. The physician uses forceps to remove the contents of the uterus.

D&X (20 to 32+ weeks): The procedure is more difficult to dismember the fetus in the womb. Therefore, the physician begins, but does not complete, a breech (feet first) delivery, while leaving the head inside the uterus. The physician then punctures the base of the skull and suctions out the brains. The child dies, the head collapses, and the delivery is completed.

You are not alone

Please connect with us here at Crossroads Family Ministries PRC for the help and answers you need to make best decision for your future.

Possible complications include damage to uterine lining or cervix, perforation of the uterus, infection, and blood clots.

Many women wish they would have been given complete information on procedures and risks prior to choosing abortion. Abortion is a medical procedure so you owe it to yourself to get complete information and have your questions answered. A decision to make a medical procedure should never be made quickly, without having the facts or knowing all of your options.

Post Abortion Stress Syndrome

The symptoms will not necessarily appear at the same time, nor is it likely that an individual will experience the entire list. Some may occur immediately after an abortion and others much later. If you can identify with more than two of these symptoms, it could be that you are experiencing the after-effects of abortion.

I may be pregnant? Now what?

This can be a very difficult time and we understand that you’re full of thoughts, emotions and questions right now and you may feel overwhelmed. You have a lot to think about, because an unexpected pregnancy affects everyone close to you for the rest of your life.

The staff at Crossroads Family Ministries PRC is here for you.

For Men

We can help answer questions you may have such as:

• What if I don’t want this baby? What are My options?
• How much am I financially responsible for?
• What if I want her to have an abortion?
• How can I talk to her or help her?
• How can I be sure am the father?

You are not alone: Please connect with us here at Crossroads Family Ministries PRC for the help and answers you need to make best decision for your future.

Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome in Men

While research on the after-effects of abortion tends to focus on women, women are not the only ones affected by the procedure. There is evidence to suggest that men also suffer significant distress after abortions. Unfortunately, very little research has been conducted on men’s mental reactions to abortions.

In the few studies that have been performed on the subject, symptoms of PTSD appear to be common among post-abortion men. Many suffer anxiety, feelings of helplessness, and flashbacks. Many try to avoid any reminders of abortion at all.

Particularly since men often do not feel a right to grieve, they tend to isolate themselves and suppress their emotions. This can make the abortion experience even more difficult for them, leading to dissociation and various avoidance symptoms of PTSD. They often also tend to have more complicated or delayed grief and trauma reactions than women do.

What Are the Risks of Abortion?

The risks of abortion are many. Besides the women who die each year from legal abortions, many women suffer other injuries—both physical and psychological. And though the reported number of women who die may be “small,” even one death is too many. So, let’s examine the risks:

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

PID is life-threatening and can lead to subsequent infertility and an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy. The long-term effects of PID can be devastating for the woman. Further, PID can permanently damage and scar the fallopian tubes, or even cause blockage of the tubes. If a woman has an STD at the time of her abortion, her risks for PID are even greater. According to a 2020 Pregnancy Care Clinic article, “If you have untreated chlamydia or gonorrhea, you’re up to 23% more likely to develop PID after an abortion. The reason this happens is that bacteria from outside your body can be transmitted into your reproductive tract.”

Placenta Previa

Placenta previa happens when the placenta becomes superimposed on the cervix and causes severe hemorrhage during labor. A 2017 article examining this condition has found a “significant association” between induced abortions and placenta previa. In 2006, the Catholic News Agency solicited two obstetricians and a family practice doctor to prepare a list of complications following abortion. According to this report: “Several studies analyzed in a landmark 2003 article in the Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey show that induced abortion also increases the risk of placenta previa by 50%.” The CNA further reports: “Placenta previa occurs 6 to 15 times more often after a woman has had an abortion.”

Ectopic Pregnancies

Abortion is also related to an increase in ectopic pregnancies in future pregnancies, which can seriously threaten the mother’s future fertility and even her life. The Catholic News Agency report referenced above states that “statistics show a 30% increased risk of ectopic pregnancy after one abortion and a 160% increased risk of ectopic pregnancy after two or more abortions.”

Cervical Lacerations

Cervical lacerations, or tears in the cervix, are said to occur in three percent of second-trimester abortions. Less severe undiagnosed cervical damage may result in subsequent cervical incompetence, premature delivery, and labor complications. Cervical damage and scarring of the endometrium from abortion may also increase the risk of abnormal development of the placenta in subsequent pregnancies, thus increasing the risk of birth defects.

Uterine Perforation

Between 0.1 and 3.0 per 1,000 of aborting women suffer perforations of the uterus during a vacuum aspiration abortion. Sadly, most of the perforations caused during first trimester abortions go undiagnosed. These injuries could lead to future problems that may require a hysterectomy or other major corrective surgery. Perforations occurring during late-term abortions are more frequent and always serious in nature.

Breast Cancer

The risk of breast cancer after abortion has been hotly debated for many years. Some studies claim there is no risk, while others have found a correlation. As the American Cancer Society explains, the different results come from the different ways the studies were conducted.

According to AbortionBreastCancer.com, research has shown “a statistically significant 40% risk increase [of breast cancer] for women who have had abortions.” CompassCare is a nonprofit healthcare center in New York that also does abortions. In an effort to be forthright regarding the risks of abortion, however, its site lists several short-term and long-term side effects. One such note addresses the breast cancer link and says: “Studies show that abortion increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer. A 2013 analysis revealed a 44% increased risk of breast cancer among females who had at least one induced abortion. The relative risk increased to 76% and 89% for those who had at least two or three abortions, respectively.”

Infertility and Future Childbearing

Having an abortion puts the mother at risk in subsequent pregnancies or may even leave her infertile. According to CompassCare:

First -Trimester surgical abortion by dilation and curettage (D&C) “can result in uterine synechiae (or Asherman’s Syndrome), which increases the risk of subsequent midtrimester spontaneous abortions and low birthweight deliveries.” Incompetent cervix is also a preterm birth risk associated with surgical abortion. “Symptoms related to cervical incompetence were found among 75% of women who undergo forced dilation for abortion”

The site goes on to say that the woman most at-risk for these complications include women who smoke heavily; have an IUD; have uncontrolled high blood pressure; have heart, liver, or kidney diseases; or who take certain steroids or blood thinners.

Psychological Risks

In addition to these physical risks, abortion also entails great psychological risks to women. Many women suffer from Post-Syndrome, which according to a Pregnancy Care Center article, is a type of PTSD. The center has found that women who have had abortions feel guilt and anxiety, have suicidal thoughts, feel numb, develop eating disorders, abuse alcohol and drugs, resort to sexual promiscuity, and find themselves unable to bond with future children.

These findings are consistent with what the staff at the Living Well Medical Clinic have found, though they refer to it as Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome. The Living Well Medical Clinic is a national helpline for abortion recovery, and according to its site, its staff members have seen “thousands of women who are traumatized from their abortion experience.”

Surgeon General C. Everett Koop

Whether called Post-Abortion Syndrome or Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome, this serious and heartbreaking condition is real. Yet it has been strongly denied by the pro-abortion movement for years. In the 1980s, NARAL Pro-Choice America claimed that no evidence was found for this syndrome by Surgeon General C. Everett Koop when he was assigned by President Reagan to study it in 1987. And despite all the evidence to the contrary, these pro-aborts still make this claim today.

However, even then, Koop was enraged at this twisting of his words, telling an interviewer:

Instead of saying “the Surgeon General could not find sufficient evidence to issue a scientifically statistically accurate report that could not be assailed,” the Associated Press said, “He could find no evidence.” I know there are detrimental effects [from abortion]. I have counseled women with this problem over the last fifteen years. There is no doubt about it.

According to Rachel’s Vineyard, Koop went on to say that the studies were flawed because they didn’t examine the respondents long enough. He recommended that more money be spent on longitudinal studies to obtain accurate results.

Healing and Forgiveness

But, when women (or men) do want help, healing is possible. Many organizations exist that can help post-abortive men and women heal. There are organizations available for healing such as:

Crossroads Family Ministries PRC staff understand the real trauma behind abortion. They have heard stories of women traumatized by the sound of a vacuum because it sounds like the vacuum used in the abortion. They know that women dull their pain with alcohol or drugs. They understand that some women cannot see children without breaking down in tears because they are constantly reminded of the baby they aborted.

They know all this, and they want to help those who are suffering. They encourage these men and women to ask God for forgiveness. Without this forgiveness, there cannot be healing. And God’s mercy blankets those who ask for forgiveness.

If you are feeling regret after an abortion, there is help and support available at Crossroads Family Ministries.