January 23, 2008
Wednesday at 11:39AM

      Well into the Winter intersession at nursing school, the teacher quickly passed by the induced abortion topic. Hardly any information was mentioned about it. Thus, I felt that it was my responsibility to email my students information regarding the topic. The email was fueled with information and not with any anger or hate. God told us to love one another. He also told us to obtain wisdom. The following is the email that I sent my peers in the program:

      You may not believe what I am about to do; I am going to give you guys some information regarding abortion as a medical practice and in what circumstances it can be performed.
      First of all, abortions can be performed during all nine months of pregnancy. The court case Roe v. Wade in 1973 stated that abortions can be done in the 1st trimester (1st through 3rd months) for whatever reason the pregnant woman desires; it also says that abortions in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters (4th through 9th months) can be done in emergency situations. In a separate case, Doe v. Bolton also in 1973, abortions were legalized to occur in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters to protect the health of the mother. The definition of "health" includes "physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the womans age," all of which can be determined between the mother seeking an abortion and the physician. In practice, abortionists (medical doctors) can decide that emotional stress, because of the presence of an unwanted pregnancy, is enough reason to have an abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Each state does restrict abortions after the 1st trimester as to where they can be performed, though.

      Roe v. Wade: Cornell University (Neutral)
      Doe v. Bolton: Cornell University (Neutral)

      There are different types of abortion procedures that are performed. Of over one million abortions, 90% of them are done within the 1st trimester. Most 1st trimester abortions are done by suction aspiration (vacuum aspiration). These abortions are done by opening the vagina with a vaginal speculum, using a tenaculum to stabilize the cervix, often times anesthetize the region, dilate the cervix, often times with metal dilation rodes, insert a canula and suction out the fetus, placenta, and other products of conception through a suction tube. Following the procedure, curretage is performed to remove any parts that have been left behind. General anesthesia is sometimes used during the procedure.
      Another form of induced abortion is a "medical abortion" which uses medications such as Mifepristone or RU-486 which abruptly changes pregnancy hormone levels to eventually cut of fetal blood supply and kill the embryo. This approach can be done up to seven weeks of pregnancy. Two days following taking the medication, the mother must return to the medical facility or clinic and have misoprostol to initiate contractions and expel the dead embryo.
      A form of abortion that is used for 2nd trimester abortions is the dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortion. If the pregnancy is at the early 2nd trimester phase, the procedure is the same as the suction aspiration. If the pregnancy is later term, then once the uterine cavity has been accessed by the physician, fetal body parts have to be manually crushed and removed. That means that each limb (arms and legs) must be ripped off of the fetus and that, after the torso is removed, the skull must be crushed to ease removal.
      There is also the partial birth abortion technique (dilation and extraction or D&X) for 2nd and 3rd trimester abortions which, essentially, is a breech delivery of a fetus, usually a viable one, until only the head remains in the uterus. Once the body torso is out of the uterus, the physician cracks the back of the fetus' skull and suctions out the fetus' brain and then can remove the fetus. This form of abortion was made illegal by the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. This act does not ban an abortion in which the fetus is killed in a similar technique in which the fetus is only pulled out so that the head is at the navel of the mother.

      Abortion techniques: Abort73.com (Anti-Abortion - Information Regarding Abortion)
      Abortion medical art: Nucleus Medical Art (Neutral - Art)

More information regarding abortion can be found on the following websites:
      Family Planning Associates (Pro-Abortion - Description of the Abortion Procedures)
      AbortionFacts.com (Anti-Abortion - Information Regarding Abortion)
      The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (Anti-Abortion - Pictures of Abortions)
      Planned Parrenthood (Pro-Abortion - Pages about Abortion)

      If you are wondering... yes, I am Pro-Life. Just wanted to give you guys more information about the topic since the teacher showed a picture of Suction Abortion that was pretty old and was shown only really quick. Also, Planned Parenthood states that there are "fake" clinics set up to try and "scare" people away from having abortions. These "fake" clinics are never advertised to be clinics and are called "Crisis Pregnancy Centers." There is one in Riverside called "Riverside Life Services." What they provide are referals for ultrasounds, free pregnancy testing (HCG urine test), parenting classes, adoption referrals, free baby supplies (food, diapers, toys, rockers, etc), embryology/fetology education classes, outreach to churches and schools, and other services. Also, if abortion is the choice of the woman then they are not pressured of forced to change their minds.

      Riverside Life Services (Anti-Abortion - Crisis Pregnancy Center)

      I am just interested in this topic and believe that abortion is the killing of an unborn child. No need to confront me about this at school since I will not mention it either. I know it's a sensitive topic but since nurses can assist in abortion procedures, it would be good for you guys to know more about it. I'm not perfect with my information, it's just what I know (it should be pretty accurate though, lol). So, look up information for yourself and make an educated decision!

      See you guys in class!

      So, as I asked my fellow classmates to learn more about abortion, please do some research yourself! I'm not here to force you to become Pro-Life; I'm here to help you. I'm looking forward to getting my own webspace back, so stay tuned for some updates!