The Consequences of Roe v. Wade 61,628,584 Total Abortions Since 1973

Based on numbers reported by the Guttmacher institute 1973-2017.

In 2017, it is estimated that there were 862,320 abortions in the United States. Of these, 39% (336,304) were chemical abortions, using RU-486 or in combination with Misoprostol.

65.3% (563,095) of all abortions – were performed on unborn babies at 8 weeks of age or younger.

• An unborn baby’s heart begins beating at about 18-22 days after conception. By 5 weeks, eyes, legs and hands are beginning to develop.  
• By 6 weeks, brain waves can be detected.  By 7 weeks, the eyelids and toes form and the baby can kick and swim. By 8 weeks, every organ is in place and functioning.

25.7% (221,616) of all abortions – were performed on unborn babies at 9 to 12 weeks of age.

• By 9 to 10 weeks, teeth begin to form and fingernails develop. The baby has facial expressions.
• By 10 weeks, the baby’s unique fingerprints begin to form.
• By 11 weeks, the baby can grasp objects (the umbilical cord).
• By 12 weeks, the baby sucks her thumb.

7.7% (66,399) of all abortions – were performed on unborn babies at 13 to 15 weeks of age. 96% of all second trimester abortions are D&E abortions, which involves dismembering a living unborn child piece by piece.

• By 13 to 15 weeks, the baby’s heart pumps several quarts of blood through the body every day. The baby responds to stimulation of the skin. Eyebrows have formed and the baby has taste buds.

1.3% (11,210) of all abortions – were performed on unborn babies at 16 to 20 weeks of age.

• By 16 to 20 weeks, the baby can have dream sleep (REM). 
• At 18 weeks, nerve tracts connecting the spinal cord and the thalamus are established and nerves from the thalamus reach the cortex in the 20^th week.
• By 18 weeks, stress hormones are released when the baby is injected by a needle, indicating the baby feels pain.

These abortion percentages are taken from An Overview of Abortion in the United States, Guttmacher Institute, January 2019, based on data from 2017, the last year for which statistics are available.

Abortion Techniques

Chemical Abortions

RU-486

The woman takes the Ru-486 pills at the clinic, which block the action of progesterone, the natural hormone vital to maintaining the rich nutrient lining of the uterus. The developing baby starves as the nutrient lining disintegrates. The woman is given pills to be taken at home the next day. The pills are a dose of artificial prostaglandins, usually misoprostol, which initiates uterine contractions to expel the body of the embryonic baby. The pills trigger delivery of the baby and placenta, but the contractions can be more painful because they are induced chemically. At least 4% of women using this method must return for surgical abortions, due to incomplete expulsion of tissue.

“Very Early Abortion”

Designed to be used as soon as a pregnancy can be chemically detected. After widening the cervix, the abortionist inserts into the uterus a long flexible suction tube which is attached to a vacuum syringe. Using ultrasound, the abortionist locates the tiny human embryo in the womb and applies suction to tear the developing baby from the uterine wall.

Suction Aspiration/Vacuum Curettage

A powerful suction tube with a sharp cutting edge is inserted into the womb through the dilated cervix. The suction dismembers the body of the developing baby and tears the placenta from the wall of the uterus, sucking the contents into a collection bottle.

Dilatation and Curettage (D&C)

Here, the cervix is dilated or stretched to permit the insertion of a loop shaped steel knife. The body of the baby is cut into pieces and removed and the placenta is scraped off the uterine wall.

Dilatation and Evacuation (D&E)

Forceps with sharp metal jaws are used to grasp parts of the developing baby, which are then twisted and torn away. This continues until the child’s entire body is removed from the womb. Because the baby’s skull has often hardened to bone by this time, the skull must sometimes be compressed or crushed to facilitate removal. This method has been outlawed in West Virginia since the 2016 Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act.

Instillation Methods

After fluid is withdrawn, chemicals are injected into the amniotic sac to kill the baby and initiate contractions. Saline poisons the child and burns the baby’s skin. Other methods such as urea and prostaglandins mainly work by initiating violent contractions, but are generally less effective than saline. Sometimes, chemicals such as potassium chloride or digoxin are injected directly into the baby’s heart, triggering cardiac arrest.

Partial-Birth Abortion

This method is used in the fifth and sixth months of pregnancy, sometimes later. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist reaches into the uterus, grabs the unborn baby’s legs with forceps and pulls the body into the birth canal, except for the head which is deliberately kept just inside the womb. At this point in the abortion, the baby is normally alive. The abortionist then punctures the base of the baby’s skull with a long surgical scissors of other instrument to enlarge the wound. A catheter (tube) is inserted into the wound, which is connected to a powerful suction machine that sucks the baby’s brains out. The abortionist then withdraws the now-collapsed skull from the uterus. This form of abortion was outlawed in the state of West Virginia by the 1997 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.

Hysterotomy

Similar to the Caesarean Section, this method is generally used if chemical methods such as salt poisoning or prostaglandins fail. Incisions are made in the abdomen and uterus and the baby, placenta and amniotic sac are removed.

For more information on techniques visit National Right to Life at https://www.nrlc.org/site/abortion/medicalfacts/techniques/