1. What is a Surgical Abortion?
A surgical or procedural abortion is performed in a clinic or hospital by health care providers. If you choose to have a procedural abortion and it has been less than 14 weeks since your last menstruation, your health care provider will perform a vacuum aspiration to end the pregnancy.
Vacuum aspiration is the most common procedural method for abortion early in a pregnancy, and it is extremely safe. According to the University of California’s Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) research program, less than 1% of patients experience a major complication from an abortion.
If you choose to get an abortion and it has been over 14 weeks since your last menstrual cycle, your health care provider will perform a D&E, or dilation and evacuation, which is the most common procedure for abortions at that stage.
Similar to a vacuum aspiration, when you have a D&E, the cervix is dilated and the pregnancy is removed through suction.
2. Are Surgical Abortions Safe for Women and Girls?
Health experts in Florida, across the country, and worldwide agree that surgical abortions performed by health care providers are safe.
According to ANSIRH, the overall complication rate for abortions is lower than those for having a wisdom tooth removed or having your tonsils removed.
In fact, studies have found that you are 14 times more likely to die from childbirth than from having an abortion.
3. What is a Medical Abortion?
Also known as a medication abortion, abortion with pills, or plan C, a medical abortion consists of two safe and effective medications that have been FDA-approved for more than two decades.
According to Florida law, If you choose to have a medication abortion, you must take the first pill, mifepristone, at your health care provider’s office. You can then take the following doses of the second pill, misoprostol, 24-48 hours later on your own at home.
Although some mistakenly call medication abortions “chemical abortions,” a term that is not recognized by science and has been criticized as fearmongering, the World Health Organization (WHO) has placed mife and miso on their Essential Medicines List.
4. What is an Emergency Abortion or a Medically Necessary Abortion?
You could need an emergency abortion at any time during a pregnancy. Health care providers will perform an emergency abortion in different circumstances when abortion is the best way to save your life, health, or fertility in a crisis.
If you have an ectopic pregnancy, go into premature labor before the fetus can survive outside of your body, or health care providers detect that the fetus you are carrying is no longer alive or won’t survive outside your womb, they will most likely have to perform an emergency abortion to stabilize your health and prevent future infertility.
Not surprisingly, nearly 70% of OBGYNs across the country reported that since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe, their ability to manage pregnancy-related emergencies has declined.
A large portion of the OBGYNs surveyed by KFF in June 2023 also believe that the Dobbs decision has worsened pregnancy-related mortality (64%), racial and ethnic inequities in maternal health (70%) and the ability to attract new OBGYNs to the field (55%).
5. What is an Ectopic Pregnancy?
An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg grows in a location outside of the uterus. This type of pregnancy is nonviable because your body will not support an ectopic pregnancy. If you have an ectopic pregnancy, health care providers will perform an emergency abortion as lifesaving care. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG):
Almost all ectopic pregnancies—more than 90%—occur outside of the uterine cavity in a fallopian tube, but they can also implant in the abdomen, cervix, ovary, and cesarean scar. An ectopic pregnancy in any location is life threatening. This is because as the pregnancy grows, it can cause the structure where it is implanted to burst, or rupture. A rupture can cause major internal bleeding and is a life-threatening emergency that requires urgent surgery.
6. What is P-PROM?
Premature rupture of membranes (PROM) is when you leak amniotic fluid before labor begins. It’s commonly called your “water breaking.” If it happens after 37 weeks of pregnancy, your health care provider can deliver your baby.
If it happens earlier, it is commonly called preterm premature rupture of membranes or P-PROM. If your water breaks before 37 weeks of the pregnancy, your health care provider must weigh the risk of premature birth against the risks of complications and risks to your health and future fertility, such as an infection.
When your water breaks very early in the pregnancy, like in the case of Anya Cook in Broward County, health care providers must be able to perform an emergency abortion to prevent sepsis and other complications that could cost you your life, health, or future fertility.
But Cook, who went to a Florida hospital after her water broke in her second trimester at 16 weeks, was discharged from the emergency room because she was not sick enough to qualify for the emergency medical exception in Florida’s abortion law, despite her risk for infection and hemorrhage.
Shanae Smith-Cunningham, who also lives in South Florida, had a similar experience. Smith-Cunningham was turned away from a local emergency room when her water broke at 19 weeks.
Both Cook and Smith-Cunningham had planned, wanted pregnancies and had experienced prior miscarriages. Both almost died from complications after being denied emergency abortions.
7. What is Trisomy 18?
Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards Syndrome, is a genetic disorder in which a fetus has an extra copy of chromosome 18. The causes for trisomy 18 are unknown, but specialists do know that it occurs at the time of conception.
According to Cleveland Clinic, trisomy 18 occurs in one in 5,000 to 6,000 live births, but this genetic disorder is much more common in pregnancy, occurring in one in approximately 2,500 pregnancies.
That’s because at least 95% of fetuses diagnosed with trisomy 18 don’t survive to full term, as these pregnancies end in miscarriage or babies that are stillborn.
There is no cure for trisomy 18. Almost all pregnancies with this diagnosis end in a miscarriage or stillbirth. Of those pregnancies surviving into the third trimester, nearly 40% of babies diagnosed with trisomy 18 don’t survive labor.
The survival rate varies for babies born with trisomy 18:
-Between 60% and 75% survive to their first week.
-Between 20% and 40% survive to their first month.
-Less than 10% survive past their first year.
If you have a child born with trisomy 18, he or she will need specialized care immediately after they are born, and for the rest of their short lives.
About 90%-95% of babies born with trisomy 18 do not survive beyond the first year and many live only a few days. The survival rate is very low, especially if your child has delayed organ development or a congenital heart condition, which are both very common with this diagnosis.
8. How Much Does an Abortion Cost?
An abortion can cost anywhere between hundreds of dollars ($600+) to thousands of dollars, depending on the type of abortion–procedural or medication–and where you are getting care.
This represents the cost of the abortion itself, but you need to also consider other expenses, such as time off work to have the procedure; childcare, if you are already a parent; travel and lodging costs, if you are more than 6 weeks pregnant and need to go outside of Florida to get an abortion.
9. Can I Get Medication Abortion via Telehealth in Florida?
It is illegal to get medication abortion from a health care provider in Florida via telehealth at all stages of pregnancy. Although mife and miso–the abortion pill regimen–have been proven safe and effective, and they have been FDA-approved for over 20 years, Florida law bans all medication abortion via telehealth.
You can get medication abortion via telehealth from different out-of-state providers, including The MAP in Massachusetts. Several states have what is called “shield laws,” which protect medical providers in those states from prosecution from other states when providing abortion pills or gender-affirming care.
Although shield laws protect health care workers in those states, they do not protect anyone in Florida or other states where abortion is illegal. You can consult the Repro Legal Helpline to find out more about your rights and the risks involved with getting medication abortion via telehealth in Florida.
Given the legal risks, it’s best to leave no digital trail when searching for information and care. You can consult the Digital Defense Fund’s Guide to Abortion Privacy to keep your health care decisions private and secure.
You can also check out this handy guide from Reproductive Equity Now, a Boston-based nonprofit organization that serves the New England area and provides accurate information about navigating different abortion services, including physician-supported medication abortion via telehealth.
10. Is Birth Control Still Legal in Florida?
Birth control is legal in all 50 states. Contraception comes in many forms, including condoms, vasectomies, prescription pills, over-the-counter pills, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and emergency contraception (“morning-after pills” or “Plan B”).
11. What is a Self-Managed Abortion (SMA)?
A self-managed abortion is a medication abortion that you take at home or in a place of your own choosing.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO):
In the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a medical abortion can also be safely self-managed by the pregnant person outside of a health care facility (e.g. at home), in whole or in part. This requires that the woman has access to accurate information, quality medicines and support from a trained health worker (if she needs or wants it during the process).
The WHO explains that “With appropriate support, women can self-manage some or all stages of a medical abortion in the comfort of their own home.”
Based on the WHO’s guidance, you can safely manage a medication abortion at home with mife and miso or with miso alone up to about 12 weeks into a pregnancy.