Abortion has been a very controversial and widely discussed topic in the United States for a long time now. Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 that made abortion practices legal in the United States, the medical procedures involved in performing abortions have been drastically improved. Before they were legalized, many women had to perform DIY processes for abortions which were very unsafe and would put the health of the women at risk. With the advancements in medical technology, today there are many ways to perform safe abortions. Abortion clinics are open to the public and many new techniques are still being developed, such as new pills and chemical abortions that will make the process even more convenient. However, future techniques and procedures being developed and improved upon are at risk of not happening with the recent overruling of the Roe v. Wade case. The article aims to provide a description of the terminology associated with abortion procedures, the improvements made in the medical field of abortion, the memory associated with abortion procedures, and what will be impacted going into the future after the recent decision by the Supreme Court.
Early abortion techniques were very unconventional because society at large did not accept abortion as a common practice, so women had to find ways to perform the procedure themselves. In North America between the 1600s and 1700s, tribal groups would use black root and cedar root as abortifacient agents [5]. Even going a little bit further into history around the 1970s after the passing of the Hyde Amendment, women would still have to use illegal underground abortion centers to have these procedures [5]. These institutions would often have people who were medically qualified. This could then lead to infections or cases of severe bleeding that would put the health of the women at severe risk or possibly even lead to their death. However, after the Roe v. Wade case, more resources and research could go into medical technology that could be utilized to improve abortion procedures.
One of the current abortion techniques is clinic abortions, sometimes called surgical abortions, which require a visit to an abortion clinic or another medical facility. The most common type of clinic abortion is known as a vacuum aspiration, which uses gentle suction to empty the uterus and occurs 14-16 weeks after the women’s last period [2]. This typically occurs in the first trimester so if you are in the second trimester, a Dilation and Evacuation technique is most likely required. D&E also uses suction with various medical tools to empty the uterus with 16 weeks past the last period [2]. The other type of procedure is Dilation and Extraction, which is only used if there are major problems with the fetus or the mother, which sedates the mother and removes the fetus [4]. Before the procedure takes place, the patient is required to contact the health professional for instructions such as fasting before the procedure [4]. There are many steps prior to the treatment that must take place such as blood tests, physical examinations, looking for infections, and other information given to the patient to disclose all the facts regarding the process [4]. During the procedure there are also different medications given for pain management such as ibuprofen and anesthesia to numb the cervix [4]. Though the other type of abortion technique is easier, clinic abortions are often used because they work 99 out of 100 times and they only take 5-10 minutes instead of 24 hours [2].
The other type of abortion procedure is a medical abortion, which takes place by ingesting a pill that extracts the fetus from the patient’s home. One pill that is currently used is mifepristone, which blocks progesterone, and this hormone is needed to continue the process of the pregnancy. It is used up to ten weeks since last period and about 1-2 days later, misoprostol is used to create a miscarriage, which in turn terminates the pregnancy. At the doctor’s office you take 200 mgs of mifepristone and at home you take 800 mgs, or four pills, of misoprostol [6]. These pills can cause short term side effects like bleeding, nausea, vomiting, and chills, but there is no evidence of long-term effects [6]. Looking to the future of new methods for abortions, the TelAbortion Project is being developed. The goal is to bring these prescriptions like mifepristone and misoprostol directly to the patient’s home or through the mail after consulting with their doctor and watching a video [3]. There was a test in 2017 with certain pregnant women who had videoconferences with different physicians for this project, and out of the 60 women who completed the project, 59 of the participants were satisfied [3]. This project is even more beneficial coming off the Covid-19 pandemic because it is safer and easier than ever with advancements in technology to avoid going to the clinic. However, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, this makes this process impossible in states where they have abortion illegal, so the future of the TelAbortion Project and other new abortion procedures remains unknown.
Advancements in medical technology as well as abortions being made legal in 1973 have led to vast improvements in abortion medical procedures. However, it is also very interesting that these improvements show how processual and unpredictable the memory of abortions are in the United States. Science and technology are very processual because new things are being discovered as we go in the future so the way we view past methods of procedures are forever adapting. It is unpredictable because opinions of people’s view on abortions have changed in different periods of time. There have been points where abortions have been illegal and there have been points where it has been legal, and we are once again at a point where it has been deemed illegal by the federal government. This directly correlates with the medical aspect of abortions because if it is once again federally illegal, less resources will be put into technology and less advancements can be made in the field. With the everchanging processual memory and unpredictability associated with abortions as well as the giant improvements made with medical technology, the ruling of the Roe v. Wade case has led to the future of abortion technology to be in a current state of uncertainty.
-Joshua Manring
References
[1] “In-Clinic ‘Surgical’ Abortion Procedures: What Are They, Who Needs Them?” ABC News, ABC News Network, https://abcnews.go.com/Health/clinic-surgical-abortion-procedures/story?id=87013603.
[2] Parenthood, Planned. “In-Clinic Abortion Procedure: Abortion Methods.” Planned Parenthood, https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/abortion/in-clinic-abortion-procedures.
[3] Projects, Gynuity Health. “The Telabortion Project: Delivering the Abortion Pill to… : Obstetrics & Gynecology.” LWW, https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Abstract/2018/05001/The_TelAbortion_Project__Delivering_the_Abortion.184.aspx.
[4] “What Are the Types of Abortion Procedures?” WebMD, WebMD, https://www.webmd.com/women/abortion-procedures.
[5] Z;, Acevedo. “Abortion in Early America.” Women & Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10297561/.
[6] UCSF Health. “Medical Abortion.” Ucsfhealth.org, UCSF Health, 7 Oct. 2020, https://www.ucsfhealth.org/treatments/medical-abortion.
I really enjoyed reading your take about the processual and unpredictable aspects of the advancements in technology and how you related it back Roe v. Wade. I’m hoping that as technology advances, the federal government will be more open to abortion as a safe and ethical means of contraception.
I think it is very interesting how technology and medicine rapidly advanced once abortion was more normalized and then legalized. The chemical or pill abortion wasn’t available until post Roe which shows the rapid advancement of technology after it was legalized. I wonder how the Dobbes decision will influence technological advancement today. It would be interesting to see if progress stops as more restrictions are placed on abortion or if progress continues in order to get around these restictions.
The underground abortion clinics mentioned are extremely fascinating in that medical professionals adminstred them yet they could still be extremely dangerous. I also assume these procedures would have to be paid for out of pocket and it would be interesting to look into accesibility amoung women seeking abortions.
Your post highlights the interplay between technological innovation and its legality- as you point out, clearly there doesn’t seem to be much of a cultural correlation between the two. This seems to be the result of contradicting legal status conferred on the mother and her child, which results in wavering commitment to various medical treatments.
I really enjoyed reading your post. I was very interested in learning about the abortion procedures of the past, because usually abortion is discussed in a societal context and not a medical one, so it was interesting to read about this. I agree with you that science and technology are very processual forms of memory, because as new information is learned these things tend to change. This makes me wonder if the memory of science and technology shapes the memory of society or vice versa, or if there is an interplay of both.
I think your post was very informative. It could even be used in sex-ed classes because children are taught how to avoid pregnancies, but not what to do if they experience an unwanted one. It is scary to think about how unpredictable abortion laws are. Regardless of how they change, I think it is imperative that resources and funding be continuously dedicated to abortion and OGBYN services so that women’s health is adequately taken care of.