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Report: Abortions now offered in first week of pregnancy
December 21, 1997
Web posted at: 1:14 p.m. EST (1814 GMT)NEW YORK (CNN) -- Nearly two dozen Planned Parenthood affiliates around the nation reportedly now offer abortions within the first seven to 10 days of conception, the New York Times reported Sunday.
The procedure, pioneered by Dr. Jerry Edwards, of Houston, Texas, is made possible by advancements in ultrasound imaging, the Times reported. Some ultrasounds can now detect pregnancy as soon as the embryo is implanted in the womb, within a week of conception, the paper said.
The technique uses a hand-held syringe, rather than a vacuum pump, and is less expensive and less noisy than more widely practiced procedures. It could also easily be used in developing countries where electricity is not always available, the Times said.
"As soon as an egg is fertilized, it starts growing into a human being with its own individual DNA."
— Laura Echevarria, director of media relations for the National Right to Life Committee
"Medically and legally, there's a difference between contraception and abortion."
— Janet Benshoof, president of the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy
Source: The New York TimesUntil now, doctors have been reluctant to perform abortions before the sixth week of pregnancy because early pregnancy tests can be inaccurate and because of the risk of incomplete abortion.
To date, 23 Planned Parenthood clinics around the nation offer the procedure. The organization's officials told the Times that more doctors are being trained in the procedure and that its use is spreading.
Polls show most U.S. citizens are psychologically more comfortable with early abortions than with later ones, the Times said. But abortion opponents say there is no difference.
"As soon as an egg is fertilized, it starts growing into a human being with its own individual DNA," Laura Echevarria of the National Right to Life Committee told the Times. "Scientifically speaking, there's no difference between a fertilized egg and what you have three weeks later."
Proponents of abortion say the new procedure may be easier for some people to deal with emotionally.
"For most women, the sooner they know they're pregnant, and the sooner they decide what they're going to do, the better," Dr. Michael Burnhill, vice president for medical affairs at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America told the newspaper. "With these very early abortions, we're talking about a gestational sack that's the size of a matchstick head. It's nobody's picture of a little baby sucking its thumb."
Methods in the U.S.: Some other abortion and emergency contraceptive techniques available in the United States: Source: The New York Times
- So-called "morning after" pills: oral contraceptives used up to 72 hours after unprotected sex. Won FDA approval in February.
- The Copper-T intrauterine device can be inserted for about a week after unprotected sex. The device stops pregnancy and can be used as a long-term contraceptive.
- The drugs methotrexate and mifepristone, which can be used up to the seventh week of pregnancy, are offered in some cities. Neither drug has won FDA approval. Mifepristone is known in Europe as RU-486.
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