A Layperson’s Guide to Abortion Care

This chapter focuses on abortion from a medical and provider standpoint. It describes not only the demographics of who has abortions but also the mechanics and methods of surgical first- and second-trimester abortion procedures, medication abortions (non-surgical abortions) utilizing mifepristone and misoprostol, self-managed abortions, and induction abortion (in the second and third trimesters). The evolution of abortion care in the United States from the landmark Supreme Court decision de-criminalizing abortion (Roe v Wade) in 1973 and the resultant precipitous drop in maternal mortality and morbidity is also discussed. Nearly 50 years later, the Supreme Court revoked the constitutional right to reproductive autonomy with its Dobbs decision in 2022. This decision enabled at least 14 states to ban abortions totally within their boundaries, without effective exceptions to provide for maternal health. As a result, abortion providers are in a moral quandary between obeying the law and upholding their commitment to medical ethical principles.