Dilatation & Curettage (D&C) Uncommon today and used during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. This is similar to the suction procedure except that the abortionist inserts a curette, a loop-shaped steel knife up into the uterus. He then cuts the placenta and baby into pieces and scrapes them out into a basin. Bleeding is usually profuse.

Dilatation & Evacuation (D&E) Performed during the second trimester (4-6 months) of pregnancy. This method has largely replaced saline and chemical abortions, which too frequently resulted in live births, a complication from the abortionist's perspective! A pliers-like instrument is needed because the baby's bones are calcified, as is the skull. There is no anesthetic for the baby. The abortionist inserts the instrument into the uterus, seizes a leg or other part of the body and, with a twisting motion, tears it from the baby's body. This is repeated again and again. The spine must be snapped, and the skull crushed to remove them. The nurse's job is to reassemble the body parts to be sure that all are removed.

D & X (Partial Birth) Also used for advanced pregnancies. The cervix is dilated to allow passage of a ring forceps. A foot or lower leg is located and pulled into the vagina. The baby is extracted in breech fashion until the head is just inside the cervix. The baby's legs hang outside the woman's body. With the baby face-down, scissors are plunged into the baby's head at the nape of the neck and spread open to enlarge the wound (see photo). A suction tip is inserted and the baby's brain is removed. The skull collapses and the baby is delivered. Sharp and suction curettage is continued until the walls of the womb are clean. Read a nurse's (Brenda Pratt Shafer) eyewitness account of a partial birth procedure.