my name is dr kathy altman i'm a board
certified obstetrician gynecologist with
almost 33 years of experience and i've
completed over 500 abortions today i'm
going to describe a second trimester
surgical abortion called dilation and
evacuation or dna a dna is generally
performed between 14 and 22 weeks of
pregnancy
before a dna abortion can be done the
cervix must be dilated slowly over one
to two days with laminaria or a similar
product
laminaria is a type of seaweed that
absorbs water and swells to several
times its original diameter
when the woman undergoes the evacuation
portion of the procedure she lies on the
table with her legs and stirrups she may
be given injections of local anesthetic
in the cervix iv conscious sedation or
general anesthesia the abortionist uses
a speculum to open the vagina and uses
an instrument to stabilize the cervix
metal dilators may be used to further
open the cervix if needed once the
cervix has been stretched open a cannula
attached to suction tubing is placed
inside the uterus
the suction machine is then turned on
and the amniotic fluid surrounding the
fetus is suctioned out the fetus is too
large to fit through the cannula so he
or she must be removed in pieces with a
clamp such as this silver clamp a sofa
clamp is made of stainless steel and is
about 13 inches long at the tip there
are rows of teeth for grasping
the abortionist reaches into the uterus
with the clamp and tries to grasp an arm
or leg
once the abortionist has a firm grip she
pulls forcefully in order to remove the
limb
piece by piece the abortionist removes
the arms and legs followed by the head
or the body including the torso and
pelvis along with the intestines the
heart and the lungs the placenta is also
removed
if the cervix has been over dilated the
body or even the entire fetus may be
pulled out intact
usually the most difficult part of the
procedure is extracting the fetus's head
which at 20 weeks is about the size of a
large plum the abortionist must open the
clamp widely to grasp the head and then
crush it so that it will fit through the
cervix
the abortionist knows he has crushed the
skull when a white substance the fetus's
brains leaks out through the cervix
the abortionist then removes the
compressed head
any remaining limbs organs bone
fragments or pieces of placenta not
removed with the forceps are removed by
scraping the uterine lining with a large
carret or by reinserting the suction
cannula the abortionist then reassembles
the fetal parts to make sure that there
is nothing left inside the uterus which
could cause infection or bleeding once
all the parts have been accounted for
the bleeding has been controlled and all
the instruments have been removed from
the vagina the abortion is considered
complete for the woman this procedure
carries the risk of major complications
including perforation or laceration of
the uterus or cervix with possible
damage to bowel bladder or other
maternal organs
infection and hemorrhage can also occur
which can lead to death future
pregnancies are also at an increased
risk for loss or premature delivery due
to abortion related physical trauma and
injury to the cervix
as i mentioned at the beginning i used
to perform abortions
at the time i truly believed i was
helping women
after the birth of my daughter however i
realized that abortion doesn't just end
a pregnancy it kills an innocent human
being
such terms as zygote embryo or fetus are
simply terms that refer to age like
infant toddler and adult and do nothing
to diminish the humanity of the child as
i cared for women in my ob gyn practice
i also learned how abortion harms women
i stopped doing abortions because i
could no longer kill babies just because
they were unwanted
i am now a pro-life advocate
i am proof that anyone can change
no matter who they are or what they've
done
i invite you to join me and make a
decision to protect the preborn thank
you for watching