How Safe Are In-Clinic Abortion Procedures?
Safety is an important and common concern for women. In-clinic abortion procedures are very safe. But there are risks with any medical procedure. The risks increase the longer you are pregnant. They also increase if you have sedation or general anesthesia. Possible risks include: • an allergic reaction • blood clots in the uterus • incomplete abortion — part of the pregnancy is left inside the uterus • infection • injury to the cervix or other organs • undetected ectopic pregnancy • very heavy bleeding Most often, these complications are simple to treat with medicine or other treatments. In extremely rare cases, very serious complications may be fatal. The risk of death from childbirth is 11 times greater than the risk of death from an abortion procedure during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. After 20 weeks, the risk of death from childbirth and abortion are about the same. Overall, the risk of death from abortion increases the longer a woman has been pregnant. Serious complications m
