From a medical point of view, abortion procedures are generally classified into two types, the medical abortion or the surgical abortion. Before explaining the differences, it is best to acquaint patients with some of the terms commonly used in the abortion process. For example, the periods of pregnancy are referred to as trimesters and there are three trimesters in a pregnancy. The first trimester includes weeks 1 through 12, the second trimester proceeds from week 13 through week 26, and the third trimester begins with week 27 until full term which is usually 40 and 44.

The abortion procedures are critically linked to these trimesters. Prior to making a decision about which procedure to chose, it is important to know the details related to the main methods of abortion including the pros and cons of both. Medical abortion involves the use of a combination of medicines that causes a shedding of the uterine lining which contains the pregnancy, while with a surgical abortion the cervix is dilated and the physician uses suction aspiration to remove the pregnancy from the uterus.

Medical abortion can be performed during the earliest weeks of pregnancy and is most effective within the first 8 weeks. The success rate of medical abortion decreases with the advancing weeks. On the other hand, the surgical abortion can be performed during the first trimester but it is not usually recommended prior to the 6th week of pregnancy. It is best performed between the 6th and the 14th week of pregnancy. Surgical procedures performed earlier than 6 weeks have an increased chance of failing.

The medical abortion is a lengthier process and requires at least two clinic visits, encompassing up to 2 weeks or more. The surgical abortion however, usually requires just a single visit to the clinic that might last 3-4 hours. The medical abortion has a 95% - 97% success rate while the surgical procedure has one of 98% - 99%.

Medical abortion is generally more painful as most women may experience strong cramping throughout the process which could extend up to 2 weeks. The process also involves heavy bleeding and passing of clots throughout those weeks. With the surgical procedure women generally experience pain during the surgical process only which usually lasts from 5 to 10 minutes. This is followed by mild bleeding that may last 6-8 weeks after the procedure.

Medical abortion is less expensive than surgical abortion and there are also no chances of uterine perforation or cervical injury during medical abortion as it does not involve the insertion of any instrument or suction into the vagina or uterus as in the case of the surgical procedure. Medical abortion is also more like the natural process of miscarriage while the surgical procedure, although the process takes only a few minutes, may be frightening to some as it implies surgery similar to an operation one might have to have in a hospital setting.

Both procedures have their own advantages and disadvantages, but neither of the processes interferes with a woman’s ability to become pregnant in the future should she so desire.