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  • My name is Dr. Anthony Levatino.

  • I’m a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist, and I’ve performed over 1,200 abortions.

  • Today, I’m going to describe a 1st Trimester Medical Abortion.

  • This is a procedure in which the mother swallows pills in order to terminate her baby, and

  • it is performed up to the 10th week of pregnancy.

  • The procedure involves two steps:

  • Step One.

  • At the abortion clinic or doctor’s office, the woman takes pills which contain Mifepristone,

  • also called RU-486. RU-486 blocks the action of a hormone called Progesterone.

  • Progesterone is naturally produced in the mother's body

  • to stabilize the lining of the uterus.

  • When RU-486 blocks Progesterone, the lining of the mother’s uterus breaks down, cutting

  • off blood and nourishment to the baby, who then dies inside the mother's womb.

  • It is important to note that even after it has been taken, it is possible to reverse

  • the effects of RU-486 and save the baby, if Progesterone is administered.

  • The sooner, the better.

  • Step Two.

  • 24-48 hours after taking RU-486, the woman takes Misoprostol, also called Cytotec, that

  • is administered either orally or vaginally.

  • RU-486 and Misoprostol together cause severe cramping, contractions, and often heavy bleeding,

  • to force the dead baby out of the woman's uterus.

  • The process can be very intense and painful, and the bleeding and contractions can last

  • from a few hours to several days.

  • While she could lose her baby anytime and anywhere during this process, the woman will

  • often sit on a toilet as she prepares to expel the child, which she will then flush.

  • She may even see her dead baby within the pregnancy sac.

  • At 9 weeks, for example, the baby will be almost an inch long, and if she looks carefully,

  • she might be able to count the fingers and toes.

  • After she has disposed of her baby,

  • the woman may have bleeding and spotting for several weeks.

  • Bleeding lasts, on average, 9-16 days.

  • 8% of women bleed more than 30 days, and 1% require hospitalization because of heavy bleeding.

  • the failure rate increases as the pregnancy progresses.

  • If failure occurs, she will usually be offered a surgical abortion.

  • For the mother, medical abortion often causes abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea,

  • headache and heavy bleeding.

  • Maternal deaths have occurred, most frequently due to infection and undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy.

  • As I mentioned at the beginning, I’m Dr. Anthony Levatino, and in the early part of

  • my career as an OB/GYN, I performed over 1,200 abortions.

  • One day, after completing one of those abortions, I looked at the remains of a preborn child

  • whose life I had ended, and all I could see was someone's son or daughter.

  • I came to realize that killing a baby at any stage of pregnancy, for any reason, is wrong.

  • I want you to know today, no matter where youre at or what youve done,

  • you can change.

  • Make a decision today to protect the preborn.

  • Thank you for your time.

  • I will no longer do any more abortions.

  • When you finally figure out that killing a baby that big for money is wrong, then it

  • doesn’t take you too long to figure out it doesn’t matter if the baby is this big,

  • or this big, or this big, or maybe even this bigit’s all the same.

  • And I haven’t done any since then and I never will.

My name is Dr. Anthony Levatino.

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