According to one clinic worker:
“As a counselor, I review their medical history and decide whether the patient should be at our clinic, in a hospital, or elsewhere. Then, we do an ultrasound to determine how many weeks pregnant she is… The ultrasound also alerts the clinic staff to other things, such as if the woman is carrying twins… A woman needs to be at least seven weeks pregnant to get an abortion. If it’s too early, there’s a greater chance of having an incomplete abortion or a missed abortion. Before seven weeks, the doctor can’t even see the pregnancy. Also, the cervix and uterus are really tiny before seven weeks, so would be much easier to cause a perforation or cut.”
Felicia Lowenstein. The Abortion Battle: Looking at Both Sides (Springfield, New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, 1996) 94 to 95
This quote shows how ultrasounds are necessary to determine whether a woman needs a surgical or medical (RU-486) abortion. Pro-choicers often argue against making ultrasounds mandatory before abortions, but they are, in reality, an important part of medical care.Surgical abortions are generally not done before seven weeks.
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