The woman's cervix is numbed with an injection of local anaesthetic or she is put to sleep briefly with a general anaesthetic. The suction is turned on and the doctor moves the tube back and forth for a short time. When the uterus is empty, the suction is stopped. An abortion usually takes less than ten minutes. Dilation is often uncomfortable.
Many women feel menstrual-like cramps both during and after the procedure.
Two other techniques are sometimes employed in a small percentage of second trimester abortions. New Non-Surgical Abortion Method One Vancouver doctor is testing two drugs which induce miscarriage in pregnancies of under seven weeks' gestation. Methotrexate, which stops the pregnancy, is given by injection in the doctor's office. Five days later a vaginal suppository of the drug misoprostol causes the uterus to expel the embryonic tissue. This method of early abortion is widely used in France, Britain, Sweden and China, and has now been tested for use in the U.S. RU 486 is not available in Canada, apparently because of the manufacturer's concerns about anti-abortion opposition.