Types of abortion
The two categories, what separates them, and what decides which are available to a particular person.
Read this pageProcedures
This section covers abortion procedures, what each involves in general terms, and terminology that public conversation uses inconsistently.
These pages describe procedures in general and non-graphic terms. They do not describe what any specific facility does, and they do not assess whether a procedure applies to you.
Procedural abortion
What the category covers, where the procedure happens, and what a visit can involve from arrival to discharge.
Read this pageVacuum aspiration
The procedure used most often earlier in pregnancy, described without graphic detail.
Read this pageDilation and evacuation
The procedure used most often later in pregnancy, and why the cervix is prepared in advance.
Read this pageMedication abortion
Abortion using prescribed medicines, and why follow-up is part of the process rather than an optional extra.
Read this pageComparing the two categories
A neutral comparison across setting, timing, comfort, and follow-up, with no recommended option.
Read this pageTwo terminology notes
Not all abortion is surgery. Vacuum aspiration involves no incision, and professional language guidance discourages surgery as a blanket label. This site names the specific procedure where the procedure is what matters.
D&C is not a synonym for aspiration. The abbreviation is used loosely for almost any procedure involving the uterus, including many that have nothing to do with abortion. The glossary sets out where the terms overlap and where they do not.