In Second Trimester, Study Suggests Women Prefer Surgical Abortion to Pill

Reuters: Women prefer surgical abortion to pill in second trimester, by Amy Norton:

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who undergo an abortion during the second trimester may often prefer a surgical procedure to the "abortion pill," a small UK study suggests.

The study, of 122 women who were randomly assigned to either a surgical or medication-induced abortion during the second trimester, found that all women in the surgery group said they would opt for that form of abortion again, if necessary.

In contrast, only 53 percent of women in the medication group said the same, according to findings published in the obstetrics journal BJOG.

As a group, the study found, women who received a medical abortion reported more pain and had more vaginal bleeding than those who'd had surgery. And two weeks after the procedure, they had a higher average score on a standard measure of "intrusive" psychological symptoms -- such as unwanted thoughts or nightmares. . . . .