Why This? Why Now?
Part Three: Addressing The Problem

Late abortion technology in the 1980's was giving abortionists two kinds of problems. First, there was the timing problem. Instillation and hysterotomy left a "grey period" from about 12 weeks to about 16 weeks -- an entire lunar month of pregnancy during which it was considered impossible to perform an abortion. Second, there was the live birth problem -- a big problem, since a live birth could bring lawsuits and/or criminal prosecution.

The timing problem was the first to be tackled, and that was mostly by accident. With the threat of going to jail for a simple botched abortion gone, abortion practice became sloppy. This meant that there were quite a number of abortions in which the doctor discovered, after starting the procedure, that the pregnancy was further along than he thought. Dilation and Evacution (D&E) was developed as a response to these situations. The procedure quickly caught on, and the "grey period" vanished. But as pregnancies approached 20 or more weeks, the fetus was simply too tough to easily dismember with forceps.

Some abortionists killed two birds with one stone -- solving both the tough fetus problem and the live birth problem by making later abortions into a two-day procedure. On the first day, laminaria would be inserted to dialate the cervix, and some action (each abortionist had his or her preferred method) was taken to kill the fetus. During the night, lysis (softening, or, more accurately, rotting) of the fetus would make it easier to dismember during the actual abortion procedure. Exactly how this aspect of the procedure was explained during informed consent is a mystery.

However, even this soloution brought problems of its own. First, there was the risk of infection -- not to be taken lightly when having a woman carry a rotting corpse in her body overnight. Second, even this method didn't always work. One of the most spectacular abortion malpractice suits ever was the case of Ana Rosa Rodriguez in New York -- accidentally delvered live after her arm had been removed in a two-stage D&E attempt.

So later abortions became faster, and no longer required the kind of long-term supervision an instillation abortion (at least in theory) required. But all was not well for the neighborhood abortionist. How could he reduce the risk of infection, without risking the delivery of a live, maimed infant? The answer was quietly brewing in Orange County, California.

NEXT: New Opportunities

The Why This? Why Now? Series:

Part 1 - Inventors on the Bench
Part 2 - New Invention Put Into Practice
Part 3 - Addressing The Problem
Part 4 - New Opportunities
Part 5 - NAF and NRC Collide
Part 6 - Now What?

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