Reply #49: This clinic likely specializes....

[colinmom71]

In second trimester abortions. First trimester abortions are relatively simple procedures, taking less than 15 minutes for prep and the actual surgery. The only real impetus to accessing these simpler abortions is how easily the woman can access the clinic. However, second trimester abortions are more complicated, often requiring long range travel to a clinic with experience in such procedures especially if the abortion is to take place after 20 weeks.

With these second trimester abortions, the patient must arrive the day before and be given medication and a procedrue to get her cervix to soften and dialate. The patient is sent home or to a near-by hotel to rest while the dialation process takes place overnight (medically induced). The next day, the patient is monitored to determine if the cervix is dialated enough to begin surgery. Usually only 12-18 hours are needed for the patient to be ready for surgery, but sometimes further medication is issued and she returns again later for the actual surgery. The clinic also prefers that the patient be able to stay overnight after the surgery for a follow up appointment to make sure the woman is not suffering complications and is healthy enough to travel back home. This is why access to a hotel is necessary for these patients who must travel to access the abortion.

The vast majority of second trimester abortions occur for two reasons. One, the majority are due to a poor diagnosis after fetal testing (chromosomal disorders, etc.). Or two, the woman had to save up enough money to pay for an abortion, arrange for time off work and perhaps child care, and travel to the clinic. For a lot of woman who live in rural areas where first triemster abortions are not readily accessible, these barriers may force a woman to have to wait until after the second trimester has begun. This increases her potential for complications as a more complex procedure will be necessary after 14 weeks. Either way, the need for safe overnight accomodations close to the medical clinic are needed to ensure the woman's health is protected...

The clinic should have exercized more discretion and not posted the name of the hotel in their web site. They should privately refer women to the hotel when they call to set up their appointments. This could have kept rabidly activist "pro-life" groups from harassing either the hotel or the women seeking the hotel and clinic's services. But then the hotel shouldn't have caved in either...