The term “D&C” describes a specific medical procedure. It is not an appropriate catch-all for any procedure that empties a uterus! It is important to use accurate medical terminology when describing the procedures people are going to receive in their body, especially with the intimacy and vulnerability of abortion care & miscarriage management. Respect people enough to trust them to hold new, nuanced information and understand their bodies best.
Lots of people approach me during and after an abortion or a miscarriage describing very normal, expected symptoms and worrying that something is wrong with them. They often feel inadequately prepared by their healthcare providers, or have been helping themselves at home without outside guidance, and are now concerned about their well-being and their bodies.
Abortion care is changing right now. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the way people access abortions, and the way clinicians provide them has come under careful consideration. In most cases, this has meant decreased in-person contact and eliminating a lot of the peripheral things that come along with abortion provision, like bloodwork, ultrasound, and counseling. As someone who has long supported out-of-clinic abortion care, these changes are encouraging, to see an abortion care system I usually perceive as rigid starting to relax and take a look at evidence-based, client-centered care principles.
One of the more important developments in research around medication abortion protocols is that misoprostol works well to induce an abortion all on its own. Sound, scientific studies have shown that even without Mifepristone, misoprostol alone is safe, effective, and (unlike Mifepristone) much more accessible and affordable.
The image provokes a visceral physical reaction and evokes a societal remembering of times when women used desperate and dangerous measures to end pregnancies, and has become part of the standard vocabulary in the movement to promote access to clinic-based abortion. But it’s time we dropped the symbol!
