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THERAPEUTIC ABORTION

Therapeutic abortion is the termination of pregnancy performed for medical reasons to preserve the health of the mother before there is fetal viability. Some therapeutic abortions are performed in order to save the life of the mother. This decision is typically made with the aid of your obstetrician and other medical specialists involved in the care of your individual problem. We encourage your physician to contact us to discuss your individual case and plan your specific medical needs. We request that your medical records from your referring physician be faxed (217-356-5849) for our review. Being able to assess the risks in a case of life threatening illnesses is difficult. If you have concerns that you would like to discuss before your actual appointment, please schedule an initial consultation. Depending on your individual case, additional laboratory work may be necessary.

In some circumstances your abortion may be covered by insurance or public assistance. To determine if your individual medical plan covers your abortion, prior to your appointment you can fax (217-356-5849) your insurance information. We will contact your insurance company for benefit coverage, and then contact you with this benefit information. In the case of public assistance programs, documentation must be provided by a treating physician. You will also need to speak with your caseworker to complete certain forms. Women’s Health Practice and the Midwest Surgical Center can help coordinate that with your treating physicians.

Some therapeutic abortions are done for pregnancies which would result in the birth of a child with defects incompatible with life or associated with significant health issues morbidity. These are not typically covered under plans that do not cover elective pregnancy terminations. Abortions to electively terminate a nonviable pregnancy also may not be covered under medical plans that do not cover elective abortions. Tissue can be sent for analysis in cases of fetal anomaly.

Therapeutic abortions can also be done to selectively reduce a multifetal pregnancy (i.e. triplets to twins or a single fetus for example), we do not perform this at our center.