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Lithuania’s sole pregnancy help center faces possible closure amid abortion debate
Bryan Lawrence Gonsalves
·Spotlight Articles
Investigative·By Carole Novielli
Dismemberment abortions happening later in pregnancy despite 'lack of clinical guidelines'
Dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortions — sometimes referred to as "dismemberment" abortions, which describes what happens to the preborn child during the procedure — are typically done in the second trimester of pregnancy up to 22 or even 24 weeks, but one study shows this 'limit' is being pushed further despite a "lack of clinical guidelines and limited published research" on abortions committed after 24 weeks’ gestation.
A study published in October 2025 with 18 "seasoned" abortionists revealed that D&E abortions are being pushed to the limits, up to a day prior to the third trimester (27 weeks, 6 days).
Two types of D&Es were being committed by the abortionists — standard D&E (dismemberment) abortion and intact D&E abortion, in which the baby is aborted without being dismembered first.
Reasons listed for later abortion were almost entirely the same as those given for early abortion (financial, relational, etc.).
The abortion pill regimen (outside the FDA-approved guidelines) and other drugs were frequently utilized as a part of these very late abortions.
Alarmingly, study authors acknowledged a "lack of clinical guidelines and limited published research on abortion care practices after 24 weeks’ gestation."
Medical malpractice attorney Mike Seibel told Live Action News that failing to rely on peer-reviewed research could amount to experimentation on abortion clients.
D&E abortions are committed at "more than 14 weeks" gestation, according to the National Abortion Federation's (NAF) 2024 Clinical Guide. The procedure involves dismembering the preborn child before crushing her skull.
Some abortionists committing D&Es have expressed moral qualms about the procedure, describing them as "horrible," while staff at later-abortion facilities have experienced “emotional distress” and “nightmares.”
In 2008, one abortionist admitted to "the violence of abortion" and agreed that "stereotypes that anti-abortion forces hold of us are true – that we are butchers, etc."
Abortions later in pregnancy can be lucrative, as this 2026 primer published by Physicians for Reproductive Health (PRH) reveals:
The study, published in Journal Contraception in October of 2025, "invited 29 physicians to participate" that did not "include practices from hospital-based physicians" — but only 18 "seasoned providers" responded.
They discussed abortions committed between "24 weeks 1 day and 27 weeks 6 days gestation (referred to as 'between 24 and 27 weeks’ gestation')" at 12 abortion facilities (note that the third trimester begins at 28 weeks, 0 days), detailing the "innovative ways" abortionists "adjust their approach" and "practices for cervical preparation and induction of fetal demise" to commit two types of D&E abortions:
Standard D&E (extraction of the fetus in multiple parts, usually with multiple instrument passes),
Intact D&E (extraction of the fetus primarily as a whole, although it may require collapse of the calvarium).
"Ten physicians reported preference for standard D&E, eight for intact D&E, and one physician reported no preference," authors claimed.
It should be noted that an illegal partial birth abortion procedure, known as dilation and extraction, or D&X (as coined by the procedure’s creator, abortionist Martin Haskell), delivers a fetus in the breech position with the head normally remaining inside the birth canal. An incision is then made in the back of the neck, a suction cannula is inserted, and the brain is removed to help the skull collapse.
This study exposed how some D&Es were committed just before 28 weeks and 0 days — which begins the third trimester of pregnancy:
Three-quarters of the respondents reported providing D&E through 27 weeks’ gestation, while some had limits of 24 weeks 6 days, 26 weeks 0 days, or 26 weeks 6 days... Across the sample, 2-day procedures were more common in the 24–25-week gestational range and 3-day procedures were more common at 26–27 weeks.
To kill the preborn child, the abortionists reportedly used various drugs:
Lidocaine 200–240mg intracardiac
Digoxin 1–2mg intrafetal or intraamniotic
Potassium chloride [KCL] 5–40mg intracardiac.
If the first injection of medication failed to induce fetal demise, providers typically used a second dose of the same or an alternative feticidal agent.
The authors added:
Several physicians also noted that if they cannot provide care for a patient, they may induce fetal demise before referral for hospital-based care. Physicians emphasized the importance of building trusted relationships with local hospitals for referrals.
...All but one physician, whose practice had a gestational limit of 24 weeks 6 days, induced fetal demise prior to D&E.
For 2-day procedures, respondents induced fetal demise on Day 1, and for 3-day procedures, most induced fetal demise on Day 1, and some induced fetal demise on Day 2.
What this means is that the woman would have her child lethally injected, after which she would visit a hospital to deliver her stillborn baby.
The study confirmed that later abortions are not only happening for health reasons, but because of things like "barriers to obtaining abortion care earlier, delayed recognition of pregnancy, needing more time to decide," as well as "receiving a diagnosis of a fetal impairment, or developing serious pregnancy complications or medical conditions."
"All physicians provided D&E for serious medical or fetal conditions, rape or incest, social or economic hardship, and/or upon patient request," authors added.
Though the myth persists that late abortions are only done for the most dire of health reasons, according to the previously mentioned PRH primer:
People seek abortion care later in pregnancy for many of the same reasons people seek abortion care earlier in pregnancy, including: concerns that the pregnancy and having a child would interfere with work, income, and education; inability to afford the cost of growing a family; lack of partnership or other support to raise the child; unpreparedness to enter parenthood or return to parenting young children; a change in life circumstances; and risks to the health and wellbeing of the pregnant person or the fetus.
Similar reasoning published in a PowerPoint separately authored by one of the survey designers and one of the study authors included "difficult life event such as raising children alone," a "history of substance use and/or depression," and a "recent conflict or violence with their partner."
They noted "maternal health crisis or a diagnosis of fetal anomaly" was a "small % of later cases."
While the abortion pill mifepristone (200mg)/Mifeprex is only approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use up to 10 weeks/70 days of pregnancy in a regimen with a second drug (misoprostol), off-label use of the drugs for later abortions were recorded in this study.
According to the study supplemental, for these late, near-third trimester abortions:
Many physicians routinely used mifepristone, more commonly in 2-day procedures.
Some used selectively based on gestational duration or challenging dilation.
Some avoided administration more than 24-36 hours before D&E to reduce the risk of extramural delivery.
Almost all physicians routinely administered misoprostol on day of D&E..
"The most common reason for not using mifepristone was to reduce the risk of extramural delivery" or early expulsion of the baby. Other reasons included "excessive cervical softening which can contribute to cervical lacerations, cost, or that adequate dilation was achieved without it," authors wrote.
This study followed a previous “clinical recommendation” published by a pro-abortion group encouraging use of the abortion pill for abortions up to nearly 28 weeks gestation.
Antibiotics, with potential serious adverse event risks, were used by survey participants:
Most respondents initiated prophylactic antibiotics at the time of osmotic dilator placement; the remaining physicians provided one dose prophylactically on the day of the procedure.
Physicians administered antibiotics orally and/or intravenous and commonly used metronidazole or azithromycin; select respondents used ceftriaxone, doxycycline, or ciprofloxacin.
Drugs.com warns:
Ciprofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone (flor-o-KWIN-o-lone) antibiotic, it is used to treat different types of bacterial infections. It is also used to treat people who have been exposed to anthrax or certain types of plague. Ciprofloxacin extended-release is only approved for use in adults.
Fluoroquinolone antibiotics can cause serious or disabling side effects that may not be reversible. Ciprofloxacin should be used only for infections that cannot be treated with a safer antibiotic.
"While the survey did not ask about specific types of medications, some physicians used propofol for deep sedation and fentanyl, midazolam, or sometimes ketamine for moderate sedation. Lidocaine was the most common agent used for cervical anesthesia, and it was often combined with various oral analgesics or anxiolytics," the authors wrote.
In this study, the authors noted "an increase in the number of ambulatory facilities providing care after 24 weeks in 2026 compared to before Dobbs, and existing facilities have expanded gestational duration limitations in this moment of increased need."
Alarmingly, study authors also acknowledged a "lack of clinical guidelines and limited published research on abortion care practices after 24 weeks’ gestation."
Live Action News previously documented that committing abortions into the third trimester of pregnancy outside a surgical facility like a hospital is outside the standard of care.
Medical malpractice attorney Mike Seibel, who operates the website AbortionInjury.com, told Live Action News that failing to rely on peer-reviewed research could amount to experimentation on abortion clients:
Lack of clinical guidelines or protocols is usually a deviation from any known standard of care. What the ambulatory clinics are doing without known established guidelines, and the use of KCL [potassium chloride] in an outpatient clinic, amounts to experimentation on patients without their consent.
Late-term abortionist Mark Nichols testified that using KCL outside a hospital setting is experimenting on patients.
The Journal Contraception is pro-abortion and is funded by the Packard Foundation. Its current editor, Blair Darney, is associated with Planned Parenthood's former "special affiliate," the Guttmacher Institute. Alice Mark, a NAF Medical Advisor and former Planned Parenthood clinician, serves as deputy editor.
The study's "survey design" was credited to...
Dr. Shannon L. Carr: Previously employed by late-term abortionist, Curtis Boyd, who acknowledged that carrying a pregnancy to term was safer than abortion after 18 weeks. Boyd and Carr were both named in the wrongful death lawsuit of Keisha Atkins. Carr is currently licensed to practice in Maine, worked for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, and served as Chair of the Maine Section of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG).
Dr. Monica Dragoman: Assistant Professor of Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and director of the University's Complex in Family Planning division which commits abortions later in pregnancy.
The study was funded by Ibis Reproductive Health, a pro-abortion group currently funded by abortion philanthropists and previously funded by abortion pill manufacturer Danco Laboratories.
Lead author Maureen Paul works with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which advertises abortions. Paul is also a former Planned Parenthood abortionist. Additional authors included staff at Ibis: Samantha P. Ruggiero , Susan Yanow, and Sarah E. Baum.
Big Abortion continues pushing dangerous abortion up to birth despite knowing that, as Live Action News previously documented, some abortion trainees were unable to be trained "to competence in all skills."
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Bryan Lawrence Gonsalves
·
Investigative
Bridget Sielicki
·
Investigative
Nancy Flanders
·
Issues
Sheena Rodriguez
·
Investigative
Kelli Keane
·
Investigative
Isabella Doer
·
Abortion Pill
Carole Novielli
·
Abortion Pill
Carole Novielli
·
Abortion Pill
Carole Novielli
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Abortion Pill
Carole Novielli
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Analysis
Carole Novielli
·Investigative·By Carole Novielli
Dismemberment abortions happening later in pregnancy despite 'lack of clinical guidelines'
Dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortions — sometimes referred to as "dismemberment" abortions, which describes what happens to the preborn child during the procedure — are typically done in the second trimester of pregnancy up to 22 or even 24 weeks, but one study shows this 'limit' is being pushed further despite a "lack of clinical guidelines and limited published research" on abortions committed after 24 weeks’ gestation.
A study published in October 2025 with 18 "seasoned" abortionists revealed that D&E abortions are being pushed to the limits, up to a day prior to the third trimester (27 weeks, 6 days).
Two types of D&Es were being committed by the abortionists — standard D&E (dismemberment) abortion and intact D&E abortion, in which the baby is aborted without being dismembered first.
Reasons listed for later abortion were almost entirely the same as those given for early abortion (financial, relational, etc.).
The abortion pill regimen (outside the FDA-approved guidelines) and other drugs were frequently utilized as a part of these very late abortions.
Alarmingly, study authors acknowledged a "lack of clinical guidelines and limited published research on abortion care practices after 24 weeks’ gestation."
Medical malpractice attorney Mike Seibel told Live Action News that failing to rely on peer-reviewed research could amount to experimentation on abortion clients.
D&E abortions are committed at "more than 14 weeks" gestation, according to the National Abortion Federation's (NAF) 2024 Clinical Guide. The procedure involves dismembering the preborn child before crushing her skull.
Some abortionists committing D&Es have expressed moral qualms about the procedure, describing them as "horrible," while staff at later-abortion facilities have experienced “emotional distress” and “nightmares.”
In 2008, one abortionist admitted to "the violence of abortion" and agreed that "stereotypes that anti-abortion forces hold of us are true – that we are butchers, etc."
Abortions later in pregnancy can be lucrative, as this 2026 primer published by Physicians for Reproductive Health (PRH) reveals:
The study, published in Journal Contraception in October of 2025, "invited 29 physicians to participate" that did not "include practices from hospital-based physicians" — but only 18 "seasoned providers" responded.
They discussed abortions committed between "24 weeks 1 day and 27 weeks 6 days gestation (referred to as 'between 24 and 27 weeks’ gestation')" at 12 abortion facilities (note that the third trimester begins at 28 weeks, 0 days), detailing the "innovative ways" abortionists "adjust their approach" and "practices for cervical preparation and induction of fetal demise" to commit two types of D&E abortions:
Standard D&E (extraction of the fetus in multiple parts, usually with multiple instrument passes),
Intact D&E (extraction of the fetus primarily as a whole, although it may require collapse of the calvarium).
"Ten physicians reported preference for standard D&E, eight for intact D&E, and one physician reported no preference," authors claimed.
It should be noted that an illegal partial birth abortion procedure, known as dilation and extraction, or D&X (as coined by the procedure’s creator, abortionist Martin Haskell), delivers a fetus in the breech position with the head normally remaining inside the birth canal. An incision is then made in the back of the neck, a suction cannula is inserted, and the brain is removed to help the skull collapse.
This study exposed how some D&Es were committed just before 28 weeks and 0 days — which begins the third trimester of pregnancy:
Three-quarters of the respondents reported providing D&E through 27 weeks’ gestation, while some had limits of 24 weeks 6 days, 26 weeks 0 days, or 26 weeks 6 days... Across the sample, 2-day procedures were more common in the 24–25-week gestational range and 3-day procedures were more common at 26–27 weeks.
To kill the preborn child, the abortionists reportedly used various drugs:
Lidocaine 200–240mg intracardiac
Digoxin 1–2mg intrafetal or intraamniotic
Potassium chloride [KCL] 5–40mg intracardiac.
If the first injection of medication failed to induce fetal demise, providers typically used a second dose of the same or an alternative feticidal agent.
The authors added:
Several physicians also noted that if they cannot provide care for a patient, they may induce fetal demise before referral for hospital-based care. Physicians emphasized the importance of building trusted relationships with local hospitals for referrals.
...All but one physician, whose practice had a gestational limit of 24 weeks 6 days, induced fetal demise prior to D&E.
For 2-day procedures, respondents induced fetal demise on Day 1, and for 3-day procedures, most induced fetal demise on Day 1, and some induced fetal demise on Day 2.
What this means is that the woman would have her child lethally injected, after which she would visit a hospital to deliver her stillborn baby.
The study confirmed that later abortions are not only happening for health reasons, but because of things like "barriers to obtaining abortion care earlier, delayed recognition of pregnancy, needing more time to decide," as well as "receiving a diagnosis of a fetal impairment, or developing serious pregnancy complications or medical conditions."
"All physicians provided D&E for serious medical or fetal conditions, rape or incest, social or economic hardship, and/or upon patient request," authors added.
Though the myth persists that late abortions are only done for the most dire of health reasons, according to the previously mentioned PRH primer:
People seek abortion care later in pregnancy for many of the same reasons people seek abortion care earlier in pregnancy, including: concerns that the pregnancy and having a child would interfere with work, income, and education; inability to afford the cost of growing a family; lack of partnership or other support to raise the child; unpreparedness to enter parenthood or return to parenting young children; a change in life circumstances; and risks to the health and wellbeing of the pregnant person or the fetus.
Similar reasoning published in a PowerPoint separately authored by one of the survey designers and one of the study authors included "difficult life event such as raising children alone," a "history of substance use and/or depression," and a "recent conflict or violence with their partner."
They noted "maternal health crisis or a diagnosis of fetal anomaly" was a "small % of later cases."
While the abortion pill mifepristone (200mg)/Mifeprex is only approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use up to 10 weeks/70 days of pregnancy in a regimen with a second drug (misoprostol), off-label use of the drugs for later abortions were recorded in this study.
According to the study supplemental, for these late, near-third trimester abortions:
Many physicians routinely used mifepristone, more commonly in 2-day procedures.
Some used selectively based on gestational duration or challenging dilation.
Some avoided administration more than 24-36 hours before D&E to reduce the risk of extramural delivery.
Almost all physicians routinely administered misoprostol on day of D&E..
"The most common reason for not using mifepristone was to reduce the risk of extramural delivery" or early expulsion of the baby. Other reasons included "excessive cervical softening which can contribute to cervical lacerations, cost, or that adequate dilation was achieved without it," authors wrote.
This study followed a previous “clinical recommendation” published by a pro-abortion group encouraging use of the abortion pill for abortions up to nearly 28 weeks gestation.
Antibiotics, with potential serious adverse event risks, were used by survey participants:
Most respondents initiated prophylactic antibiotics at the time of osmotic dilator placement; the remaining physicians provided one dose prophylactically on the day of the procedure.
Physicians administered antibiotics orally and/or intravenous and commonly used metronidazole or azithromycin; select respondents used ceftriaxone, doxycycline, or ciprofloxacin.
Drugs.com warns:
Ciprofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone (flor-o-KWIN-o-lone) antibiotic, it is used to treat different types of bacterial infections. It is also used to treat people who have been exposed to anthrax or certain types of plague. Ciprofloxacin extended-release is only approved for use in adults.
Fluoroquinolone antibiotics can cause serious or disabling side effects that may not be reversible. Ciprofloxacin should be used only for infections that cannot be treated with a safer antibiotic.
"While the survey did not ask about specific types of medications, some physicians used propofol for deep sedation and fentanyl, midazolam, or sometimes ketamine for moderate sedation. Lidocaine was the most common agent used for cervical anesthesia, and it was often combined with various oral analgesics or anxiolytics," the authors wrote.
In this study, the authors noted "an increase in the number of ambulatory facilities providing care after 24 weeks in 2026 compared to before Dobbs, and existing facilities have expanded gestational duration limitations in this moment of increased need."
Alarmingly, study authors also acknowledged a "lack of clinical guidelines and limited published research on abortion care practices after 24 weeks’ gestation."
Live Action News previously documented that committing abortions into the third trimester of pregnancy outside a surgical facility like a hospital is outside the standard of care.
Medical malpractice attorney Mike Seibel, who operates the website AbortionInjury.com, told Live Action News that failing to rely on peer-reviewed research could amount to experimentation on abortion clients:
Lack of clinical guidelines or protocols is usually a deviation from any known standard of care. What the ambulatory clinics are doing without known established guidelines, and the use of KCL [potassium chloride] in an outpatient clinic, amounts to experimentation on patients without their consent.
Late-term abortionist Mark Nichols testified that using KCL outside a hospital setting is experimenting on patients.
The Journal Contraception is pro-abortion and is funded by the Packard Foundation. Its current editor, Blair Darney, is associated with Planned Parenthood's former "special affiliate," the Guttmacher Institute. Alice Mark, a NAF Medical Advisor and former Planned Parenthood clinician, serves as deputy editor.
The study's "survey design" was credited to...
Dr. Shannon L. Carr: Previously employed by late-term abortionist, Curtis Boyd, who acknowledged that carrying a pregnancy to term was safer than abortion after 18 weeks. Boyd and Carr were both named in the wrongful death lawsuit of Keisha Atkins. Carr is currently licensed to practice in Maine, worked for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, and served as Chair of the Maine Section of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG).
Dr. Monica Dragoman: Assistant Professor of Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and director of the University's Complex in Family Planning division which commits abortions later in pregnancy.
The study was funded by Ibis Reproductive Health, a pro-abortion group currently funded by abortion philanthropists and previously funded by abortion pill manufacturer Danco Laboratories.
Lead author Maureen Paul works with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which advertises abortions. Paul is also a former Planned Parenthood abortionist. Additional authors included staff at Ibis: Samantha P. Ruggiero , Susan Yanow, and Sarah E. Baum.
Big Abortion continues pushing dangerous abortion up to birth despite knowing that, as Live Action News previously documented, some abortion trainees were unable to be trained "to competence in all skills."
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Bryan Lawrence Gonsalves
·Investigative
Bridget Sielicki
·Investigative
Nancy Flanders
·Issues
Sheena Rodriguez
·Investigative
Kelli Keane
·Investigative
Isabella Doer
·Abortion Pill
Carole Novielli
·Abortion Pill
Carole Novielli
·Abortion Pill
Carole Novielli
·Abortion Pill
Carole Novielli
·Analysis
Carole Novielli
·