Menstrual Extraction (menstrual regulation, Karman method)-- This method is performed in very early pregnancy, up to 50 days LMP (50 days after the first day of the last menstrual period.)  A Karman cannula, a thin, flexible plastic tube with a blunt tip featuring two side openings, is inserted into the cervix and connected to a manually operated vacuum source.  The suction created by the vacuum pump empties the uterus of the developing child and supporting tissues.  The abortionist completes the procedure by scraping down the walls of the uterus with the cannula, the tip of which acts as a curette.  Because this method is used so early in pregnancy, little or no dilation of the cervix is needed.

Major disadvantages of this method to women include the facts that the continued pregnancy rate with this procedure is higher than for other procedures performed later in pregnancy, and the "retained tissue rate" is also higher.  In addition, according to abortionist Warren Hern, "It is much more painful than a later abortion."

*At this stage the tissue is soft and the result is like running something through a blender. But if you look closely, you can see an arm and a shoulder.

This is a commonly used method for very early abortions