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Ask Dr. Bours
How long will I be at your office?
Our goal is to have each patient at our office for less than 90 minutes. This generally allows plenty of time for registration, an ultrasound performed by Dr Bours, a thorough explanation of the procedure by one of our medical assistants, the performance of the abortion and a brief recovery period.
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Will I experience much pain?
The entire abortion procedure generally takes less than 10 minutes to perform. The discomfort that a woman experiences during the procedure is similar to menstrual cramps. As we frequently tell women who have previously experienced labor and childbirth, it is certainly no more painful than one or two contractions in early labor. We do offer an intravenous injection of a combination of drugs that is very effective in minimizing pain and anxiety. See our section on pain management for more detailed information.
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How long does it take to recover?
Following a first trimester surgical abortion, almost all women are back to their normal activities by the next day. The unpleasant symptom of nausea is improved within hours. We had a high school basketball player ask if she could play in a game in the evening after a morning abortion. I said that I thought that it would be OK, providing she took an afternoon nap and was feeling all right. When I checked the newspaper the next morning, I found that she had been her team’s leading scorer.
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Will having an abortion, or possibly several abortions, affect my ability to have children when I am ready?
There is nothing about the abortion procedure, when it is performed properly, that affects a woman’s ability either to get pregnant or carry a pregnancy to term. There is no added risk from multiple abortions. Anti-abortion activists frequently espouse this and other misinformation in an attempt to frighten young women who are contemplating having an abortion.
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What about an increased risk of either emotional problems (the so-called post abortal syndrome) or increased risk of breast cancer following an abortion?
Again, these are issues frequently raised by anti-abortion activists to scare women facing an abortion. Both issues have been thoroughly evaluated and thoroughly debunked in scientific medical studies. There is no increased risk of breast cancer and no increased incidence of serious emotional problems associated with abortion procedures.
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How did you first get involved with abortions, what is your experience and why do you continue with this work?
I have been involved with the abortion issue since my senior year at Stanford in 1966, when my then-girlfriend became pregnant and made the decision to travel to Guadalajara, Mexico, for an illegal abortion. I have been performing abortions since 1976, three years after the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that struck down laws prohibiting abortion. At this stage of my career, I have performed over 50,000 abortions. I think I speak for my entire staff when I say that we all find this to be extremely rewarding and fulfilling work. In a short period of time, we are able to establish a relationship of trust with our patients and have a major positive impact on their lives.
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Why should I choose to come to your office rather than to others that I see advertising online and in the phone book?
At many large clinics, you will not learn the name or the level of experience of the physician or other clinician scheduled to perform your procedure prior to your arrival at the clinic. At many clinics, you will not even meet this person until you are undressed and lying on an exam table. At our office, each patient is in fact my private patient. If you call after hours with a question about potential problems or complications, you will not be talking to a person unfamiliar with your situation; you will be talking with me. We treat every patient as I would want my wife, sisters or daughters to be treated were they to find themselves in a similar situation.
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