Is the abortion procedure painful?
     This is by far, the most common question patients have. The answer is actually very simple.  It depends on the type of anesthesia used to assist in your comfort. Some older-type clinics may try to convince patients that they will only experience "cramps" or other minimal discomfort during the surgical abortion procedure.  This almost always means that they do not have the ability to provide effective sedation, or they simply do not offer effective forms of a IV anesthesia.  Experienced and caring physicians would always try to make their patients as comfortable as possible if they had the ability to do so.  While it is possible to tolerate this type of surgical procedure without anesthesia, it can be an extremely uncomfortable and it can be a traumatizing experience to have a surgical procedure without the comfort of modern sedation.  Additionally, without effective sedation and patient comfort, the risks of complications can be increased significantly. 

    

     When this surgical procedure is performed using effective IV sedation, the procedure is essentially painless. This question is still very common in this field because up until 5-10 years ago, the abortion procedure was performed in many and most abortion clinics using either just Nitrous Oxide Gas, or by only injecting numbing medicine (lidocaine) into the cervix to attempt to reduce with the pain associated with the cervical dilation. This is the reason that in the past, the surgical abortion had developed the reputation of being a painful and uncomfortable experience. As access, professionalism, and skills have improved over the past decade, centers like ours with qualified physician medical care providers have eliminated the surgical pain by now providing effective IV sedation to patients.
 
What are the differences between IV sedation, general anesthesia, and Nitrous Oxide?
     This can be very confusing to patients, as some non-physician owned abortion clinics do not fully understand anesthesia administration and benefits or they fail to completely inform patients as to the significant differences between these anesthesia techniques and medicines.  First of all, general anesthesia is a rarely used extreme anesthesia method which is designed for complex surgical procedures, not minor procedures such as a surgical abortion. General anesthesia is essentially an "overdose" of medications designed to completely paralyze and incapacitate a patient. Since patients are unable to breathe on their own under general anesthesia, a tube usually must be placed down their throat (trachea) to allow a ventilator machine to breathe for them. Because there are many serious complications which can occur under general anesthesia, it is essential that a second physician, known as an "anesthesiologist" be present in addition to the physician performing the abortion procedure. General anesthesia is almost never necessary for a surgical abortion and is usually only administered in hospitals.
 
     Second is Nitrous Oxide gas. Nitrous oxide is an weak breathable gas which causes a temporary feeling of dizziness and lightheadedness. Nitrous is a rather ineffective and unpredictable form of anesthesia, and is not designed to be used alone during a surgical abortion procedure. Generally, the only reason a clinic would offer this as their sole option of "anesthesia" is if they do not have the ability to provide IV anesthesia. To provide IV anesthesia, a facility must have advanced technical monitoring, qualified staff, and increased physician expertise.  This lack of providing patients with modern care options is very old-fashioned and should be uncommon.  It may be a sign that the facility has not kept up with current modern medical techniques and standards or the physician that they employ to provide services lacks training and experience to provide sedation safely.

 
     IV sedation is the current standard method of choice for surgical pain management of an abortion procedure. But IV sedation must be effective and predictable to maintain comfort and safety.  Unfortunately, some facilities may offer IV sedation that lacks the necessary components to acheive effective results.  In other words, just because a clinic offers medicine in IV form, doesn't mean it is the proper type or dose to effectively acheive patient comfort.  If a clinic facility is only offering "Versed" or "Valium" in IV or oral form alone, this type of anesthesia may cause some amnesia or relaxation, but it does not provide any relief from the pain associated with the procedure.  This Versed or Valium alone is not surgical anesthesia, and it is more appropriately termed "premedication".   At Florida Womens' Center, Dr. Kelly has additional specialized residency training in the field of anesthesia which allows a professional understanding of IV agents and uses for various surgical procedures.  Florida Women's Center offers exceptionally effective and predictable anesthesia by selecting individual IV medications to eliminate any anxiety and discomfort related to a surgical abortion procedure. Our increased level of care, professional training, and expertise allows our facility to uniquely provide this option very safely in a physician monitored setting, which has eliminated the pain and anxiety of the surgical abortion.
 
Is anesthesia dangerous?
     As with all medical care, there are inherent risks. All physicians know and recognize this fact. IV anesthesia is very safe and predictable if administered by a trained physician in a properly monitored medical setting.
 
Is the abortion procedure dangerous?
     As with all surgical procedures, a surgical abortion should only be performed by a physician with the appropriate experience and training. Just being a licensed medical physician doesn't make a doctor qualified to perform all surgical procedures safely.  The nuances and nature of the "D and E" procedure used in performing an abortion must be learned and understood to provide safe care.  Experience and routine practice that includes providing this procedure as an option to patients is an extremely important factor in keeping the abortion procedure so safe.  When an abortion is provided by an experienced pro-choice physician, it is one of the safest surgical procedures in the United States. As a comparison, a surgical abortion performed in the first trimester is approximately 10X safer than carrying a pregnancy to term.
 
Are there differences between the facilities offering abortions?
     Of course there are, just as there are differences between many other different businesses and other physicians offering medical services. The reason that there are differences has a lot to do with the fact that standard abortion clinics are usually owned and operated by business persons, and not actual physicians.  Based on the personal approaches of these individuals, the policies, professionalism, and care provided can vary significantly due to the fact that many standard abortion clinic type facilities are  owned, operated or supervised by non-medical individuals who are not physicians or even licensed medical professionals.  While these business owners are respectfully supportive of pro-choice issues, they are simply not licensed or trained medical professionals and are not legally able to provide professional medical care or services.  This requires them to hire an outside "medical director" to obtain an operating license.  This doctor must be a currently state licensed medical physician. As non-medical professionals, these non-physician owned abortion clinics are also required to designate an independent medical director to possess and maintain their abortion clinic license. The level of experience of these independently contracted physicians will depend on many factors and will range from very inexperienced physicians (usually referred to as "board-eligible"), to physicians with significant independant experience in traveling from clinic to clinic to work intermittently between the shifts of their regular profession.  Commonly, these types of clinics only offer abortion services during the first trimester of pregnancy, and are unable to provide terminations for more advanced or complicated pregnancies.
 
     Alternatively, physician operated medical practices like Florida Women's Center are operated as medical offices or surgicenters. All care is provided directly and only by physicians who are proficient and exceptionally experienced in the abortion field.  In facilities like ours, and due to our extensive physician ability and experience, we are able to handle even some of the most complicated and advanced surgical termination procedures.  We provide termination options well into the 2nd trimester if needed.  Our physicians realize the importance and duty to providing the highest level of private, professionally managed, and comprehensive care and abortion options. This is modern abortion care. This is also one of the main reasons that the field has advanced so significantly over the past decade, since Florida Women's Center first opened its doors. At Florida Women's Center, you are getting care from a physician, not a clinic.  You know your physician and the medical community knows and respects our level of care and professionalism.  If you have a question or concern after the procedure, your issues are addressed with the physicians, and not just nurses providing advice on procedures they have never performed.  You are treated as a patient with the respect and understanding that every woman deserves.  
 
Can someone be with me at all times during my abortion?
     As with all medical procedures, there are places that patients can go and non-patients can't. Professional medical practices don't allow partners or friends to enter specific areas like recovery rooms and surgical suites. As you can understand, these are highly regulated, clean, and confidential areas which demand constant attention by our medical staff. We provide comfortable waiting areas, reading materials, and cable TV for partners and friends.
 
Why do some facilities say expect the visit to be several hours, and others have shorter appointment times?
     This must be very confusing to patients, because there are so many excuses different clinics have as to why it takes so long to complete an abortion procedure. The answer is actually not complex at all because it is all simply about how patients are scheduled in many abortion clinics. Most delays are due to the fact that in standard older-style abortion clinics, if they don't have a regular physician, patients must wait for the part-time independent physician to arrive, sometimes from their primary job. Sometimes, this wait can be for several hours.  There are also many clinics who only offer services on certain days, since contracted physicians are not always available.  This can result in larger groups of patients being scheduled at the same time on these days.  Usually everyone gets the same appointent time and depending on when you arrive in line, your wait can be hours long.
 
   In private facilities like Florida Women's Center, an early first trimester surgical procedure usually takes less than 5 minutes once it has began. It generally takes approximately 30 minutes for a preoperative evaluation, ultrasound, and to provide each patient with appropriate information. After the procedure, the vast majority of patients recover from the brief procedure and effects of anesthesia within an hour. This total time period is usually less than 2 hours, which is how long this surgical procedure generally takes if you are obtaining care from a fully staffed physician practice providing abortion options. Of course, some patients may choose and have the option to rest a little longer and others may not need quite as long, but for the most part, the entire visit is approximately 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.
 
     Early termination procedures should never take two visits (one for labs and paper work and the other for the short procedure) or have women watch old fashioned video tapes in groups with other patients.   We feel that all patients should be treated personally and privately with only one-on-one care and always be provided the the personal ability to ask private questions.  We know that all patients are different and this personal experience should be kept as private and personal as possible.  Our physicians are available when you are scheduled and we don't have delays or cancellations that are common in clinics due to the unexpected conflicts in the clinic physician's regular practice or the inability to obtain an outside physician for the pre-scheduled day. This can be very frustrating for a patient seeking medical care at this important time period.  Many patients drive several hours to obtain medical care and there is nothing worse than having the clinic tell you there has been some issue that in that clinic that has caused them to not have a physician on that day.  That is simply not respectful of a patients time or emotional energy spent in getting there, and should never occur.
 
    This is one of the most important differences between standard old-style abortion clinics and physician run facilities like Florida Women's Center. Our respectful modern physician managed approach makes sure every patient has an individual appointment to keep her visit as comfortable, confidential, and pleasant as possible. Our facility has a full-time dedicated physician staff working every day to provide continuous and reliable professional medical services.
 
Does having an abortion affect my ability to get pregnant in the future and does having more than one abortion have any harmful effects to my body?
     This is a common concern for a very obvious reason. No women ever wants to be faced with the decision to have an abortion even once. But it is accepted within our knowledgeable society that 1 of every 2 women will. Unplanned pregnancies are simply part of reproductive behavior. There is no fault to place, and no blame to lay, as the knowledgeable medical community knows and accepts the fact that sexually active women will get pregnant at unpredictable and often impossible times. After women have an abortion, it is most common to feel and adopt a sense of relief as well as coupling this with a hope that this situation will not arise again. But statistically it may. You can't avoid the unpredictable, and many women are faced with several unplanned pregnancies. But because anti-abortion fanatics share a common and main goal of purposefully deceiving and scaring women seeking professional abortion care or advice, they commonly make completely untrue and often absurd statements about the impact of the D and E procedure used to perform an abortion procedure.
 
     The scientific medical community has studied the impact and effects of elective abortions on women and have concluded that "Fertility is not altered by an elective elective abortion." (See Hogue CJR: Impact of abortion on subsequent fecundity. Clin. Obstet. Gynecology 13:95, 1986). In addition, more than one abortion is essentially no different than the first. This risks are extremely low no matter how many D and E procedures a patient has had in her lifetime.
 
Is the medical care and abortion procedure confidential?
     A physician-patient relationship is one of the most confidential relationships in the United States. All doctors have an ethical and professional obligation to maintain complete confidentiality of patient's care. This trust and understanding that confidentiality is maintained is what allows patients to confide in doctors and allows the doctor to be fully informed to provide the best care possible. Our confidentiality protocols are among the highest in our field. We have very strict verification procedures and no information leaves our office without identification and a patient's personal signed request.
 
Is your facility private?
     This is one of the biggest concerns for patients. Florida Women's Center was specifically chosen for its private location and offers the most private setting available in Jacksonville. When obtaining a sensitive medical procedure, no one should be burdened by running into people they know or seeing them in a facility during a time when privacy and confidentiality are so important. Clinics located in smaller cities where there is only one facility offering abortion services are exceptionally vulnerable to privacy problems. These standard abortion clinics can often be the focus of anti-abortion protestors who dramatically and inappropriately interfere with women's rights and ability to obtain medical care.
 
     Florida Women's Center was specifically designed to provide the most private setting in the North Florida and South Georgia regions. We offer the highest level of privacy possible. We are located in a completely private medical hospital complex with no public thoroughfare. As the complex is all privately owned, there is no public traffic or pedestrian loitering allowed in our private medical complex.
 
Is it normal to be scared to get an abortion?
     Of course it is. Most people are scared to undergo any surgical procedure, no matter how minor it is. With all the common scare tactics used by anti-abortion groups, and the continual distribution of extremely inaccurate information and non-scientific statements on the internet and in the media, it is completely understandable and a normal response to have various levels of fear and apprehension when you have made a decision to have an abortion. Unfortunately, the field of abortion medicine is one of the only medical fields where non-medical individuals inappropriately believe they have a right to actively interfere with a woman's choice to make a confidential and very personal medical decision.
 
     Deceptive "pregnancy crisis centers" or "pregnancy help or information centers" who claim to offer "free" pregnancy advice, ultrasounds, and assistance, are also a significant source of deception. These facilities are simply designed to lure women in to scare them with inaccurate statements about the abortion process and their personal decisions. The information they provide is often extremely inaccurate and very deceptive. If a clinic attempts to encourage you not to "trust" other physicians or abortion providers, don't let that scare you. They are simply attempting to confuse you through deceptive advertising. Fortunately, these deceptive and anti-choice tactics are easily recognized by most women seeking abortion services.
 
     Just realize that you are going to be fine. Recognize that it is very important to choose an experienced full-time abortion provider. When you arrive, talk to the doctor, and discuss your fears or concerns. Don't ever be afraid to ask questions. No one is better able to help you understand these issues as well as a caring and experienced medical physician. We are well aware of all your concerns and we are very sensitive to all the issues you are having.  As always, we look forward to exceeding all your expectations and helping you in every way we can.
 
*************************************PATIENT TESTIMONIALS**********************************************

These are actual patient feedback comments from post-operative surveys provided in our ongoing diigent effort to always improve our services and our patient's experiences:
 
"Your facility was great. Thank you so much for making me feel so comfortable during this difficult time. I am still amazed at how private and confidential the environment was." ~ Jacksonville, FL

 

"Everyone was so kind, from the woman who made my appointment, to the nurse in recovery. You truly offer an exceptional service, unlike anything I thought it would be. I will definitely refer anyone who is in need of your services to you. Thank you." ~ Brunswick, GA
 
"My physician recommended your facility to me and I am grateful that she did. I trusted her advice and you have exceeded all of my expectations. I still can't believe how comfortable you kept me." ~ St. Augustine, FL
 
"I want to thank you so much.  I drove to your facility because I wanted to be comfortable for my termination procedure.  I called a local clinic and they did not offer the continual physician care or anesthesia that you provide.  Your website was so helpful and the experience was even more amazing.  I knew this was the right choice." ~ Tallahassee, FL

 

"I honestly love the way your staff takes care of people.  Everyone was great and kind." ~ Jacksonville, FL
 
"My doctor told me to come to Florida Women's Center because of Dr. Kelly's experience and the privacy of the facility located in a hospital complex. I looked you up on your website and everything was exactly as you described. Thank you so much for helping me. I'll never forget how nice everyone was." ~ Jacksonville, FL
 
"I came from Ft. Walton Beach because I knew I couldn't go to the local clinic and face the lack of privacy. My first abortion was in a group-type abortion clinic and I now know there is no comparison to a facility like this. At the other clinic, everyone was scheduled at the same time and it was miserable.  Your care is so personal and efficient.  I am so glad you provided this personal option for me and treated me so well. I hope someday more facilities will be like you." ~ Ft. Walton Beach, FL
 
"My friend told me how wonderful everyone was, and that I would be very happy with my decision to make the drive to come here. I have been to a clinic before and words cannot describe how different that was.  Thank God she told me about you. You have helped me in a way I will always remember. God bless you." ~ Savannah, GA
 
"You will always be my only choice and your kindness will never be forgotten." ~ Albany, GA
 
"My doctor in Savannah specifically told me to come only to your facility. Thank you so much for all your help during this difficult time." ~ Savannah, GA
 
"Dr. Kelly and staff, thank you so much for everything. You made me feel so comfortable the entire time I was there. You have helped me close a chapter in my life and start a new one. For that, I am very appreciative. The whole staff was incredible and so wonderful. Doctor Kelly, you are amazing." ~ Texas