HOW ARE LATE-TERM ABORTIONS PERFORMED?

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Warning:

Some of the following text is graphic in nature and might upset some readers. Some of the references listed at the bottom of this essay include drawings of surgical procedures that may also be distressing.

Terminology:

Dialog about abortion is very difficult because different groups assign conflicting meanings to important terms:

First trimester abortions:

As noted elsewhere on this web site, about 90% of abortions are performed early in pregnancy. These are primarily elective abortions sought by women who simply do not wish to be pregnant. Abortions are performed using a variety of techniques:

This essay continues below.

Second trimester abortions:

About 9% of abortions are performed in mid-pregnancy. Some of these are elective abortions. For example, a young woman may be in denial and delay seeking an abortion until she can no longer hide her pregnancy. Another main reason for an abortion at this stage of pregnancy is that an ultrasound examination or an amniocenteses procedure has revealed that the fetus has a serious genetic defect, like Down's syndrome or spinal bifida. Essentially all pregnant women elect to have an abortion under these conditions.

As of 2003-OCT-9, there are four techniques which can be employed to terminate the pregnancy:

Some comments about the relative worth of these methods:

D&X procedures are often popularly called "Partial Birth Abortion" although the latter is a vague term which lacks a definitive medical definition. President Bush signed a federal bill into law on 2003-NOV-5 which criminalizes the D&X procedures unless the fetus is dead or the woman's life is in danger. A number of court injunctions have been obtained to prevent the law from taking effect.

Third trimester abortions:

Fewer than 1% of all abortions are performed in late pregnancy. They are prohibited by state and provincial medical associations, unless the fetus is dead, the abortion is required to save the life of the woman, or it is needed to avoid very serious health complications.

There appears to be no reliable data available on how many D&X procedures are performed for each of the above reasons. There is some evidence that, in the past, a physician in a hospital in New Jersey violated his medical association's regulations by performing late elective abortions -- procedures for non-medical reasons. Some groups opposed to abortion access extrapolated the New Jersey data to create an artificial national figure for third trimester abortions.

There is evidence that late abortions are sometimes performed for other reasons: in the case of a very young pregnant woman, or a pregnancy which resulted from a rape or incest.

The physician is faced with two main alternatives at this late point in pregnancy:

As noted above, D&X procedures may eventually be criminalized by a federal law, leaving physicians with only one option.

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop has stated that no competent physician with state-of-the-art skill in the management of high-risk pregnancies needs to perform a D&X. Of course, many physicians lack this level of skill, and so need to resort to the D&X procedure. And some women in the U.S. have no access to good quality pre-natal care. Some pregnant women first seek medical attention when they are about to deliver.

Related essay:

References:

1. "Dilation and Evacuation Abortion (D&E) of a 23 week old fetus," Priests for Life, at: http://www.priestsforlife.org/
2. "Partial Birth Abortion," Priests for Life, at: http://www.priestsforlife.org/
3. Suzanne Batchelor, "Abortion Procedures Ban Limits Endings for Doomed Pregnancies," Women's Enews, 2003-SEP-29, at: http://www.now.org/
4. "Statement on So-Called "Partial Birth Abortion" Laws By The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists," 2002-FEB-13, at: http://www.acog.org/

Copyright © 2003 & 2004 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2003-OCT-9
Latest update: 2004-MAR-8
Author: B.A. Robinson