Late-term abortions are abortions which are performed during a later stage of pregnancy. The abortion debate refers to discussion and controversy surrounding the moral and legal status of Abortion. An Overview See also Ethical aspects of abortion Pro-choice advocates emphasize their beliefs that having a child is a personal choice that affects a woman's body and Overview See also Ethical aspects of abortion Pro-life individuals generally believe that human life should be valued either from conception or Implantation The abortion-breast cancer (ABC hypothesis (supporters call it the abortion-breast cancer link posits that induced Abortion increases the risk of developing Breast cancer Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs also known as pregnancy resource centers are Non-profit organizations established by Pro-life supporters that work to persuade The legalized abortion and crime effect is the controversial Theory that legal Abortion reduces Crime. The ethical aspects of Abortion are much discussed in all major philosophies and Religions in the world particularly (but not exclusively in the Christian Fetal pain, its existence and its implications are part of a larger debate about Abortion. The term fetal rights can refer either to legal rights accorded to Fetuses or to ethical rights of fetuses The genetics and abortion issue is an extension of the Abortion debate and the Disability rights movement Libertarians promote individual liberty and seek to minimize the role of the state The relationship between induced Abortion and Mental health is an area of controversy Many jurisdictions have laws applying to minors and abortion. The paternal rights and abortion issue is an extension of both the Abortion debate and the Fathers' rights movement The philosophical aspects of the abortion debate are presented in the form of a number of Logical arguments which can be made in support of or opposition to Abortion Societal attitudes towards abortion have varied throughout different historal periods and Cultures One manner of assessing such attitudes in the modern era has been Many religious traditions have taken a stance on Abortion, and these stances span a broad spectrum from acceptance to rejection A self-induced abortion is an Abortion performed outside the recognized medical system Sex-selective abortion is the targeted Abortion of a Fetus based upon its Sex. According to the World Health Organization (WHO an unsafe abortion is the termination of an unintended pregnancy either by persons lacking the necessary skills or in an Abortion-related violence, or anti-abortion violence, is criminal violence committed against individuals and organizations that provide Abortion. An Pregnancy ( Latin graviditas) is the carrying of one or more offspring known as a Fetus or Embryo, inside the Uterus of a Female Late-term abortion is more controversial than abortion in general because the fetus is more developed and may even be viable. Abortion in the United States is a highly-charged issue involving significant political and ethical debate A fetus (or foetus or fœtus) is a developing Mammal or other Viviparous Vertebrate, after the Embryonic stage and A fetus (or foetus or fœtus) is a developing Mammal or other Viviparous Vertebrate, after the Embryonic stage and

Definition of "late-term"

A late-term abortion often refers to an induced abortion procedure that occurs after the 20th week of gestation. Gestational age is usually considered to be the age of an Embryo or Fetus (or newborn infant from the first day of the woman's last menstrual period (LMP Gestation is the carrying of an Embryo or Fetus inside a Female Viviparous Animal. However, the exact point when a pregnancy becomes late-term is not clearly defined. Some sources define an abortion after 12 completed weeks' gestation as "late". ^{[1] [2]} Some sources define an abortion after 16 weeks as "late". ^{[3] [4]} Three articles published in 1998 in the same issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association could not agree on the definition. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association is an international peer-reviewed general Medical journal, published 48 times per year by the American Two of the JAMA articles chose the 20th week of gestation to be the point where an abortion procedure would be considered late-term. ^[5] The third JAMA article chose the third trimester, or 27th week of gestation. Pregnancy ( Latin graviditas) is the carrying of one or more offspring known as a Fetus or Embryo, inside the Uterus of a Female ^[6]

The point at which an abortion becomes late-term is often related to the "viability" (ability to survive outside the uterus) of the fetus. A fetus (or foetus or fœtus) is a developing Mammal or other Viviparous Vertebrate, after the Embryonic stage and The uterus (from the Latin word for womb) is the major Female reproductive organ of most Mammals including Humans One end the A fetus (or foetus or fœtus) is a developing Mammal or other Viviparous Vertebrate, after the Embryonic stage and Sometimes late-term abortions are referred to as post-viability abortions. However, viability varies greatly between pregnancies. Nearly all pregnancies are viable after the 27th week, and almost no pregnancies are viable before the 20th week. Everything in between is a "grey area". A grey area is a term for a border in-between two or more things that is unclearly defined a border that is hard to define or even impossible to define or a definition where the distinction ^[6]

Incidence of later abortion

Data source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Canada: During the year 2003, 6. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page 5% of induced abortions were performed between 13 to 16 weeks, 2. 2% between 17 to 20 weeks, and 0. 8% over 20 weeks. This sample included only those procedures carried out in hospitals. ^[7]

• England and Wales: In 2005, 9% of abortions occurred between 13 to 19 weeks, while 1% occurred at or over 20 weeks. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland ^[8]

• New Zealand: In 2003, 2. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island 03% of induced abortions were done between weeks 16 to 19, and 0. 56% were done over 20 weeks. ^[9]

• Norway: In 2005, 2. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional 28% of induced abortions were performed between 13 to 16 weeks, 1. 24% of abortions between 17 and 20 weeks, and 0. 20% over 21 weeks. ^[10]

• Scotland: In 2005, 6. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. 1% of abortions were done between 14 to 17 weeks, while 1. 6% were performed over 18 weeks. ^[11]

• Sweden: In 2005, 5. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. 6% of abortions were carried out between 12 and 17 weeks, and 0. 8% at or greater than 18 weeks. ^[12]

• United States: In 2003, from data collected in those areas that sufficiently reported gestational age, it was found that 6. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Gestational age is usually considered to be the age of an Embryo or Fetus (or newborn infant from the first day of the woman's last menstrual period (LMP 2% of abortions were conducted from 13 to 15 weeks, 4. 2% from 16 to 20 weeks, and 1. 4% at or after 21 weeks. ^[13] Because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's annual study on abortion statistics does not calculate the exact gestational age for abortions performed past the 20th week, there is no exact data for the number of abortions performed after viability. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or CDC) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services based in unincorporated ^[13] In 1997, the Guttmacher Institute estimated the number of abortions in the U. The Guttmacher Institute is a Non-profit organization which works to advance Reproductive health as defined by the World Health Organization. S. past 24 weeks to be 0. 08%, or approximately 1,032 per year. ^[14]

Reasons for later abortion

United States

See also: Reasons for abortions. Abortion in the United States is a highly-charged issue involving significant political and ethical debate

In 1987, the Alan Guttmacher Institute collected questionnaires from 1,900 women in the United States who came to clinics to have abortions. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Of the 1,900 questioned, 420 had been pregnant for 16 or more weeks. These 420 women were asked to choose among a list of reasons why they had not obtained the abortions earlier in their pregnancies. The results were as follows:^[3]

• 71% Woman didn't recognize she was pregnant or misjudged gestation
• 48% Woman found it hard to make arrangements for abortion
• 33% Woman was afraid to tell her partner or parents
• 24% Woman took time to decide to have an abortion
• 8% Woman waited for her relationship to change
• 8% Someone pressured woman not to have abortion
• 6% Something changed after woman became pregnant
• 6% Woman didn't know timing is important
• 5% Woman didn't know she could get an abortion
• 2% A fetal problem was diagnosed late in pregnancy
• 11% Other

Legal restrictions on later abortion

Abortion law
Part of the abortion series
History & overview
Case law History of abortion law Laws by country
Types of regulation
Buffer zones Conscience clauses Fetal protection Informed consent Late-term restrictions Parental involvement Spousal consent

As of 1998, among the 152 most populous countries, 54 either banned abortion entirely or permitted it only to save the life of the pregnant woman. Abortion law is legislation which pertains to the provision of Abortion. An The practice of Abortion dates back to ancient times Pregnancies were terminated through a number of methods including the administration of Abortifacient herbs This is a Governments sometimes take measures designed to afford legal protection of access to abortion. Conscience clauses are Clauses in laws in some parts of the United States which permit Pharmacists Physicians and other providers of The term fetal rights can refer either to legal rights accorded to Fetuses or to ethical rights of fetuses Informed consent is a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given Consent based upon an appreciation and understanding of the facts implications Late-term abortions are Abortions which are performed during a later stage of Pregnancy. Many jurisdictions have laws applying to minors and abortion. The paternal rights and abortion issue is an extension of both the Abortion debate and the Fathers' rights movement ^[15] In contrast, another 44 of the 152 most populous countries generally banned late-term abortions after a particular gestational age: 12 weeks (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Rep. Gestational age is usually considered to be the age of an Embryo or Fetus (or newborn infant from the first day of the woman's last menstrual period (LMP , Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Rep. , Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Norway, Russian Fed. , Slovak Rep. , Slovenia, South Africa, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yugoslavia), 13 weeks (Italy), 14 weeks (Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Germany, Hungary, and Romania), 18 weeks (Sweden), viability (Netherlands and to some extent the United States), and 24 weeks (Singapore and the United Kingdom [Northern Ireland excluded]). ^[15]

United States

The United States Supreme Court decisions on abortion, including Roe v. Wade, allow states to impose more restrictions on post-viability abortions than during the earlier stages of pregnancy. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. Roe v Wade, 410 US 113 (1973 is a controversial United States Supreme Court case that resulted in a Landmark decision regarding

As of April 2007, 36 states had bans on late-term abortions that were not facially unconstitutional (i. e. banning all abortions) or enjoined by court order. ^[16] In addition, the Supreme Court in the case of Gonzales v. Carhart ruled that Congress may ban certain late-term abortion techniques, "both previability and postviability". Gonzales v Carhart, 550 US ___ ( 2007) is a United States Supreme Court case which upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of

Some of the 36 state bans are believed by pro-choice organizations to be unconstitutional. ^{[17] [18]}The Supreme Court has held that bans must include exceptions for threats to the woman's life, physical health, and mental health, but four states allow late-term abortions only when the woman's life is at risk; four allow them when the woman's life or physical health is at risk, but use a definition of health that pro-choice organizations believe is impermissibly narrow. ^[16] Assuming that one of these state bans is constitutionally flawed, then that does not necessarily mean that the entire ban would be struck down: "invalidating the statute entirely is not always necessary or justified, for lower courts may be able to render narrower declaratory and injunctive relief. "^[19]

Also, 13 states prohibit abortion after a certain number of weeks' gestation (usually 24 weeks). ^[16] The U. S. Supreme Court held in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services that a statute may create "a presumption of viability" after a certain number of weeks, in which case the physician must be given an opportunity to rebut the presumption by performing tests. Webster v Reproductive Health Services, 492 US 490 ( 1989) was a United States Supreme Court decision on July 3, 1989 ^[20] Therefore, those 13 states must provide that opportunity. Because this provision is not explicitly written into these 13 laws, as it was in the Missouri law examined in Webster, pro-choice organizations believe that such a state law is unconstitutional, but only "to the extent that it prohibits pre-viability abortions". ^[17]

Ten states require a second physician to approve. ^[16] The U. S. Supreme Court struck down a requirement of "confirmation by two other physicians" (rather than one other physician) because "acquiescence by co-practitioners has no rational connection with a patient's needs and unduly infringes on the physician's right to practice". ^[21] Pro-choice organizations such as the Guttmacher Institute therefore interpret some of these state laws to be unconstitutional, based on these and other Supreme Court rulings, at least to the extent that these state laws require approval of a second or third physician. ^[16]

Nine states have laws that require a second physician to be present during late-term abortion procedures in order to treat a fetus if born alive. ^[16] The Court has held that a doctor's right to practice is not infringed by requiring a second physician to be present at abortions performed after viability in order to assist in saving the life of the fetus. ^[22]

Procedures used in later term

There are at least three medical procedures associated with late-term abortions:

• Dilation and evacuation (D&E)
• Early induction of labor
• Intact dilation and extraction (IDX or D&X), sometimes referred to as "partial-birth abortion"

Abortions done for fetal abnormality are usually performed with induction of labor or with IDX; these procedures result in an intact body that the parents can hold and take pictures of as part of their mourning process. Dilation and evacuation (also sometimes called dilation and extraction) literally refers to the dilation of the Cervix and surgical evacuation of the contents Induction is a method of artificially or prematurely stimulating labour in a woman Intact dilation and extraction ( IDX or intact D&X) also known as intact dilation and evacuation ( intact D&E) dilation and extraction Elective late-term abortions are usually performed with D&E.

References

External links

• Gina Gonzales as told to Barry Yeoman, "I Had An Abortion When I Was Six Months Pregnant," Glamour