Politics. Partial Birth Abortion, does the majority of the public know what that means?

Question

Hi everyone. Sometimes you hear people calmly speaking about their "20 week abortion" or some other persons "24 week abortion". I have to wonder if these people really know what happened during that procedure. I am guessing most people think of it like getting their tonsils removed, nothing too big or significant.
But I personally know that 20 week babies have been born and lived to live normal lives, (ofcourse most have some disabitities like blindness from prematurity).
So if a baby can live outside of the womb at that time, and cry and breath and all that...how is killing that fetus moral? But Im just assuming the people that have this done, just really dont know about fetal development.
So from your experience, do people really know but still decide to abort? The reason I ask is because my heart hurts thinking about partial birth abortion and I wonder if the world is desensitized or if Im overly sensitized.

By the way, Im not asking for a pro life vrs choice debate

"Sometimes you hear people calmly speaking about their "20 week abortion" or some other persons "24 week abortion"

"Sometimes, huh? How about more like NEVER. "

LOL, well I guess that wouldnt apply to everyone, but I have many times.

I would like to add, that babies HAVE survived between the gestational ages of 20-24 weeks- I would consider them miracles, but they do occur.

ALSO, women have partial birth abortions without consulting their OBs (they go straight to the abortion clinics) and they dont have to be in order to save the mothers life. It is now illegal in parts of the world past a certain point in gestation for an elected abortion, though it is not in other parts.

There was a Dr in the USA known to do partial birth abortions up until the 39th week of gestation just up until a couple years ago, ofcourse that is now illegal.

I hate to open your eyes, BUT 2nd and 3r trimester abortions CAN BE elective. Maybe not in the UK, but in other parts of the world.

Answer 1

Many people believe that partial birth abortions are rare, and are only performed to save the mother. However, in the United States alone, thousands of partial birth abortions are performed every year, almost exclusively for elective and not health-based reasons1. These babies are killed: were they to be fully and not partially delivered their lives could be saved. Many people argue that the anesthetics used in the process kill the baby, so death to the child painless. However the American Society of Anesthesiologists testified to Congress that this is simply not true2.

" I stood at the doctor's side and watched him perform a partial-birth abortion on a woman who was six months pregnant. The baby's heartbeat was clearly visible on the ultrasound screen. The doctor delivered the baby's body and arms, everything but his little head. The baby's body was moving. His little fingers were clasping together. He was kicking his feet. The doctor took a pair of scissors and inserted them into the back of the baby's head, and the baby's arms jerked out in a flinch, a startle reaction, like a baby does when he thinks that he might fall. Then the doctor opened the scissors up. Then he stuck the high-powered suction tube into the hole and sucked the baby's brains out. Now the baby was completely limp. I never went back to the clinic. But I am still haunted by the face of that little boy. It was the most perfect, angelic face I have ever seen."

This is a barbaric procedure that I find it hard to believe even pro-choicers can condone. Despite what they want you to believe, it was not a rare procedure. I highly doubt that someone going in for a late-term abortion was told about the specifics of the procedure.

Answer 2

I've never heard of ppl freely talking about having an IDX. But then again it is only a very very small percent of all abortions in the U.S. (over a million abortions a year...only a few thousand are IDX).

Having said that....
I would say that the majority of the public do not know what IDX is because alot of the time they don't take the time to do research on their own. If the information is not given to them directly they probably won't bother with it.

People also have a tendency to ignore things because it does not affect them OR feel the need to impose their views on others. I think their needs to be common ground.

I find IDX extremely wrong...unless necessary...and I don't quite understand why someone would wait until the last minute to decide whether they want a child. I think any abortion where the pregnancy is in the 3rd trimester should be illegal.

On the other hand I am pro-choice when it comes to the embryo/fetus being in the 1st trimester or the beginning of the 2nd trimester.

Answer 3

Under British law, terminations are rarely performed near to the 24 week limit. It would be in exceptional circumstances, say if there was a serious abnormaility in the foetus, the woman's life was in danger by continuing the pregnancy or she is in a vunerable siutation.
I am aware of what happens and still support it. Forced pregnancy is a much worse evil; the worst thing about it is that churches support this way of thinking too.

Answer 4

The Catholic Church has never said it is immoral!

Most abortions, if not almost all, are a medical decision between a woman and he Md! You want to claim the moral high ground by interceding and MAKING a woman have a child!

If a woman, a live breathing person, is more likely to die by having the fetus, you chose! Which one are you going let live? You think you have a moral right to make a decision to end a living persons life?

And lets don't play games with what you can see and what you can't!

At 20 weeks I don't believe there is one child born that survived. In fact, most don't until they have hit the magic 24 week gestation mark, and then they are likely to have issues for a long time!

If your heart huts so much, and it isn't your life you are playing God with, why do you give the unborn more empathy than a mother who is more likely than not to die!

You have seen 20 week olds survive! Really?

Non-viable delivery at 20–23 weeks gestation: observations and signs of life after birth
P I Macfarlane1, S Wood2 and J Bennett2
1 Department of Child Health, Rotherham General Hospital, Rotherham S60 2UD, UK
2 CESDI Office, Regent Court, 30 Regent Street, Sheffield S1 4DA, UK


Correspondence to:
Dr Macfarlane, Department of Child Health, Rotherham General Hospital, Rotherham S60 2UD, UK;
[e-mail]

Objective: To describe the outcome of labour, signs of life at birth, and duration of survival after delivery at 20–23 weeks gestation.

Design: An observational study using data from the Confidential Enquiry into Stillbirths and Deaths in Infancy 1995–2000.

Setting: All deliveries to mothers resident in Trent Health Region.

Patients: 1306 babies delivered at 20–23 weeks gestation.

Results: Termination of pregnancy accounted for 33% of deliveries at 20–23 weeks; these were excluded from further analysis. Spontaneous delivery occurred at a frequency of 2.5/1000 deliveries; 30% died before the onset of labour, 27% died during labour, and 35% showed signs of life at birth. Of the latter, 8% were not registered as statutory live births. Of the live born infants, the largest group (39%) had a heart beat but no other signs of life. There was no trend for infants of lower gestation to show fewer signs of life. Duration of survival varied widely (median 60 minutes at 20–22 weeks), and this did not increase with gestation until 23 weeks (median six hours), probably because of selective treatment. Survival curves are presented for each gestation group. At 23 weeks, 4.5% survived to 1 year of age; all were > 500 g birth weight. Below 23 weeks gestation, none survived, and 94% had died within 4 hours of age.

Conclusions: This information on surviving labour, signs of life at birth, duration of survival, and birth weight at 20–23 weeks gestation should help decision making in the management of pre-viable delivery.

Most 20 week old fetus weigh 9 ounces! And none live!

Laughing, you use terms that aren't accurate and misrepresent the facts!

Woman can only have a termination after the 20th week of her pregnancy if a doctor, after discussing it with another doctor or a registered midwife, believes that the pregnancy could be dangerous for the women or could result in a deformed baby.

That is the only reason!

And a fetus doesn't survive until the 23rd week and 4.5% live to be 1!

Answer 5

abortions that occur in the late second and third trimester are not elective. they occur because the fetus is either fatally ill or the woman's life is in jeopardy.

Answer 6

"Sometimes you hear people calmly speaking about their "20 week abortion" or some other persons "24 week abortion"

Sometimes, huh? How about more like NEVER.

Answer 7

Pro choicers won't admit that they are pro-abortion. This is why they don't care what happens to the child who's very life has been snatched from him or her by the person who is suppose to protect them.

They never thoroughly explain how a person killing a pregnant woman can be charged with two murders. Yet a mother killing the unseen child, is committing the same act yet not committing murder.

If a pro-abortionist sister were pregnant and going to have an abortion, they will say "it is your body therefore your choice". If that same sister said that she was going to commit suicide, would the pro-abortionist attempt to stop her?

Therefore, if one is truly pro-choice and NOT simply pro-abortion, that person would not intervene in their loved one's choice to kill themselves. Its their body right?

Answer 8

No, they don't. Furthermore, you'll find a lot of so-called educated libs that don't care. They view any infringement upon their personal rights as more important than a babe crying out form the womb.

Answer 9

Yes I do, and I also know it was so rarely used OBGYN students haven't known how to do one for a number of years. It isn't in the textbooks. Meaningless victory for the prolifers.

Abortion is never "ok", and I'd be very upset if I knew a woman who it didn't hurt to the core to have to make that decision. But it's still her choice regardless, and I have to respect that.

Answer 10

I agree with you. It horrifies me to think about it. It horrifies me even more to hear about "choice." I will admit to a bias in favor of life.

I do not know a person who was never a fetus.