abortion laws?- massachusetts?

Question

I am pregnant and am wondering about abortion ONLY because I am debating on whether to have the genetic testing done and if they say that when my baby is born it would be dead or that it wil die young or have horrible life quality, then I don't want to put the child, my fiance and myself through that more than we have to. I want a healthy baby. So anyone's input would be great unless you're going to bash me for abortion. If that's the case you just don't get the question.

I don't see why the question is fishy? I just wasn't sure if it's too late to ask for the testing. I would rather know even though I'm sure my baby is probably fine.

Answer 1

remember that the doctors are NOT always 100%.
they could tell you soemthing is wrong but when all is said and done the baby could be normal.....either way this a CHILD we are talking about. WHAT will you do if the testing is fine and then LATER after the child is born something goes wrong? car accident or anything that would disable your child or perhaps cause brain damage...what will you do then. will you throw this child away becasue they are no longer healthy?

every parent wants a healthy child and i hope you have a healthy babay but things can happen after the fact and YOU need to think about that.

Answer 2

The best person to talk to about this is your OBGYN, she/he can give you an amniocentesis, or one of the other standard tests. As far as abortions im pretty sure the law applies to every state, and it states that you can not abort past 3 months of pregnancy. If u are really very worried about your baby having genetic abnormalities, due to hereditary diseases are age you should also talk to a genetic counselor if you do decide to abort and then have another child. But I COMPLETELY understand where your coming from on this, there are so many people out there that are so worried about abortion being wrong that they dont think about how a birth defect can really affect that childs life quality. Its not fair to let a child suffer for the rest of their life just for your own personal issues. And I hope that everything goes well for you and you have a very healthy baby! Good Luck

However I think the cut off date for abortion due to genetic abnormalities is farther along, like around 4.5 months

Answer 3

Hopefully, you won't need this information but...

You could have a problem depending on when and how you would need to have it done. Massachusetts law isn't your problem. In April of this year, the Supreme Court by a one vote margin ruled that the "partial-birth" abortion ban is constitutional. It doesn't prosecute the pregnant woman, it prosecutes anyone performing the abortion.

So you would need to have it done as early as possible once you had the results. There are medical ways that don't include the "partial birth" method if you do them early enough. Check the Planned Parenthood website or ask your doctor. They can tell you what options you would have.

Best of luck to you. I hope you have a lovely, healthy baby on the way.

P.S. Be careful about calling any organization but Planned Parenthood in the phone book. A lot of anti-abortion people are setting up fake "clinics" so they can rope women in to see their scary brochures and faked horror videos to stop them from getting abortions.

Answer 4

Your best bet would be to get the test done at 10 weeks if possible which would give you 2 weeks to decided what to do. I say 12 weeks, because at that point the abortion procedure changes due to the fact that the baby is bigger, and the bones are stronger. You really need to look into the abortion procedure (Scu, MNS, DAE) before you decide how long you would wait. And talk with your doctor about the differnce in the abortions and their effects on any future pregnancys you have.

Also, be careful with the genetic testing. I have heard alot of cases where mothers are told something is wrong, and when they do a second test, they are told that the first was incorrect and their baby is fine. (what unescessary stess) You will want to talk to your doctor about accuracy of the test, and if something does come up, look for a second test and opinion.

Consider how much joy a child could provide even if it was only for a year or a month. My friends found out at 12 weeks that her baby would not survive past birth, but she carried to term, and was able to hold her daughter alive for acouple minutes. To me it was heart breaking, but she said never having that chance or giving up on it would have been heart breaking.

Answer 5

Call your local planned parenthood. Or look up Abortion in the yellow pages. (I swear to God, it's actually there).
Make an appointment to speak to someone about the laws.

Your doctor will also go over the results with you after the screening. Make sure he/she understands what you plan to do with "bad" news. That way she/he schedules the test early enough to make the abortion less traumatic.

I have always said, don't get the test if you are having the baby either way. The test is only somewhat accurate. Make sure you speak with your ob/gyn about the percentage rate for accuracy BEFORE you make any life altering decisions.

Answer 6

genetic testing should be done at about 18 weeks, the deadline for abortions is usually 24 weeks. I had a baby with a single artery cord and they did an extensive ultrasound looking for defects that can go along with this, because they can be severe, but luckily the cord was a fluke and she turned out fine. BUT the genetic counsellor told us that 24 weeks was the cut off and that we were cutting it close if we had to go that route.

Answer 7

I do not know the exact week cut off time but you should talk to your doctor because the laws can be slightly different if you just wanted an abortion vs. you are getting one for a medical reason. If your doctor can not help, contact your local planned parenthood. They are a wealth of knowledge. Good Luck with your testing....don't freak out until you get results. It will prob end up completely normal.

Answer 8

Pre-natal tests are not 100%. The test could say that your baby is "normal", but when s/he is born has something like Down Syndrome. What if something happens to him/her when she gets older, like getitng hit by car as s/he is crossing the street, or hits her/his head after slipping on ice, or other physical damage that could be detrimental to your child's "quality of life". Regardless of whether or not your child is "normal" (a term I hate, hence the quotes) his or her happiness depends on how the parents and the child (especially the parents when the child is younger) views and celebrates life.

My child is supposedly "normal" but I won't know until she is born. However, I'm already awed and grateful beyond words for the blessing with which God has found worthy to give my husband and me.

Answer 9

The only thing I will say is if you are going to have the genetics testing done understand that the results are not 100% accurate. I have a friend that gave birth in march and prior to her delivering she had genetic testing done and they told her that her baby would be born with downs...she decided to forgoe any further testing and deliver as normal and wouldn't you know it she gave birth to a gorgeous healthy downsfree little girl!!

Answer 10

why would you worry about this? it is not normal worries for a pregnant woman, if your child is dead or has no heartbeat then you would have a still born, and you do not need genetic testing to find that out it would be obvious in a checkup, do you have some kind of family disorder that warrents this test? this question sounds fishy, you really are making no sense