Late term abortion- I'm feeling disturbed

What is your opinion on late term abortion? I am pro choice but just saw how late some abortions take place, that sometimes it survives the abortion, babies have screamed during the procedure...im going back and checking sources to make sure they're credible. I'm definitely for it on a case by case basis - but I can't help feeling a little sick and disturbed about it right now.

 

Hey!

So that's a loaded question. I've actually assisted on both elective and medically necessary abortions (it's part of training to become a doctor) and you will see limbs and organs during the procedure. It was very tough to perform but for me personally, this was the choice of the mother and the mother is what keeps this fetus alive, her decision is what I support. There's a saying in the OB-GYN field (these are the doctors who perform terminations), "mother before baby". We do everything we can to keep mom alive and healthy before the fetus. It sounds sick until you realize that the mother is a full grown human with a conscience and decision making capability. A fetus is tissue that dies without external elective care.

From a medical perspective, we have the technology to keep a fetus alive as early as 32 to 34 weeks. These premies can grow into normal people without any deficits. So when late term abortion is performed, what is really being terminated? As graphic as it might be, it is mom's decision we support until labor. It might not give you much solace but it's the perspective on this that matters the most.

 

Not to mention isn't late term abortion something like 1% of all abortions? Less? I thought I read over 90% take place in the first trimester alone, let alone that first month or two into the second trimester where I imagine a vast majority of the rest take place

 

So a baby is being terminated when it's that far along as opposed to a fetus. What's the reason most mothers get an abortion in the third trimester?

 

Thanks for the information by the way!

 

I believe so, but it's getting to the point of not knowing what sources to trust.

 

Almost never is it elective... I've never participated in nor seen an elective abortion beyond ten or twelve weeks. The terminations I've seen thereafter were for cases where mom's life was in danger. For example, there's a condition called HELPP where basically mom's body for no real reason goes into failure, likely due to her body rejecting the fetus. The only way to save mom is to deliver and often that means termination. And the reality is is that if Mom fails, the fetus dies too.

 

With better education and declining rates of unintended pregnancies, rates of elective late term abortions are near zero. Personally, education and access are the two key things we need. If teens only know about abstinence then it's a huge issue.