| A proper, philosophically valid definition of man
as 'a rational animal,' would not permit anyone to ascribe the status
of 'person' to a few human cells. |
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— Ayn Rand
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Are abortions safer when performed earlier or later in the pregnancy?
The earlier an abortion is performed the safer it as earlier abortions have
less complications. In 1995, 89% of all abortions in the United States were
performed within the first 12-13 weeks after the last menstrual period.
[Source: "Susan Dudley, Ph.D. "Abortion After Twelve Weeks" National Abortion
Federation 1996]
What are rational reasons for why a woman would perform a late term abortion?
Abortion may be performed at later periods usually for the following reasons:
(1) undiagnosed pregnancy until the late term, (2) medical complications
(a pregnancy could worsen her health and/or threaten her life, the woman
has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy), (3) an abnormal fetus (i.e.
it is developing with an incomplete spinal cord and this problem was not
diagnosed until late in the pregnancy), (4) teen age pregnancy (teen must
face unnecessary delays which prevent the teen from having an early term
abortion, or the teen is raped and keeps it a secret in "shame" until it
is obvious she is pregnant -- she should have the rapist aborted!), (5)
time to raise money to pay for the abortion, (6) physician shortage in many
counties so that woman must travel to major cities to have an abortion (84%
of all counties in the U.S. have no abortion provider, and 94% of rural
counties have none), (7) state imposed waiting periods. [Source: "Susan
Dudley, Ph.D. "Abortion After Twelve Weeks" National Abortion Federation
1996]
How many third trimester abortions are performed?
"Fewer than 1% of abortions are performed after 20 weeks, and they are extremely
rare after 26 weeks of pregnancy" [Ibid]. Typically abortions provided in
the third trimester are limited to cases of severe fetal abnormalities.
One prime example was a good friend of mine who was pregnant -- and dearly
wanted to have a baby -- and in the third trimester it was discovered that
her future child had developed without a full spinal cord, so that the baby
would die at birth. So not to undergo the agony of such a situation she
had a late term "partial-birth" abortion. Unfortunately, the state of Florida
where she lived prohibited such abortions, so she had to fly across the
country at great expense -- and much harassment by idiotic "pro-lifers"
-- to have the abortion.
How much does an abortion cost?
In 1995, the cost of an early abortion ranges from $200 to $400. Later
term abortions cost approximately $400-700 between the 13th and 16th week;
after that, the cost goes up about $100/week. The cost increases over time
due to greater complications in the procedure. [Source: "Susan Dudley, Ph.D.
"Economics of Abortion" National Abortion Federation 1996]
More questions? Please visit our frequently asked questions
page.
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