Late-term abortion: It happens, and it needs to stop

The facts show that late-term abortion in the final months of pregnancy does occur throughout the U.S., and it’s time we stopped it. One of the keys to determining what’s true about abortion is knowing the facts.

1. Late-term abortion, until the moment of birth, is legal in the U.S.

This basic fact stuns many people, and yet abortionists, clinic workers, and others admit that babies who are big enough to survive outside the womb, including “healthy babies at seven, eight and nine months gestation,” are being aborted in the U.S.

It’s not exactly popular to perform abortions when babies are clearly well developed, can survive outside the womb, and are often seen dancing, kicking, or hiding on ultrasound screens. (Though, incidentally, these things can be seen during the first trimester, not just late-term.)

A poll released in January 2016 revealed that even “66% of those who describe themselves as pro-choice say abortion should be allowed, at most, in the first trimester, in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother, or never permitted.”

However, despite popular opinion and basic humanity, seven states and Washington, D.C. have no age restriction on abortion at all. Abortion can literally be performed up until the moment of birth, on the final day, in these states. And many of the 43 states that do restrict abortion still have exceptions for things like rape, disability of the child, and health conditions of the mother.

In the short interview below, former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino explains that abortion is not medically necessary to save the life of the mother. A consensus of more than 1,000 health experts – including OB/GYNs, neonatologists, and other physicians – agree.

A Conversation with a Former Abortionist: Is abortion ever medically necessary?

2. Partial-birth abortion is truly gruesome, and it’s not fully illegal nationwide.

Here’s a description (from the federal law banning most partial-birth abortions):

The term ‘partial-birth abortion’ means an abortion in which the person performing the abortion deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living fetus until, in the case of a head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother, or, in the case of breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother, for the purpose of performing an overt act that the person knows will kill the partially delivered living fetus; and performs the overt act, other than completion of delivery, that kills the partially delivered living fetus.

However, even though federal law bans most partial-birth abortions (PBA), only 19 states have actually banned the procedure themselves. The federal law bans PBA when it is committed on federal property – such as military bases – or when it involves interstate commerce. As explained here, this means that partial-birth abortions could shockingly still be performed in the other 31 states under certain circumstances. While a number of these 31 states ban late-term abortion, and while PBA is commonly thought of as a late-term abortion procedure, it can be performed earlier in a pregnancy as well. Three of the states that ban PBA ban it only “post-viability.”

Additionally, as Lila Rose explains:

What likely comes as a surprise to most Americans is that partial-birth abortions have been banned in name only.  The federal law banning partial-birth abortions still allows for the abortionist to partially deliver a child – with her legs dangling outside of her mother or most of her head being delivered – before he kills her.  Anyone can clearly see that the child is only seconds away from being born and having legal protections if it weren’t for the abortionist waiting to kill her as she moves through the birth canal.

3. Planned Parenthood performs late-term abortions.

Late-term abortions aren’t just abortions that happen on the final day of pregnancy or sometime in the ninth month. Many people consider a late-term abortion to be an abortion performed after viability – after a baby could survive outside the womb or any abortion after 20 weeks. Abortions after 20 weeks are performed for reasons far beyond the health or life of the mother, including as a way for abusers to cover up incest and rape, as illustrated here.

Planned Parenthood performs abortions past 20 weeks and after viability at multiple clinics (despite Cecile Richards’ denial to Congress), and Live Action News has provided the details, along with screenshots from Planned Parenthood’s website here.

4. All abortion is gruesome.

While Americans were forced to face the reality of late-term and partial-birth abortion on the debate stage Wednesday night, all forms of abortion violently take the life of a unique, living human being. Dr. Anthony Levatino uses medical animation to describe the most common abortion procedures, used at various points of pregnancy, in the videos here. He describes a D&E abortion in this video:

2nd Trimester Surgical Abortion: Dilation and Evacuation (D & E)