The Issue of Partial Birth Abortions

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Recommended: History of abortion laws and pertinent court cases

The Issue of Partial Birth Abortions Recently, congress has been going over the issue of partial birth abortions. A partial birth abortion is performed in the second and third trimesters. A partial birth abortion entails (1) inducing a breech delivery with forceps, (2) delivering the legs, arms, and torso only, (3) puncturing the back of the skull with scissors or a trochar, (4) inserting a suction curette into the skull, (5) suctioning the contents of the skull so as to collapse it, (6) completing the delivery. A partial breech delivery is not considered a birth at common law, where it is the passage of the head that is essential (Abortion Laws). Congress is currently in the process of passing the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2000. Both bills, H.R. 3660 and S. 1692, prohibit any physician from knowingly performing a partial-birth abortion, unless it is necessary to save the mother's life that is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury. There are many people that oppose bans on safe abortion procedures. Although these bans are characterized as a single, late procedure, the bans are in fact not limited to any stage of pregnancy. They define the conduct to be banned so broadly as to reach an array of safe and common methods of abortion. Doctors have testified repeatedly and courts across the country have found that the bans can apply to all procedures used in the second trimester of pregnancy and even to some first trimester abortions. A court stated that the law "has the effect of inhibiting the vast majority of abortion procedures and would significantly increase the health risks for a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus" (ACLU). Some say that the government should stay out of the ope... ... middle of paper ... ...ed with a vote of 63-34. It was then sent to the House on October 25, 1999. On April 5, 2000, H.R. 3660 was passed with a vote of 287-141, then there was a motion to reconsider. It was then receive by the Senate on April 6, 2000. I believe that if a woman wants to get an abortion, then the women should have the choice. I think that if the woman wants to get an abortion, she must have a good reason to get one. It could be for medical reasons, or for the fact that she is a teenage mother and cannot take care of the baby. I think that there is already to many homeless children out there, and by banning abortions, we are just adding to the number of homeless children. It should be the mothers choice, and the mothers choice only. Not the choice of politicians who think that they know what is right for women when they have never had to make that sort of decision.

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