Partial Birth Abortion
In the continuing debates on the legality and morality of abortion, "partial birth" abortions have become a hot topic. What exactly is a partial birth abortion? Nebraska state legislation defines it as "an abortion procedure in which the person performing the abortion partially delivers a living unborn child before killing the unborn child and completing delivery" (1). While this definition may be fine for legal purposes, it still does not address the actual procedures; we still do not know what an actual partial birth abortion procedure entails.
The most common procedure is called Intact Dilation and Evacuation, or D&E. D&E involves dismembering the fetus inside the uterine cavity and then pulling it out through the already dilated cervix (1) . Another less common, but more controversial method is the dilation and extraction method, or D&X. This procedure requires a woman to take medication several days in advance to dilate the cervix. Once the cervix has dilated, she returns to complete the procedure. When she returns, the physician turns the fetus around in the uterus so that it is positioned feet first, and then delivers the fetus until only the head remains inside the mother's body. At this point, the physician punctures the base if the skull and suctions out the contents of the fetus' head, causing the skull to collapse. The dead fetus is then removed from the woman's body (2). In each case the head (or more) is left inside the woman's body because in order for a birth to have occurred under common law the head of the fetus must leave the mother's body. Under the current interpretation of the United States Constitution, a person must be born in order to be protected by the government, so by leaving the head in the mother's body the procedure is considered to be legally viable (1).
Proponents of a ban on partial birth abortions cite what they see as the extreme cruelty of the procedures as violating the constitutional rights of the fetus. They believe that birth should be defined as occurring as soon as any part of the fetus' torso above the navel is visible, or when any of the fetus' body has left the mother (1). Many argue that since the fetus in undoubtedly alive during the procedure, the issue of whether or not an actual birth has occurred should be of little consequence (3).
Abortions have been performed for thousands of years. In the 1800s abortions began to be outlawed. The reasons for anti-abortion laws varied for each state. Some people did not want the world to be dominated by newly arrived immigrants. Abortion in the 1800s were very unsafe due to the fact that the doctors had a limited educations and hospitals were not common. The outlawing of abortions from 1880 to 1973 led to many woman attempting illgeal abortions. (add author). Almost two hundred women died from attempting illegal abortions in 1965. Between two hundred thousand and one million illegal abortions were given each year. In states where local laws restrict the availability of abortion, women tend to have the lowest level of education and income. Additionally, in those states, less money goes toawrds education, welfare, fostercare programs, and adoption services. (Anderson, 5).
Palmer, Louis J. Encyclopedia of Abortion in the United States McFarland & Company, Inc. 2002
Until the mid 1800s, abortion was unrestricted and unregulated in the United States. The justifications for criminalizing it varied from state to state. One big reason was population control, which addressed fears that the population would be dominated by the children of newly ...
Over the duration of the last century, abortion in the Western hemisphere has become a largely controversial topic that affects every human being. In the United States, at current rates, one in three women will have had an abortion by the time they reach the age of 45. The questions surrounding the laws are of moral, social, and medical dilemmas that rely upon the most fundamental principles of ethics and philosophy. At the center of the argument is the not so clear cut lines dictating what life is, or is not, and where a fetus finds itself amongst its meaning. In an effort to answer the question, lawmakers are establishing public policies dictating what a woman may or may not do with consideration to her reproductive rights. The drawback, however, is that there is no agreement upon when life begins and at which point one crosses the line from unalienable rights to murder.
In 1950, an estimated 200,000 to 1.3 million illegal abortions were performed (Dyer par. 3). However, illegal abortions were very unsanitary and dangerous, so many women died as a result. In the 1970’s, around the time of Roe vs. Wade, women’s rights movements were being staged around the country. Women were demanding equality in all aspects of life. Many women’s rights groups were formed to protest their demands for equal rights and change. During the second half of the 20th century a sexual revolution began in the U.S. and the public pressured states to ease abortion laws. Some states acknowledged the public, and eased abortion restrictions. However, many states such as Texas didn’t ease abortion restrictions. Some women were fortunate enough to travel outside their state to have an abortion, but many poor women couldn’t afford to. This raised more questions about equality. Government interference in sexual matters was being highly questioned around the time of Roe vs. Wade, with the concept of privacy. Many women believed they should have an unrestricted right to an abortion. The Supreme Court had already decided on cases that might provide reason to rule against anti abortion
For over two hundred years, abortion has been apart of the United States culture. During the 1700’s, Americans viewed abortion merely as a means of ridding women of pregnancies that resulted from illicit relationships. Birthrates in the U.S. were extremely high at the end of the eighteenth century, so consequently the Americans wanted to lower birth rates. This social trend is best cited as “induced abortions became such a popular method of fertility control that it becomes a kind of epidemic” (qtd in Omran). Abortion went from a marginal practice of the desperate few to being a significant factor in the effort of American women to regulate their own fertility. In the 1830’s the use of new contraceptive techniques became available, but for a short while, the abortion rate increases with the new introduction to contraceptives. This is due to the idea that people thought that they could have more sex, which they did, but most of the general public did not master the use of contraceptives, so many “mistakes” occurred. Even when contraceptives were used correctly, the quality of contraceptive devices was not very good. After contraception devices became more mainstream, the abortion rate lowered(Sachdev 150-151).
...actually take the fetus out of the mother’s womb with surgical scissors and a suction device is placed through the opening of the brain so the head can collapse. The Supreme Court case in 2003 of Stenberg v Carhart in Nebraska did not allow partial-birth abortions and ruled that it was unconstitutional. Since then laws such as The Partial Birth Control Abortion Ban Act became in effect on 2003 by George W. Bush and it prohibited this horrendous act except in rare cases where it would be absolutely necessary to save the mother’s life. After that in 2007 in the Supreme Court case of Gonzales v Carhart, upheld the federal ban on partial-birth abortion and reversed the Stenberg v Carhart ruling. Gonzales created the precedent that anyone who “delivers and kills a living fetus could be subject to legal consequences”, unless it was done to save the life of the mother ().
Perspectives (Volume 24, Number 2, June 1998). The “Late Term Abortion.” allaboutlifechallenges.org. 2002http://www.allaboutlifechAllenges.org http://www.seattle-term-abortion.htm>. “Late-term abortion.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
If the mother waits until the third trimester (when the baby is more developed), then she must have Partial Birth Abortion. Using Ultra-sound, the doctor grabs the baby’s legs and forces out all but the head. Scissors are then jammed into the back of the skull and opened, creating a larger hole. A suction tube sucks the brains out, causing the skull to collapse. Then the dead baby is removed.Believe it or not, the mother is also harmed. In Suction Aspiration, if any tissue is left inside, it’ll become infected.
Koop Everett C. “ Abortion Risks and procedures” Protect Texas, Texas Department of Health. 2003.
It is essential for today’s society to have knowledge on all the potential options for abortion. There are two types of abortion, medical abortion and surgical abortion. Medical abortions involve the woman taking medications or pills to result in an early miscarriage. Within the first 9 weeks the woman only feels a heavy and/or painful period after the abortion, but if after 9 weeks it “involves taking medicines to cause the womb to contract and push out the pregnancy; from 22 weeks on an injection to womb is also required” (What is an Abortion?). A sometimes-common pill taken is “the morning after pill.” This is for emergency purposes; if one has unprotected sex, taking this pill may prevent pregnancy. A surgical abortion is physically removing the fetus. The Vacuum Aspiration procedure can be done within the first 15 weeks of pregnancy and is “removing pregnancy by gentle suction and can be done awake or asleep” (What is an Abortion?). The Dilation and Eva...
Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy before birth. An abortion results in the death of the embryo or fetus and may be either spontaneous or induced. For years, abortion has been an extremely controversial subject. The history of abortion reaches back not just decades, but centuries, and even milleniums. Today, policies regarding legal abortion in the U.S. is being debated everywhere. Many myths and misconceptions confuse this issue. A better understanding of the history of abortion in America can help provide a context for an improved policy in the future.
According to CNN (cable news network), since the legality of abortions by the supreme courts in 1973, the number of abortions has increased gradually. The CDC (centers for disease control and prevention) reported 1,292,606 abortions in 1980. The number count continued by millions until the year 2000. Rates began to decrease, but the numbers still remained high. 2009 is the year CDC has recently given reports on the statistics of abortion in the United States. The ratio in that year has been 227 out of 1000 live births. 64% of abortions legally induced were performed at eight or fewer weeks during the gestation period. Women ages 20-29 were the 57.1% who went for an abortion. 51.2 % of the women were white (including Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women) 41.2% of the women were black, and 7.6% of adult females from other races. The top three states with the most abortions were: New York, Florida, and Texas. The statistics shown is inco...
...ence of GM crops is that genetic modifications can develop proteins in plants which a consumer could be allergic to. For example, one of the most common allergies is with the peanut. What would happen if peanut proteins interlace into tomato seeds? Then people with peanut allergies would not be able to eat genetically modified tomatoes. There are many reasons to stop the production of GM food. It can produce serious long-term nature accidents, but there is no way to know much about it until is too late (“GM Food” 2).
Population control comes in many forms: cancer, famine, A.I.D.S, genocide, war and natural disasters, but never has one been so celebrated and socially accepted before abortion. Abortion has been practiced for hundreds of years and medical technology has advanced accordingly; providing a safer and much more sanitary procedure for the women receiving the operation, but the result remains the same for the defenseless child. Abortion continues to be one of the most debated and country dividing topics this nation has seen. In the recent past, there has been steady movement towards the governmental restrictions of abortion. The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 was one of the greatest victories in congress related to this topic. The ban restricts a certain form of abortion (partial-birth abortion) past 24 weeks from conception (United States Congress). Even though this is a positive step in the right and moral direction, the act needs to be revised. It needs to have the allotted time reduced from 24 weeks to 20 weeks based upon new medical research that fetuses can “feel pain” prior to 24 weeks. Abortion will never become completely illegal (that is just harsh reality), but the restrictions that govern abortions can be fine tuned to incorporate a smaller and more humane window for abortions.