Late abortion is generally defined as an abortion after the 24-week point in the pregnancy, also known as the 3rd trimester. However, it is difficult to determine the exact point at which a pregnancy becomes late-term, because this depends on the viability (ability to survive outside of the womb) of the fetus. When the fetus is viable, the pregnancy is considered late-term.
Most doctors won’t do abortions after the fetus is 20 weeks. It’s illegal to do them after 24 weeks, but there are exceptions made in cases in which the mother or fetus is at great risk for issues health. In these situations, two physicians must be present to properly assess and determine that continuing with the pregnancy indeed poses danger.
In my opinion, the mother’s health must be prioritized during pregnancy, as I mentioned in the last post concerning pregnancy caused by rape or incest. I am not in favor of late-term abortion due to a last minute change of heart or laziness in not scheduling an earlier appointment. However, in cases of major health concerns, I cannot dispute a woman’s choice to put herself first (or the fetus first, if he/she is found to have severe health problems, and the woman chooses to abort).
What’s your opinion? Should late-term abortion be acceptable when health is at risk, or is unacceptable in all cases?
(If you'd like more information on issues such as unplanned pregnancy, post-abortion healing, and more, please visit my website.)
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