Partial Birth Abortions
Partial birth abortions are one of the most divisive issues of today’s civilization. On November 5, 2003 there was a ban that prohibits doctors to perform this type of abortion. This ban has caused many debates and protests both for the “pro-life” and “pro-choice”. Partial birth abortion is the murder of an innocent baby and a disgrace to humanity.
Partial birth abortion (PBA) also known as (D and X) dilation and extraction is a procedure of which an abortion is done any time after 21 weeks of the pregnancy. Mothers, who have this medical procedure done later in their pregnancy, may discover that the unborn fetus cannot survive outside the womb. The procedure partial birth abortion (PBA) consists of the surgeon guided by ultra-sound reaching in the of the pregnant woman with a pair of forceps aiming for the feet of the fetus. The surgeon pulls out the fetus by the feet through the until just the head of the fetus is still inside the mother, the surgeon then using a pair of blunt scissors and places the scissors into the base of the skull making an opening that is big enough to fit a suction tube. The suction tube is inserted and extracts the skulls contents. Finally the dead fetus is removed. This is a baby that has a heart beat before the procedure is started. Is this murder? Babies that are born during 23 weeks of pregnancy have a 95% likelihood of survival.
Here is a diagram that shows exactly how a partial birth abortion is preformed.
After two days of having the labor induced, the doctor will use a set of forceps and grab the fetus by the feet.
Guided by an ultrasound the fetus is then pulled through the birthing canal by the feet.
The doctor will then pull the fetus out of the birthing canal, leaving the head of the fetus inside the mother.
The doctor will then use a pair of scissors to pierce the fetus’s head right above the spinal cord. With the scissors in place the doctor then makes the hole bigger.
Once the hole in the fetus’s head is big enough the doctor will then place a tube from a suction canister into the hole sucking out the brain matter. The head then collapses and the fetus is then pulled from the birthing canal.
Diagram: Life Advocate Magazine
When is it right to have the procedure of a partial-birth abortion preformed? There are many reasons why people have to have a partial birth abortion procedure done. The most common reason to have a partial birth abortion is the fetus (baby) is dead inside the womb. The fetus might still is alive but continuing with the pregnancy would seriously damage the woman’s health or place the woman in danger of dying. If the fetus is alive while in the womb but once the baby is delivered it could be malformed to the point that the baby would live in a vegetable state for the rest of its life or die shortly after birth is another reason that a partial birth abortion. Many doctors have stated that it is much easier on the mother’s mental health if the procedure of partial birth abortion is done instead of having to go through the child birthing experience.
There are many risks that can cause health issues to the mother’s that have a partial birth procedure done. A procedure like this it could sterilize the mother to where she could not have more children. According to Dr. Pamela Smith, Director of Medical Education, Dept. of OB-GYN at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago (Willke,1999) “There are absolutely no obstetrical situations encountered in this country which would require partial- birth abortion to preserve the life or health of the mother." “And she adds two more risks: cervical incompetence in subsequent pregnancies caused by three days of forceful dilation of the cervix, and uterine rupture caused by rotating the fetus in the womb”. It is clear that there are doctors that agree and disagree on the subject of partial birth abortion. The procedure partial birth abortion takes three days to complete, by dilating the cervix for two days leaves opportunity for infection. Depression from knowing that they were the ones that decided to end the child’s life.
Just how many partial-birth abortions are performed every year? According to the Alan Guttmacher institution (AIG) in the year 2001 there was 19,500(Finer, 2000). This is a table that shows the amount of abortion that where done in a year since 1973. The total was poled at 1.3 million abortions a year. This also shows at how far along in the pregnancy the mother was when the abortions where done. There are only about 1.5% of abortions that are being preformed are in reality partial birth abortions. This is information that is not understood throughout the years.
Gestational Age Percentage Yearly Total
Less than 9 weeks 57.9% 752,700
9-10 weeks 20.3% 263,900
11-12 weeks 10.2% 132,600
13-15 weeks 6.2% 80,600
16-20 weeks 4.3% 55,900
21+ weeks 1.5% 19,500
Source: Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2001.
The Partial-Birth Ban Act 2003 was signed by President George W. Bush on November 5th 2003. Under this ban “Any physician who, knowingly performs a partial-birth abortion and in this manner kills a human fetus shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both, and monetary damages for psychological injury to the husband or parents of the pregnant woman.. Congress found and declared this was a partial-birth abortion –“is a gruesome and inhumane procedure that is never medically necessary and should be prohibited” (Section 2). This bill is the first direct national restriction of any type of abortion since 1973, when the Supreme Court legalized abortion.
The Partial-Birth Act of 2003 would allow the abortion to take place if the mother’s life is at risk. This will then need to be submitted to the courts for approval or reasoning for why the procedure was done. There has been reported by news stations that the procedure would never be done. This is a lie, as stated in the CBS evening news on October 21, 2003 it was reported twice that the bill would “never” allow a “late-term abortion,” a compound fallacy. What the bill states is that the baby must be killed outside the mother’s womb.
Hilary Clinton is against partial birth abortions as seen here on a debate in Manhattan Debate. Hilary states “I have said many times that I can support a ban on late-term abortions, including partial-birth abortions, so long as the health and life of the mother is protected. I’ve met women who faced this heart-wrenching decision toward the end of a pregnancy. Of course it’s a horrible procedure. No one would argue with that. But if your life is at stake, if your health is at stake, if the potential for having any more children is at stake, this must be a woman’s choice”
Is this murder by waiting till it is outside the womb? This is a question that has been debated about for many years. At 20 weeks of pregnancy, the live baby can possibly breathe for about an hour before dying. When at 24 weeks of pregnancy there are more than half that are born survive. Most partial-birth abortions are performed during the 20 plus weeks of pregnancy.
The law was enacted in 2003 but in 2007 its constitutionality was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Gonzales vs. Carhart. Just one more word for thought remember there is no such thing as a fetus that is all the way out of the mother’s womb and alive.
In today’s news there was Late-term abortiontionist that was murdered on May 31, 2009 in Wichita Kansas. George Tiller was gunned down as he walked in to church. This happened after a decade of protests at his abortion clinic. Tiller was charged with 19 counts of illegally aborting babies in violation of a state law that requires a second physician – without legal or financial ties to the abortionist – sign off on the procedure once the unborn child reaches a state in which it could survive outside the womb according to the WorldNet Daily (WorldNet Daily, 2009). This is just proof that even today this is a procedure that is still going on and is a heated subject.
"However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence." – President Obama.
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