Partial-birth abortion

Partial birth abortion (PBA) refers to most intact dilation and extraction (IDX) procedures where the fetus is alive at the time of the procedure — thus resulting in an abortion of the fetus. IDX procedures are also called dilation and extraction (D&X), intact dilation & evacuation (Intact D&E, or IDE), and Intrauterine Cranial Decompression (for the purposes of this article, IDX will be the term of choice). While the term "Partial Birth Abortion" largely refers to IDX procedures, in broader contexts the term is sometimes applied to dilation and evacuation (D&E) procedures. Though often performed during the same developmental stage wherein most D&X procedures are done, D&E is a separate and distinct procedure from IDX. A D&E procedure differs in that the fetus is killed during the process of dismemberment before leaving the womb, rather than being extracted intact.

Controversy

Often the debate over partial-birth abortion is over the name for this type of abortion, as well as the procedure itself. Those who support using the term say it describes a specific type of abortion in a phrasing that better represents what happens during the procedure. Those who oppose using the term say that the term is an deceptive political term invented to frame the argument in a way favorable to those in opposition to the procedure.

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The procedure is highly controversial. Supporters of the procedure argue that its use should be left to the discretion of the woman and her doctor — even in third-trimester cases. The inventor of the procedure called it "a quick, surgical outpatient method" http://www.vanderbilt.edu/SFL/partial-birth_abortion.htm for late second-trimester and early third-trimester abortions. Pro-life critics of the procedure consider it tantamount to infanticide or murder, and the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 describes it as "a gruesome and inhumane procedure that is never medically necessary" http://news.findlaw.com/usatoday/docs/abortion/2003s3.html. Congress also made the declaration in this act that the procedure was "never medically necessary". Having made this claim without performing independent peer-reviewed scientific research, this has caused a dispute about the proper behavior of Congress in and of itself, and many doctors and pro-choice groups disagree with the claim.

Related Topics:
Pro-life - Infanticide - Murder - Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act - Pro-choice

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Many pro-choice and pro-life advocates see the issue as a central battleground in the wider abortion debate.

Related Topics:
Pro-choice - Pro-life - Abortion

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A major part of the legal battle over banning the procedure relates to health exceptions, which would permit the procedure in special circumstances. In theory, the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which declared many state-level abortion restrictions unconsitutional, allowed states to impose some restrictions on second- and third-trimester abortions. The companion ruling, Doe v. Bolton, required that states' restrictions on abortions must provide an exception for the health of the mother, and defined health to include mental as well as physical health, though in his concurring opinion Chief Justice Burger wrote, "plainly, the Court today rejects any claim that the Constitution requires abortions on demand". In practice, the Supreme Court has found virtually every legislative restriction on abortion to be in violation of the "right" to an abortion created by Roe v. Wade. See below for exceptions.

Related Topics:
Roe v. Wade - Doe v. Bolton - Chief Justice Burger

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The New York Times has quoted Ron Fitzsimmons, Executive Director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, as saying that "in the vast majority of cases, the procedure is performed on a healthy mother with a healthy fetus that is 20 weeks or more along." Pro-life advocates feel that this allowance for the procedure, uncommon as it is, is an example of an excessive leeway in the interpretation of standards set in Roe v. Wade. Likewise, well-known abortionist George Tiller, while addressing the National Abortion Federation, stated that during the course of five years his practice performed abortions for "about 10,000 patients between 24 and 36 weeks" with only about "800 fetal anomalies between 26 and 36 weeks." http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abortion

Related Topics:
New York Times - Ron Fitzsimmons - National Coalition of Abortion Providers - Pro-life - Roe v. Wade - George Tiller - National Abortion Federation

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Supporters of late-term abortion procedures argue that they prevent the pregnant woman from having to undergo childbirth or abdominal and uterine incisions of a caesarian section (c-section) when the child would not survive. However, the inventor of the procedure has stated that most partial-birth abortions are elective http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/pbafact10.html. Critics of a ban on such abortions also claim that partial-birth abortion subjects mothers to unnecessary risks http://www.ppl.org/PJune_PostViability_2001.html for the convenience of the physician http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/pbafact10.html. Supporters of the ban, in contrast, claim that the risks are less than the risks of childbirth or of a C-section. Partial-birth abortion is particularly a target of pro-life advocates because they believe the procedure most clearly illustrates why abortions, and especially late-term abortions, are immoral.

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Opponents of a ban on the procedure have also argued that the definition of such a ban is so vague that the law would have a chilling effect on physicians performing any abortion or other gynecological procedures such as D&C (dilation and curettage), used for various conditions of the uterus.

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Some who want the procedure to remain legal in the United States claim that the ban is based on religious views about when life begins. They see the Bible as the basis for any efforts to restrict abortion in the US, and from there they argue that to rely on a religious text to determine when the life of a child begins is misguided because different cultures and religions have differing views on the subject. Those who want to outlaw this type of abortion point to the many laws in the United States that are based on religious values, and to te many world religions that condemn abortion on demand and consider abortion acceptable only in very limited circumstances (Judaism: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/abortion/relig_judaism1.shtmlhttp://www.jewsforlife.org/Jewish-leaders.cfm; Islam: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/abortion/relig_islam1.shtml; Hinduism:http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/abortion/relig_hinduism1.shtml; Buddhism: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/abortion/relig_buddhism1.shtml; Sikhism:http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/abortion/relig_sikhism.shtml; Catholicism:http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/abortion/relig_catholicism1.shtml; Anglicanism: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/abortion/relig_anglican1.shtml). Likewise, some atheists are also opposed to abortion.http://www.godlessprolifers.org/members.htmlhttp://swissnet.ai.mit.edu/~rauch/nvp/hentoff.html

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