RH Reality Check linked to a fascinating article on a site called “Science Notes” about the reasons for third trimester abortions. As regular readers know, I’ve been hunting for good stats so I was interested in the author’s data about “What causes third trimester abortions?”
The author recounted a 1999 study that concluded:
- 40% of late term abortions happened because “an earlier test indicated that a defect existed but not how serious it was.”
- In 37%, “an earlier test failed to find the serious defects that showed up later.”
- In 18%, “a diagnosis for this kind of defect can’t be made until the third trimester.”
- And in 5%, “doctors or parents delayed the decision to abort.”
Stunningly, all of the late term abortions seemed to have occurred due to fetal abnormalities, dramatically bolstering the case of pro-choicers that these rare procedures invariably occur because of horrifying fetal defects.
So I clicked on the footnote and looked at the original study.
It turns out the original report, conducted at Maternité Port Royal University Hospital, Paris, France, only looked at late-term abortions involving fetal abnormalities. That’s right, 100% of the abortions showed defects because it was a study of fetuses with defects.
posted June 24, 2009 at 12:24 am
Ah, statistics – wily and difficult to understand, though simple to manipulate. Always read the fine print, look at the bio of the surveyer, and keep your cynicism and suspicions right out where everyone can see them. Even when I find stats that support an argument I am making i am cautious to use them for the very reason that they dance like the stars above a cartoon characters head after being hit by an anvil.
posted June 24, 2009 at 10:56 am
It doesn’t matter if the study was done only on fetuses with abnormalities. This study underlines the fact that many abnormalities are not known until the third trimester. It is against the law in our country to abort healthy, third trimester fetuses. There are clear procedures, including a 2nd doctor’s opinion, that surround a late term abortion. Many anti-abortionists would have us believe that a “headache” is cause used for a late term abortion. Obviously they have never faced the agony of making this choice for a baby the parents wanted.
If parents can make life or death decisions for there children when they are born, they can make them before they are born.
posted June 24, 2009 at 10:58 am
Thank you for pointing this out- Along with this the pro-choice and planned parenthood stats say abortion is safer than child birth…Their stats on pregnancy mortality rate also include women who die while pregnant but not pregnancy or child birth related. If I were pregnant and got into a car accident and died I would be concidered a pregnancy mortality but even if I were pregnant I would have died the pregnancy didn’t kill me the car accident did….So misleading.
posted June 24, 2009 at 11:41 am
Late term abortion is currently LEGAL for all of reasons mentioned in this study. The current requirement is that other doctors ok the procedure. Late term abortions for medical reasons occur all of the time in the US — what does not and should not occur, late term abortions for no medical reason, which is what Dr. Tiller was performing for high dollar amounts. He absolutely should not have been murdered, but he is not the martyr that people paint him to be. Other doctors perform these procedures under the guidelines of the law — he was operating outside the law. In a pro-choice ad, a rape victim received an abortion at 8 MONTHS from Dr. Tiller. Now, I feel terrible this young woman was raped, however, this does not justify that murder of a CHILD at 8 months gestation. Abortion was available upto six months…there has to be some personal responsbility with abortion. If not, we can throw away our humanity.
posted June 24, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Kelly,
If parents make death decisions you say for their children already born the same way they make for those not born yet, the consequences are so wonderful: either life in prison or the death penalty in many of these cases.
In other words, there is a limit to parental rights over their children. They cannot decide their children are unfit to live after they are born. That is what makes killing children before they are born so heinous. It is no different as you admitted.
posted June 24, 2009 at 12:13 pm
http://www.montfort.org.br/index.php?secao=imprensa&subsecao=mundo&artigo=19980928&lang=eng
posted June 24, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Dianne,
The woman was raped and now you expect her to suffer the physical anguish of that rape every day for the next nine months? To risk her life giving birth because of the most vicious assault imaginable?
There is no reasoning with people like you. You just want to impose your hateful will upon everyone.
Thank God we live in a country where christianists like you are reigned in by the rule of law.
posted June 24, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Panthera– I’m adamantly pro-choice, but I think you attacked Dianne unfairly here. I think her main point was that it’s unconscionable to have an abortion at 8 months for any reason that doesn’t involve saving the mother’s life, not that all rape victims should be forced to have their rapists’ babies. (She may believe that, but did not state so here).
I think all people would draw a line somewhere. Despite the propaganda, pro-choicers don’t believe in so called “partial birth abortion.” Thinking about what cut-off for what reasons is appropriate for abortion is an important discussion.
posted June 25, 2009 at 2:24 am
I don’t care if 100% of abortions are elective, it’s my body. Mine, not yours and God help the person who tries to take it over.
posted June 25, 2009 at 9:53 am
Good Morning Panthera,
I know we disagree on this one, but I don’t think Diane and Emily are the hate-filled pseudo-christians that you’ve had such difficulty with. You know that many genuine Christians are motivated by love; love of the baby, the mother and of motherhood, which has suffered terribly under abortion.
Among the fetal ‘defects’ involved in late term abortions is Down Syndrome. 90% of these babies are aborted at all stages of pregnancy. They don’t deserve death. Even those relatives, whose developmental disabilities you’ve shared with me in the past have had great purpose here on earth. You and your husband have done much to work out your salvation by your extraordinary financial and emotional generosity and support. And if the developmentally disabled person’s only purpose on earth is to call forth the better angels of our nature and aid us in our salvation, then ought they not be regarded more as angels?
We won’t know God’s purposes until we meet Him face to face. But I shudder to think how many people have short-circuited those Divine plans along the way through abortion. How many people who would have found cures to dread diseases, or served as peacemakers who could have prevented future wars and conflicts have had those promising lives cut short by abortion? Again, we’ll never know until we meet God face to face.
I would love to use my skills as a molecular biologist to look for genetic markers for autism. What holds me back is the certain knowledge that my work would ultimately be perverted and used to screen autistic babies and mark them for abortion. My autistic son has been a light in the darkness of many lives and has made his little corner of the world a better place to be. How many Joseph’s will be cut down before birth in the not-too-distant future? The disability resides not in the developmentally challenged child, but in the inability of the parent to see the possibilities for that life, or even the desire to try. In the end, abortion has eroded us the pillars of western civilization by catering to narcissism and fear.
My best to you and your husband.
God Bless.
posted June 25, 2009 at 11:45 am
Emily,
The problem I have with Dianne’s comment is that she made accusations about Dr. Tiller that were already dealt with in court and were found to be false. I have no idea what ad she was referring to, but I cannot rely on her statements based on the other comments she had made that are not reliable.
posted August 22, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Maybe if more women kept there legs closed and stayed off there backs, you wouldnt have to worry so much about it being “your body”. Also, at 8 months that should be murder. Only SELFISH people would KILL a child because he or she has “defects” they cant deal with. Grow up people. If you dont want to have babies, dont have sex. Or maybe some condoms teamed up with birthcontrol could help.