An evangelical Christian group created this to oppose "partial-birth abortions." It's an effective way of challenging those who get late term abortions out of fear that the baby will be disabled or have Down Syndrome.
The problem is, this is not why most abortions, or probably even late term abortions, actually happen. First, only 1.1% of abortions are after 21 weeks. We know very little about why these happen. Websites are now flowing with stories of people who had late term abortions not because the baby might be imperfect but because it was seriously deformed (like with part of brain developing outside the skull) and destined to die. And one (very old) study indicates that only a tiny percentage of late term abortions relate to fetal abnormalities.
Still, I believe that the battle over abortion should be fought within the hearts and minds of women rather than the courts and legislatures. So videos like these are fair game.
What do you think?
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The decision to have or not to have an abortion should be left up to women who might have to make that decision, not to anyone else. When or if to have one is no one else's business. The availability of a safe, clean environment with a licensed doctor should always be legal in the USA.
What pagansister said. Right on!
Actually, I have to say more on this. Aside from the lousy production values, this amateurish video is deceitful. Late-term abortion will never lead to murdering children. No one, no one is advocating such a position. Late-term abortion is NOT "the same thing" as murder, no matter what the anti-choice crowd says. This is cheap manipulation that spread false witness -- sinful, and shameful.
I read in yesterday's KC Star (www.kansascity.com) that Dr. Tiller was also involved in placing babies for adoption. The article did not provide any detail.
I agree even more with Steven's following statement after learning more about Dr. Tiller's abortions:
"Still, I believe that the battle over abortion should be fought within the hearts and minds of women rather than the courts and legislatures."
I imagine that Steven will receive considerable judgmental comments for the statement.
Operation Rescue had moved their entire operation to Kansas for harassing Dr. Tiller. Maybe they will join Jill Stanek in turning the attention to the Nebraska doctor.
You said, "The problem is, this is not why most abortions, or probably even late term abortions, actually happen. First, only 1.1% of abortions are after 21 weeks. We know very little about why these happen." 90% of women with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome terminate their pregnancies. The predominate test for a chromosomal abnormality is amniocentesis (the other is the rare CVS) which is performed around 20 weeks gestation. It takes 16 days to receive results of an amnio. Which means that abortions due to Down syndrome (as well as trisomy 18 and 13) occur between 21 and 24 weeks gestation, making them late term.
Most of these women receive outdated or false information about the prognosis of children with Ds. The majority of them receive unbelievable pressure to abort from the medical community. Many choose to terminate via lethal injection followed by L&D in order to see their babies and say goodbye.
I recommend that you tread lightly and have accurate information when discussing the subject of termination for medical reasons.
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