Well, I believe that ...

[sdholloway56]

I think 20 weeks is a good number.

I don’t give a hoot about what the Pope says, but there’s clearly a continuum to when life forms during gestation and respect for life plus the precautionary principle says to draw the line early.

To the best of my knowledge there are virtually no third trimester elective abortions in the US today.

There are terminations for medical reasons and the State has no business sticking its nose into the awful decisions parents and their doctors have to make.

The good news- “pro-lifers” will still be able to get pictures of baby parts from those to post on line and get people stirred up.

Ghoulish.

[sdholloway56]

Making the child tax credit permanent and enacting child care assistance would most definitely reduce abortions more than a hodgepodge squeeze in Red states.

As if that was the point.

[sdholloway56]

More Planned Parenthood clinics with adequate resources also reduce abortions.

[sdholloway56]

The land ruled by The Savior of White Christendom still has a pretty high abortion rate, although down sharply from the Soviet days. 

The global decline in the number of abortions is primarily due to much better access to effective birth control in former Soviet bloc states. Even Poland.

[sdholloway56]

If requested or indicated, amniocentisis is typically performed at 16 weeks.

Down is only one anomaly that can be detected, but I'll even go so far as to say I'm opposed to the laws forbidding abortion to terminate a Down pregnancy. We see the high functioning Down kids, but generally not the rest, many of whom are very seriously handicapped, both mentally and physically.

We were relatively young when we had kids and there were no other reasons to suspect pregnancies would be anything other than normal. But we decided that we had the personal and financial resources to take what would come- and never had to find out.

But I'm not sure it is right to force that on somebody else.

[sam1wiseone]

The picture is of baby parts is ghoulish, but turning a baby into parts is not.   Who would have ever let you in a sunday school around children?

[sdholloway56]

Terminating a non-viable pregnancy in the third trimester is ugly. 

But it is a matter to be left up to the couple and their doctors, not The State.

[sdholloway56]

And as I have said- if presented with the choice of very high risk to my wife or taking the baby, I’m with my wife.

Particularly if there are already children. An unenviable choice, but morally correct, in my view.

[sdholloway56]

And yes, something of scientific value might be salvaged.

Might as well.

[Canuck_2]

BTW, back before Roe v. Wade there were many, many clinical abortions- you just had to have the means and connections to find a doctor (the Trusted family one, in some cases) willing to perform a “D&C.”*

Also true in Canada, my wife used to work in OR and I know she commented on D&C's on young females that were not married.