Everyone has an opinion on the latest law passed in New York allowing women to have “late-term” abortions if her or her unborn child is in fatal danger.
Pro-life supporters say that it is legal murder; disgusting, inhumane, immoral, murder of an innocent baby in the womb. They say that there is never a reason to kill a full-term baby before it is born, even if the mothers health is at risk, she shouldn’t be selfish and kill her baby so she can live. She knew there would be risks with birth and should accept that and risk her life to give life to her child. They say that if a baby is only given an hour to live outside of the womb, the mother does not have a right to “kill” that baby beforehand and she should hold her baby for that hour and show it love while she can. They don’t believe that there is ever a circumstance in which a full-term baby should be injected with “poison” and “murdered” even if the baby has major health defects and will not survive on its own.
Pro-choice supporters are the opposite. Most don’t believe a “full-term” abortion should be performed unless in extreme cases of health complications to the mother or the baby. They say that women have to face an incredibly difficult decision, and that it is a private decision between the mother, her doctor, and sometimes her family. They say that babies who will not survive outside of the womb should not have to suffer and can be given an injection of “medicine” to stop their heart, if the mother chooses. They say that doctors aren’t going to just perform late-term abortions willy-nilly, that these doctors take abortion very seriously and so many tests and procedures will be performed to be sure it the right decision. They believe that the mother will have a terrible time deciding what to do, but that she shouldn’t be punished for not wanting to be traumatized with the death of her baby after birth.
So, who’s right? On one hand, you have “birth every baby no matter what”, and on the other you have “it’s the mothers decision to abort her baby in extreme cases”.
I see pro-lifers comparing the fact that NY doesn’t allow lethal injection of criminals, but they allow it for innocent babies. I see them calling women murderers without knowing a single fact about them or their circumstances.
I want to be clear that I’m torn on the issue myself. I believe it should be allowed only in cases of extreme health issues, but I wonder if the doctors performing these late-term abortions are making the right call. I’ve seen stories from women who were told their baby would not survive outside of the womb but then they did survive and are now toddlers with no medical problems at all. It’s a difficult thing to do based on what a doctor is telling you- but what if that doctor is wrong?
First, let’s discuss the diagnosis of a fetal defect. According to the CDC, fetal defects can be diagnosed with ultrasound, blood tests, MRI, fetal echocardiogram, amniocentesis, and CVS. CVS, or chorionic villus sampling, is when a piece of the placenta is removed for testing of chromosomal or genetic disorders. Many of the diagnosed defects, can be fixed but not without the risk of complication. Anencephaly, however can not be treated or fixed. In this defect, babies are born with parts of their brain missing. Almost all babies born with this will die shortly after birth. Microcephaly also cannot be fixed. This is when a babies brain and head are much smaller than they should be. The infant may live but can suffer from seizures, intellectual disability, problems with movement, difficulty swallowing, and vision and hearing problems. Is it really living if your medical condition prevents you from enjoying life?
Now, there are many other medical defects that babies can suffer from, some worse than others. Some, the baby will have little to no symptoms and will have little treatment for. Some, the baby will be severely impacted and require many surgeries, medications, and trips to the doctor for the rest of their lives.
For mother’s, the health problems can range from hypertension so severe that they can have seizures, to the mother having multi-organ failure during pregnancy. Doctors will discuss these issues with the mother and together they’ll decide if the baby will be able to be saved or if she would have to have an abortion to save her own life. One percent of abortions are performed as late-term, so this tells me that most likely it is rare that a mother is told she has to have an abortion in the third trimester. About 700 women die per year in the United States during childbirth, with black women being 3-4 times more likely to die due to racial disparities. Interestingly, most of these deaths are preventable. Oh, and the United States has the highest amount of women dying in childbirth in the world. I thought we were the greatest country?
To get back on topic, the point I’m trying to make here is that women risk their lives to get pregnant and have babies, but that does not mean that they have to suffer and potentially die in order to birth a child that they may never get to hold or share their life with. In addition, I’m not sure it’s fair to force a woman to have a baby that will die shortly after being born. Either way it’s traumatizing but I don’t see how I should be the one to make that decision for all women. Doctors can be wrong- I can’t imagine that they are wrong about babies in the womb very often. But are we to say that simply because there are mistakes made, every mother should be traumatized just in case? Who are we to make that decision for all women?
What the law says
This new law has changed multiple things regarding abortions in New York. First, the abortion does not have to be performed by a doctor. It can now be performed by a midwife, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant. Second, it states that after 24 weeks, a woman can have an abortion if the fetus is not viable or if the mothers life or health is at risk. Many opponents of the law say that the bill should have been more specific about what constitutes as “health risk” as doctors now have to define the risk for their patients, and well, they could say anything, right?
So what does this mean? It means that New York is putting faith in doctors to be intelligent enough and moral enough to decide which health risks are severe, so bad, that the woman can choose to have an abortion after 24 weeks. To pro-lifers, it means that doctors can claim whatever they want to allow a woman to have an abortion at 39 weeks. Now, I would hope that doctors, who took an oath to uphold certain ethics, would be capable of determining what is an actual health risk and what isn’t. I agree that this should have been further defined in the law, although I think there is enough evidence out there showing that doctors will not abuse this power they’ve been given. Plus, there can always be amendments made.
The law also takes the criminality out of abortion altogether, meaning that a doctor cannot face legal action if they perform a late term abortion. However, the abortion can only be performed for extreme health risks to mom or baby, or in cases of fetal demise. Does this mean that if a physician chooses to perform a late-term abortion without any medical reason and simply as an elective procedure, that they cannot be charged? I don’t know the answer to that. Although, I cannot see why any doctor would perform a late term abortion without good reason.
What the law DOES NOT say
The law does not specifically say that babies can be aborted at 39 weeks if the baby is at risk. First, at 39 weeks, what would be the point? The baby is due at any time and having an abortion may be just as risky as giving birth. What doctor is going to recommend abortion at this stage of pregnancy? I really doubt any would. The law says “after 24 weeks”. Period. That means that at week 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, if the fetus does not survive or if the outcome is grim, the mother has options. Everyone is skipping these numbers and jumping straight to 38, 39, and 40 weeks claiming that women can murder their full term babies. Why are they ignoring the reality of the bill and shouting out incredulous facts?
Now, I know some cynical people are claiming that this is a late-term abortion bill. But the truth is, it gives women choices rather than binding them to one option. Do they carry their dead baby inside of them to full term and give birth? Or can they be induced at 27 weeks to give birth early to their deceased child? Because that is also illegal in many states. Women are not allowed to be induced EVEN IF the baby is already dead. Do they carry a child to full term knowing that the baby will die after birth? Or do they have an abortion to spare themselves the pain of a doomed pregnancy?
The Women
Many women have come out with their own personal stories trying to make an argument either for or against this new law. Here’s a few.
One woman described how she had multiple miscarriages before finally getting pregnant with her daughter. At 32 weeks, her baby died inside of her and she had to have an emergency c-section that almost killed her. Her baby was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that wouldn’t have allowed it to live outside of the womb anyway. She’s now pregnant again and if this baby has the same genetic disorder, she’ll be faced with either giving birth to a stillborn baby and risking her life, or terminating the pregnancy after 24 weeks? Do you think we should force her to give birth, given the baby has the same disorder?
Another woman told about how she found out she was carrying a baby that would only survive for maybe an hour after birth. She was devastated, but determined to meet her baby. She wanted to show it all the love she could, while she could. She opted to give birth and hired a photographer to capture what little time she had with her baby. I’ve actually seen a lot of stories like this. It’s beautiful and tragic. Personally, I don’t think I would be able to cope holding my baby only for it to die in my arms. But the women who can may be stronger than myself. Should we force every woman to do this same thing?
A woman told of how doctors told her that her baby was going to have severe cognitive defects and cardiac problems that may not allow her to live long after birth. She chose to have the baby anyway, and says that her now 5-year-old is healthy and has no medical problems at all. Were the doctors wrong? It would seem so. I’ve read many stories from women with similar situations. The fact that this happens though, does that mean that every woman should be forced to give birth to a baby that may die after birth? Or may have severe medical issues?
Many women have come out telling how they had to carry their dead baby in their womb for weeks because they weren’t allowed to be induced. Even though they knew that their baby was already dead and nothing could be done to save them, they had to stay pregnant. Strangers would see they’re pregnant and the women were faced with excitement from them, wanting to know the sex and what name they picked out, all while they were devastated inside and didn’t know how to respond. Is this moral?
Many OB/GYNS have come out saying that there is never a reason to have an abortion after 24 weeks. Many have come out saying that there are reasons and that this law allows medical professionals to assist women in making these hard decisions without facing legal action.
So which is it? I’ve seen both sides of the argument and even after writing this, I’m torn on the issue. Is there anyway to know what the absolute moral and ethical thing to do is? No, I don’t believe so. Maybe the law is too vague, but I certainly don’t think it’s a “pro- murder” bill. The bill gives women the chance to have a louder voice when it comes to their reproductive rights. They can decide what to do with their baby when it has passed away inside of them. They can decide what to do when the pregnancy is doomed, and the baby will pass after birth. She can decide if she wants to risk her life during childbirth or if she wants to have an abortion at 25 weeks.
I don’t see any women shouting out in celebration because she can now abort a full term baby just because she can. I don’t see any women jumping for joy because they can now have sex freely without caring if they get pregnant. I see women who have suffered, who have been traumatized, who are thankful that they now have more options and can possibly be less traumatized in the future.
I think the men and women who are so against this bill have two things in mind. One, they think the bill is too vague and needs to be more specific, which I could agree with. Two, they are cynics who don’t have any faith or trust in the medical community or in other women. They think the worst of people. What woman is going to get to 38 weeks pregnant and decide, “You know, I want an abortion” ? And even if they did decide that, what medical professional is going to say “yeah sure, no problem!”, without there being an actual life or health risk to the mother or baby? And again, at that stage, it’s just as risky to have an abortion as it is to give birth, so I don’t think any doctor or midwife is going to perform an abortion that late, anyway.
Conclusion
Pro-life supporters need to read the bill and stop assuming the worst. Stop calling women murderers when you don’t know them or their situation. It’s okay to ask questions, but don’t ask condescending ones.
Pro-choice supporters need to stop cussing and yelling, use your words, and TALK about it. Telling a pro-life person to SHUT THE FUCK UP isn’t going to get you anywhere. They’re going to get defensive and the conversation will get no where.
Abortions are going to happen whether they’re legal or not, the issue is that illegal abortions tend to be unsafe. Abortions after 24 weeks can be traumatic but so can giving birth to a dead fetus. Give some thought, put yourself in another persons shoes, and THINK before you immediately go off the rails in anger in defense of your opinions and beliefs.
We should be supporting women and babies, and thinking of more than just a baby born. Is the baby born alive? Is the baby born healthy? Is the baby born with a mother who lived through it? Is the mother able to cope? We need to stop allowing our opinions and personal choices to dictate what other women do. One persons choice is not the definitive choice for everyone, and that is why we want options. Think of those actually affected by this bill rather than those who are not.
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Life and Times of a Registered Nurse 