Abortion Later in Pregnancy
The GOP and anti-abortion opponents use the term "late-term abortion" to push their agenda of putting timelines on abortions. Abortion later in pregnancy usually happens 16 weeks and later.
Either way, everyone should have access to an abortion when they need one, regardless of the reason. It is not the place of a politician to make that decision for someone having an abortion.
How common
is it?
Less common than you think—abortions after 21 weeks ( or during the second trimester) make up less than 1.3% of all abortions in the United States.
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This means that abortions that occur beyond 24 weeks (or in the second and fourth trimester) make up less than 1% of all procedures.
This is all according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention just in case you need the backup from the experts ;)
Ok, but what are the
Reasons for Abortion Later in Pregnancy?
There are many different reasons why people may need to access abortion later in pregnancy, like
fetal abnormalities
maternal health endangerment
existing laws that ban access to abortion care.
Bottom line, everyone should have access to an abortion when they need one, regardless of the reason. It is not the place of politicians or anyone else to make that decision for someone having an abortion.
Ok, but
Who does this affect?
Limiting access to both contraception and abortion, and the barriers fall harder on
Black, Indigenous, people of color
Young people
Immigrants
LGBTQ+ people
People working to make ends meet due to systemic inequities in our health care system.
Even if we remove all barriers to birth control, abortion care will still be necessary and is an integral part of the full spectrum of health care. We must remove harmful barriers to both.
Bottom line, Patients need medically accurate information, not state-mandated deception, pressure, or shame.
Fight Back
Access to birth control is critical to create a future where people can thrive.
Even if we remove all barriers to birth control, abortion care will still be necessary and is an integral part of the full spectrum of health care. We must remove harmful barriers to both.
Why?
When they say...
We say...
This is inflammatory rhetoric designed to further the agenda of outlawing all abortions and push abortion out of reach, shut down clinics, and throw patients and providers in jail.
"Abortions up to the "moment of birth”
"Abortion later in pregnancy"
“Infanticide” or “killing babies”
“Fetal anomaly” or “baby dying”
This is inflammatory rhetoric designed to further the agenda of outlawing all abortions and push abortion out of reach, shut down clinics, and throw patients and providers in jail.
Murder of any person, including newborns, is already a crime, as it should be. Utilizing the language of anti-abortion opponents feeds their disinformation campaigns.
Navigating through
Difficult Conversations
Q: "If you're pro-abortion, do you support infanticide or killing babies?"
This insults and belittles the lived experiences of people who have faced these decisions. When it comes to abortion or pregnancy loss, no one knows what that person or their family are going through. I believe that every circumstance is different, and we should trust that person to do what is best for themselves and their families.
Q: "If you're pro-abortion, do you support abortion until the last moments of birth?"
Abortion later in pregnancy is rare, less than 1% of all cases. It's almost always because something has gone seriously wrong. But if someone wants to have an abortion, they should be able to get it as soon as they need, and we should trust them to make their own decisions.
Q: "Why can't they just adopt rather than abort?"
While we shouldn't have to justify someone decison on abortion, we need to consider the very real dangers of maternal mortality as well as the struggles of grief, loss, and trauma. We need to treat every person with the dignity and respect they deserve.