The Low Down On The Abortion Ban

I had not intended to write a serious, current event post, but the news
today really spurred me on to research just what the hubbub was about
this abortion thing, and what it all means. I don't really want to go
into the implications of this ruling, as there are many, many
implications, and just thinking about it makes me mad. Instead, I
wanted to see how this Ban would affect women who are seeking
abortions. Would they still have access to them? Or would this be a
serious road block for post first trimester abortions?



The Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 says, in large part,

(1) the term 'partial-birth abortion' means an abortion in which --


(A) the person performing the abortion deliberately and intentionally
vaginally delivers a living fetus until, in the case of a head-first
presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother,
or, in the case of breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk
past the navel is outside the body of the mother for the purpose of
performing an overt act that the person knows will kill the partially
delivered living fetus; and
(B) performs the overt act, other than
completion of delivery, that kills the partially delivered living
fetus; and

(2) the term 'physician' means a doctor of medicine
or osteopathy legally authorized to practice medicine and surgery by
the State in which the doctor performs such activity, or any other
individual legally authorized by the State to perform abortions:
Provided, however, that any individual who is not a physician or not
otherwise legally authorized by the State to perform abortions, but who
nevertheless directly performs a partial-birth abortion, shall be
subject to the provisions of this section.*

But what does that mean?


Basically, this Ban means that a particular abortion procedure is now
illegal. This type of abortion is called "Dilation and Extraction"
(D&X). I have seen a few variations to the procedure, but it's
something like this:

This procedure is accomplished by cervical preparation similar to cases of dilatation and evacuation, but the fetus is removed in a mostly intact condition. The fetal head is able to be collapsed after the contents are evacuated so
that it may pass through the cervix.**

But is this the only method of abortion for second and third trimester
pregnancies? I did some research, and it turns out this is not the only method for aborting such pregnancies. There are the other types of abortions used for second and third trimester fetuses. The most common ones are:

1. Dilation and Curettage (D&C)
2. Dilation and Evacuation (D&E)
3. Induction Abortion
-installation Injection (ISI)
-Intracardial Injection (ICI)


I'd like to go through each one and lay out how they are performed.

D&C
The procedure is usually accomplished with similar dilatation procedures, but the uterus is emptied with a sharp metal curette. These curettes
are more dangerous than the flexible or rigid plastic devices, which
are used in the suction procedures, and are not recommended for
abortion procedures.**

D&E
The D&E is similar to the D&C abortion. But during a D&E, the
woman’s cervix “must be dilated more widely because surgical
instruments are used to remove larger pieces” of the unborn child.
After dilating the cervix, the doctor inserts narrow forceps. He then
methodically cuts the baby and removes the dismembered pieces. In this
procedure, the woman may receive intravenous fluid and an analgesic or
sedative. If the baby is beyond 14 weeks,oxytocin can be administered to get the uterus to contract and shrink.***

ISI
In late second-term and third-term abortions, instillation techniques are
often used. These methods require abortionists to inject lethal
chemicals.** It is a rarely done surgical procedure where salt water,
urea, or potassium chloride is injected into the amniotic sac (to kill
the fetus);prostaglandins are inserted into the vagina (to induce labor) and pitocin is injected intravenously.**** The parenthetics were added by me, not from the source. Basically this technique is to poison the fetus and induce labor of the dead fetus.

ICI
Another method, intracardiac injections, involves injecting a poison—such as digoxin—into the unborn baby’s heart. The mother’s cervix is opened over a one- to
four-day period. Once the cervix opens, labor is induced, and the
mother delivers a dead baby.***



As I went through this list of types of abortions, I came to an interesting set of revelations. First, if the woman does need an abortion, there are other forms
available to her. I do not have data on the safety of each technique,
so I cannot comment on that aspect. And second, the reason for this Ban
is somewhat... wrong? The Act says that the reason for banning D&X
abortions is because it is "a gruesome and inhumane procedure that is
never medically necessary..." * I don't want to open the cans of worms
about necessity - I want to instead focus on the first part, the
gruesome and inhumane part. Now, the Legislature wants to ban this
inhumane procedure. But why just this one? And really, is this the
worst procedure? Comparing the procedures above, D&C and D&E are very
gruesome. I mean, the others aren't walks on sunshine or anything, but
these seem just as gruesome as D&X. But D&X is the only one
banned. Nonsensical, at the very least.

CONCLUSION
To sum this post up, there are several forms of second term abortions
available, of which D&X is only one. While D&X is now illegal
(except to save the life of the mother), the other forms are still
available.

To conclude my conclusion, I want to attach a story
I read today that really paints abortion in a different light, one that
I must confess I never really thought about. Please read it, even if
you skip everything else I wrote. You can find it here.





Endnotes:
* - Source
** - Source
*** - Source
**** - Source