ext_34293 ([identity profile] velvetpage.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] velvetpage 2008-01-21 01:23 am (UTC)

Late term abortions are legal up until full-term, but that doesn't mean a woman will be able to find a doctor willing to perform one. In fact, it's almost a non-issue - this happens maybe a few dozen times per year in Canada, and almost all of those are cases where the fetus has significant medical problems that were discovered after 30 weeks. 70% of abortions are done before 20 weeks, and most of the rest are done within a week or two of the first ultrasound, when a problem is discovered.

The procedure used for a late-term abortion is usually a D&E, Dilation and Extraction, and mimics natural childbirth up to a point. The fetus isn't allowed to take a first breath, because the instant it breathes, it's considered to have achieved personhood. There are ob/gyns in the States who refuse to learn how to perform D&E's because they're considered an abortion operation, but they have uses in cases of late-term miscarriage, too. It's usually safer to extract a dead fetus than to leave the mother's body to expel it on its own, but there have been cases in the States of women who couldn't find a doctor to do one.

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