Partial Birth Abortion Ban Upheld

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I totally agree with this. My wife is pregnant, currently at 24 weeks. I know this is wholly an emotional response, and there is really no biological reason for me feeling this way, but the reason I have a problem with later term abortions is because the fetus already looks like a baby. A 5-week fetus does not. Heck, even at 13 weeks, it already starts looking like a baby - granted a very small baby that only weighs a couple of ounces, but a baby nonetheless. Therefore, even though a fetus is not yet a person, and with the exception of my wife I have no emotional attachments to any fetus, I feel empathy for them. (Like I said, it's an emotional response.)

And this is where it gets sticky for me. Technically any woman who is pregnant has her health placed in a higher state of jeopardy than if she were not pregnant. And it's not just her health, it's her life. A woman has a much higher chance of dying while pregnant than if she were not pregnant. So what actually constitutes a "risk to the woman's health", when being pregnant is a risk to the woman's health?

The other thing I keep going back to is who am I to tell someone else what they can or cannot do to their body. That's a right I certainly do not have. I would further argue than unless I am the father of the child, it's a right I SHOULD NOT have. (Although technically, even if I am the father, it's a right I do not have.)

I agree, and that's why I would compromise at 13 weeks. If you really just don't want a child at this time, then 13 weeks should be more than adequate time to decide this. The medical evidence also supports that a 1st trimester abortion is medically a safer procedure than carrying the baby to term (a 3rd trimester abortion is not).

I guess the main problem I have with later term abortions is that even if the mother is at risk of dying, if the fetus has reached a viable age, the quickest means of ending the pregnancy is a cesarian (sp?) section. A C-section can be performed in minutes (all you have to do is wait for the anesthetic to take effect), while a partial birth abortion typically takes many hours, or potentially a couple of days. To perform a dilation and extraction (D&E) you basically have to induce labor, and it is not unusual for 24 hours to pass before dilation is sufficient to perform the D&E. So if the woman's life is at risk, and she can potentially die if the fetus is not removed quickly, then time is of the essence. You may not HAVE 24 hours for the D&E to be performed, but a C-section can be done in less than 24 minutes.

So in this regard, I actually agree with the ruling that there is no case where you'd medically need to have a D&E. If the baby needs to be removed quickly, a C-section is the way to go. If the baby doesn't need to be removed quickly, then the woman's life isn't at grave risk. Medical technology has also reached a point where a 26+ week fetus has a good chance of survival. Therefore, the safest medical decision to preserve the life of the mother is also the decision that preserves the life of the fetus. I see no problem with that.