I do believe it is a personal and agonising choice that parents make every day, and that it should not be a choice legislated by politicians. Late-term abortions are not carried out on a whim in this country. A woman does not go to her doctor and say, 'puncture my child's skull and deliver it' or 'dismember it and get it out of me'--or at least if she did, they'd make a mental health referral. These are performed in a small number of cases because the medical team feels it is the best thing for the mother's health and, after being given the options, the parents decide that despite the loss it is the best thing for them to do. It is almost always a case of a 'wanted' child in a pregnancy that has gone horribly wrong, and having the legal system step in only adds to the anguish. The desired outcome in the late stages of pregnancy is usually a healthy baby, but not at the cost of the mother's life or health. A foetus--whether 'viable' or not--has great potential for life. The mother, however, is very much alive, is someone's daughter, sister, mother, wife...an irrational obsession with the fate of the child without regard for the mother would lead to babies being ripped from an organic incubator without rights. Yes, that is a ludicrous image; no, I don't believe that is necessarily the intent of abortion foes. But polarity in this matter is dangerous. The most humane and rational course lies closer to the middle. The idea that the federal Justice Department lawyers saw fit to argue that a 'partial-birth' abortion is never medically necessary runs completely counter to the actual medical practice and is highly irresponsible. Do they know better about a woman's condition than her attending physicians? Let the medical professionals--and the parents who will have to live with the consequences of the decision--make that decision, whether they choose the procedure, another, or attempt to deliver the baby alive regardless of the risks.
Judge: Bush Abortion Ban Unconstitutional
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