STATE OF THE UNION: MORE LIES
Extreme Measures: Late Term Abortion
By Trevor K. McNeil
Carefully Choreographed
An annual national event, the State of the Union Address. A carefully choreographed and historic obligation of the President of the United States. A lot of pomp and ceremony. A chance for the chief of the executive branch and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces to tell the Congress and the nation his assessment of how the country is doing. Time to have a moment of reflection and even humility when necessary, as a president evaluates the actions of his administration in terms of domestic and international events. At least that is what is it is supposed to be.
A Vulgar Display
President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday, February 5th , 2019 was one of the most vulgar displays of tone-deaf arrogance in Presidential history. Including Theodore Roosevelt’s statement about “speak softly and carry a big stick” and Richard Nixon’s earnest assertion that “if the president does it, it is not a crime.”
So Many Gaffs So Little Time
There were many moments that stand out. There was his surety that the female congressional representatives were applauding for him when he mentioned that that they existed. As well as his infuriating claim that over 300 women and girls were rescued at the border. Many of the young female migrants who had already been victimized by sex traffickers on their way to the U.S. and then locked in dog runs when they arrived here.
Counter-Factuals
Most egregious from a factual stand-point, were his statements about late-term abortions. His complete ignorance on the subject was quite clear. Made worse by the fact Virginia Governor, Ralph Northam Trump referenced is a qualified pediatric neurologist. As a wise man once said: “There are few more dangerous than the fool who thinks themselves a genius.”
As Soon As Possible
Despite implications by some with an agenda, late-term abortions are exceedingly rare. According to records provided by Planned Parenthood, termination occurs in the first trimester in 91 percent of cases. This only stands to reason considering the reduction of risk and negative effects from pharmaceutical terminations performed during this early period. There are almost no late-term abortions. According to the Mayo Clinic website: “A medical abortion doesn’t need surgery or anesthesia and can be started either in a medical office or at home with followup visits to your doctor. It’s safer and most effective during the first trimester of pregnancy.”
Shifting Sands
Not only are late-term abortions rare, most terminations take place in the first trimester. The number of unintended pregnancy, and pregnancy over all, has come down in recent years. According to 2011 statistics from Guttmacher Institute, there were 98 pregnancies for every 1,000 American women and girls between the ages of 15 and 44. Government figures show 45 out of every 1,000 pregnancies are unintended. Consequently, this means that 955 out of every 1,000 recorded pregnancies are planned.
Overall Trend
This is related to an overall social trend. Today, people don’t get married at 18 and birth control is widely available and its use generally understood. The average age of first pregnancy was 26.3 years in 2014. The average age of marriage in the United States is now 28. Similarly, the divorce rate for first marriages has reduced to 30% from a height of 50% in the late 1980’s. The majority of pregnancies in the U.S. are intended, and involve married women in their mid to late 20’s. The rate of late-term abortions is effectively nearly zero.
By the Numbers
There are those who would have you believe there are millions of late-term abortions. Jerry Falwell is famous for his crazy anti-abortion rants. The cause of the 9/11 attack; according to Falwell, was “when we destroy 40 million innocent little babies, we make God mad.” Out of roughly 175 million women and girls in America, less than one one-hundredth are having terminations at all. The majority of these being in the first two months of the first trimester, when gestation has barely begun. When the risk of injury, complications, or death are at a minimum.
Extraordinary Measures
Late-term termination is an extremely high risk, medical surgical procedure performed only in the most extraordinary of circumstances. In this way it is similar to amputation or tracheotomy. It is in no way “routine” or even common. In nearly every case there are obvious, often sudden and terrible circumstances that make the continuation of the pregnancy untenable. No one in their right mind would ask for a late-term abortion in the third trimester if there were any alternatives. Just as no one would ask for an unnecessary amputation.
Reasons Why
The main cause of late-term abortion is risk to the woman’s life. One such case would be if a woman in her third trimester finds out she has developed malignant cancer and needs to begin immediate treatment. Most hospitals mandate that a woman cannot take cancer treatments if she is pregnant. The result of such policies is that a pregnant woman will be required to have an abortion, in some situations that may have to be a late-term abortion. The reason for that is that a fetus would not survive chemo and radiation. The woman is then in the awful position having to choose between carrying her baby to term or continuing to live. A decision complicated if she already has children.
Dead on Arrival
Early detection of heart-failure in a mother would be a legitimate cause. A sad but very real condition that also present in fetuses, this can cause a baby to die during the extremely stressful birthing process. One which used to routinely kill women before advances in modern science. There are also terrible cases where the fetus dies during pregnancy. Rather than carrying and delivering a dead baby, many women in this situation will ask for a termination. Which technically counts as a late-term abortion, despite the fact the fetus is already dead at the time of removal from the woman’s uterus.
Do no Harm
Those in the medical profession swear the Hippocratic Oath. A key part of this oath is the solemn promise to “do no harm.” Something taken extremely seriously by the majority of medical professionals and medical review boards. Performing an unnecessary late-term abortion ending a healthy pregnancy would be doing harm. Very few doctors would be willing to do this in the first place. Any doctor found routinely performing unnecessary late-term abortions would certainly face investigation and potential criminal charges and loss of license.
Cruel and Unusual
To propose a unilateral federal law criminalizing late-term abortions, especially when the potential issue of abuse of legal late-term abortion is largely self-correcting, is unnecessary, unethical and cruel.
