By Jacquelyn Springgay
When a woman gets pregnant, she has the choice to keep the baby or abort the pregnancy. This choice comes with many consequences: good or bad. Depending on the situation, different procedures can be done to perform the abortion, but the procedures still come with much controversy.
Early in November, the Supreme Court heard arguments for two cases regarding a specific type of abortion procedure that Congress refers to as partial-birth abortion: Gonzales v. Carhart, and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood. Late-term abortion, also known as partial-birth abortion, is defined by the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act as “deliberately and intentionally vaginally” delivering a baby, but then an “overt act” is performed that kills the fetus.
Six years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that Nebraska”s partial-birth abortion ban was unconstitutional because it did not have an exception to the law that said the abortion was allowed if the mother”s health was in danger. Also, the right terminology was not being used.
“The Supreme Court said the law was too vague because [the lawmakers] were not using medical terms to describe the procedure,” said Karrie Galloway, CEO of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah. “They were using political terms that had been made up by those opposed to abortion. ”Partial-birth abortion” is not a medical term. So they were wrapping a couple different procedures into partial-birth abortions and not paying attention to time frames.”
Different types of abortions happen at different times during pregnancy. The act doesn”t clarify what type of abortion and at what time that abortion cannot happen. Instead, many procedures during different times of pregnancy are being wrapped up into one term: partial-birth abortion.
After many more arguments within Congress about changing the law, President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. The act says that any person or physician found guilty of violating the act by performing a partial-birth abortion will receive up to two years of prison time. It also details that the procedure can be performed if it saves the life of the mother, but does not contain an exception for the preservation of the health of the mother.
Planned Parenthood”s stance is that lawmakers should not make decisions for women.
“[The cases are] a concern to us because we want women and their doctors to make decisions about abortion, not Congress,” Galloway said. “This is not a good law for women. Admittedly, it was created to win the hearts and minds of the people because when you discuss [the abortion procedure], it is very graphic and uncomfortable. Those opposed to abortion want to make you think that we are going to go into the procedure frivolously and with no concern.”
The Supreme Court does not comment on cases that are in progress, but it will return a ruling on the cases next year.
Abortion throughout the country is a common procedure, and the reasons for abortions vary. Most women who have abortions find it hard to take contraceptives consistently, and have an unwanted pregnancy. Other women who have abortions usually are not using contraceptives, according to Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on sexual and reproductive health research using public education and policy analysis.
Those who support the practice say abortion procedures are relatively safe.
“Abortion is one of the safest surgical procedures for women in the United States,” according to the institute. “Fewer than .5 percent of women obtaining abortions experience a complication, and the risk of death associated with abortion is about one-tenth that associated with childbirth.”
There are several types of abortions that can be performed, depending how long the women has been pregnant.
Within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, the most common method of abortion is suction aspiration, according to the Niagara Region Right to Life Association, a pro-life organization that provides information about pregnancy, prenatal development, abortion and euthanasia. The procedure is done by having a vacuum suction, “29 times [more] powerful than a household vacuum cleaner,” that goes in the womb and tears the fetus and placenta. The small torn-up pieces are sucked through the tube and discarded.
The next procedure during that same time would be dilation and curettage. It is almost the same as the suction method except that a knife-type tool is inserted into the womb and the fetus is cut into pieces. The pieces are scraped out through the cervix and then discarded.
Up to 18 weeks, dilation and evacuation is used. “It usually includes a combination of vacuum aspiration, dilation and curettage, and the use of surgical instruments (such as forceps)” according to WebMD, a medical dictionary found at webmd.com.
Types of induction abortion, such as using medications to start labor early or taking a large amount of fluid out of the amniotic sac are used after 18 weeks, according to WebMD.
In the last three months of the pregnancy, a Caesarean section (C-section) can be performed. In this procedure, the umbilical cord is cut off before the baby is out of the womb, stopping the oxygen supply.
The other abortion performed around this time is late-term abortion, which is part of the case under review in the Supreme Court. It was banned years ago because Congress finds it “gruesome,” according to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.
On Nov. 8, the Supreme Court read and discussed the briefs for the two cases mentioned earlier. The court will issue its decision next year, affecting whether the partial-birth abortion ban act will have phrases added to it, and whether or not doctors will be able to use the procedure to save a mother”s health.
