Causes Of Late-Term Abortion

Late-term abortion is a medical term that has been used about induced abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy (28 – 39 weeks) and sometimes to the second trimester abortions (13 – 27 weeks) (Davenport, 2009). In certain contexts, the “late-term” descriptor is applied to indicate fetal development that has advanced to the point where there is a high probability of survival outside the uterus. With this definition, all third trimester and some second trimester abortions are included since the contemporary age of viability is approximately 22-24 weeks. The authors of two articles published in 1998 in the same issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association could not agree on when in pregnancy an abortion should be considered late-term

According to the Guttmacher Institute (Torres and Forrest, 1988) the clear majority of late-term abortions are performed for socioeconomic reasons, on a healthy and potentially viable fetus. Fetal abnormalities or woman’s health considerations are rarely the reason for undergoing a late-term abortion. Specifically, according to the Guttmacher Institute, abortions for fetal abnormalities comprise only two percent of all late-term abortions. Researchers at the Guttmacher Institute reported the following percentages of woman indicating various reasons for late-term

Most women who seek late-term abortions are significantly more likely to be under18, black, unemployed, and/or poor. Decision ambivalence is often characteristic of women who undergo abortions in the second trimester and beyond (7-9). Women who obtained second trimester abortions have reported more deficient social supports and greater effort devoted to assessing the resources available to help them keep a child compared to women who obtain first trimester abortions (9-10). Research suggests the thirty percent of women who delay an abortion beyond 16 weeks are afraid to tell those closet to them about the pregnancy. When compared to women obtaining earlier abortions there is evidence that women who obtain late-term abortions are more likely to experience stronger attachment to the unborn child, have more moral or religious objections to abortion, and concede to an abortion based on the wishes of others. (Torres et al,