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Partial Birth Abortion Definition

From drug-induced to surgical removal, many types of abortion are performed. Few terms, however, are more emotionally charged, or misunderstood, than "partial birth abortion."

  1. 18 US Code 1531

    • Partial birth abortion is not a medical term; it is a legal one defined by the Supreme Court as: "An abortion in which the person performing the abortion, deliberately and intentionally, vaginally delivers a living fetus until, in the case of a head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother, or, in the case of breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother, for the purpose of performing an overt act that the person knows will kill the partially delivered living fetus; and performs the overt act, other than completion of delivery, that kills the partially delivered living fetus."

    History

    • Partial birth abortion is a procedure that's executed by dilating the cervix and removing the fetus through the birth canal. The other option for later-term abortions was to dismember the fetus while still in the womb to make removal easier, but it had risks of substantial blood loss and damage to the woman. The term "partial birth abortion" was coined in 1995 by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) in hopes it would spur anti-abortion response. One variation of the actual procedure, called "dilation and extraction" or D&X, by Dr. Martin Haskell, involves delivering the fetus up to the head, puncturing the skull to collapse it and then delivering it so the cervix isn't damaged. This procedure became what is viewed as partial birth abortion.

    Frequency

    • The Alan Guttmacher Institute, a U.S. organization that focuses on sexual and reproductive health, estimates 1.3 million abortions were performed in the year 2000 in the United Stats. A total of 15,000 or 1.15 percent of those abortions were pregnancies of 20 or more weeks. A total of 2,200, or 0.2 percent, of those later-term abortions were D&X procedures.

    Legal

    • A U.S. ban against partial birth abortion was signed in 2003 by President Bush. Arguments by opponents include concerns that it does not specifically apply to viable fetuses nor does it protect a woman's health in the case of medically needed late-term abortions, such as in the case of hydrocephalus. Attempts in Congress to change the wording to only late-term abortions were blocked. However, many states have blocked the ban and the actual enforcement of it is not nationwide.

    Permitted Abortions

    • Many medical abortions methods are allowed. Making a choice about what is right for you involves understanding medical and legal issues. Even with the ban on partial birth abortions, the procedure applies only to a live fetus. Therefore if the fetus is dead or even killed prior to the procedure, dilation and extraction to prevent damage to the cervix is permitted. The law's wording also allows a live fetus to be partially delivered just before the naval and the neck are severed at the spine since the fetus is no longer "intact." Because of the ban, lethal injections to kill the fetus before abortion are done more often.

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