What You Should Know About Late Term Abortions

A bit about abortion

A late-term abortion denotes an induced abortion procedure that arises post the 20th week of gestation. There is no definite time period that demarcates it as a late term abortion, thus rendering it a grey area. Certain sources claim 16 weeks as late.The break-even point which decides whether an abortion is late-term is regarding the ability of the fetus to survive outside the uterus.

A look at pregnancy

Generally, the quotient of viability varies momentously among pregnancies. Most pregnancies are feasible after the 27th week, and none before 21 weeks. According to various reliable reports, in England, 9% of abortions occurred in the middle of 13-19 weeks.

The factors you need to consider

The first deliberation before deciding whether or not you want to opt for late term abortion is that you are bearing a human life inside of you. Abortions take place to mitigate unwarranted pregnancies or in cases when the baby is diagnosed with a birth defect. Sometimes, even if the life of the mother of the baby is in danger, the process of abortion is carried out. However, in countries like Ireland, abortion is still considered to be against the morals and principles and are rarely allowed by doctors.

Everything in detail

Well, enough talk about abortion and how different countries may or may not support it. Let's talk about the procedure now.

To go through with this procedure, three general procedures of late-term abortions and partial birth abortions are present. Firstly, there is D&E (Dilation and evacuation). Here the cervix is dilated and the fetus is detached by insertion of forceps inside the uterus. The fetus is then disjointed into several pieces and these pieces are categorically removed one by one. In the end, vacuum aspiration takes place to ensure removal of all remnants.

Second procedure is intense and is rarely ever used as an abortion procedure; it is the early induction of labor.

The third procedure is called Intact D&X surgery. It involves a 2-3 day process to progressively widen the cervix.Thereafter, the baby is pulled out of the birth canal, keeping the head intact inside the canal. An incision is made at the base of the baby's skull, through which the brain tissue is removed, triggering the skull to fall. The baby is then removed.