Supreme Court to hear late-term abortion case

[Yuri]

CNN Source

The Supreme Court wasted little time jumping back into the contentious abortion issue, agreeing Tuesday to review the constitutionality of a federal law banning a controversial late-term procedure critics call "partial birth" abortion.

[...]

A federal appeals court had ruled against the government, saying the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Act of 2003 was unconstitutional because it did not provide a health exception to pregnant women facing a medical emergency.

[...]

Abortion rights groups object to the term "partial birth," and even "late-term abortion," saying the procedure is done before the fetus is viable and is performed only in the second or early third trimester, usually within 12 to 15 weeks of the start of pregnancy.

[...]

Since the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, various states have tried to place restrictions and exceptions on access to the procedure, prompting a string of high court "clarifications" over the years.

South Dakota's state Senate plans to vote Wednesday on a controversial bill to ban abortion in nearly all cases -- except to protect the life of the mother.

[...]

The federal late-term abortion case will likely be argued in the fall.

This case may lead tro the issue of the legality of abortion as a whole. And "late term abortions" apparantly doesn't restrict itself to "partial birth abortions," (which is effed up stuff, if you ask me) but can be as early as 12 weeks in the pregnancy...

 

[ríomhaire]

\o/ I know it won't pass but illegal abortion FTW!

 

[Yuri]

\o/ I know it won't pass but illegal abortion FTW!

Er, what?

 

[ríomhaire]

Er, what?

Abortion FTL.

 

[Yuri]

When you start speaking in pseudo-1337 speak, your politically based opinions tend to decrease in stature.

It's a very indirect relationship.

 

[Direwolf]

Its not a law, its a case waiting to be judged.

And I think that even if they overturned the previous ruling, they're gonna catch so much fury for it, we may very well see something unusual.

 

[Yuri]

Its not a law, its a case waiting to be judged.

I didn't say it was a law ;(

It will determine if late-term abortion is constitutional or not, though.

 

[ríomhaire]

When you start speaking in pseudo-1337 speak, your politically based opinions tend to decrease in stature.

It's a very indirect relationship.

Good point. What I meant to say is that I disagree with abortion and would prefer if it was illegal everywhere except in cases where the mother's life is in danger.

 

[Yuri]

Good point. What I meant to say is that I disagree with abortion and would prefer if it was illegal everywhere except in cases where the mother's life is in danger.

There ya go

I disagree

[/heated political debate]

 

[CptStern]

so all those parents who's fetus is identified as having problems and will probably die shortly after birth will have to see their pregnancy to term just because some moralizing ****s think it's their right to tell other people what they can and cant do with their bodies? ...I'm not one to say this but in this case I'm truely glad I'm not american

 

[ríomhaire]

so all those parents who's fetus is identified as having problems and will probably die shortly after birth will have to see their pregnancy to term just because some moralizing ****s think it's their right to tell other people what they can and cant do with their bodies? ...I'm not one to say this but in this case I'm truely glad I'm not american

It's what they want to do with their would-be children's bodies I'm concerned about.

 

[CptStern]

It's what they want to do with their would-be children's bodies I'm concerned about.

most late term abortions can only be performed by induced labour ..so not only does the parent have to go through the trauma of aborting an unhealthy baby but she also has to deliver it ..which often takes as long as 18 - 24 hours

I can assure you that every effort is made to respect the parents and the fetus

 

[ríomhaire]

most late term abortions can only be performed by induced labour ..so not only does the parent have to go through the trauma of aborting an unhealthy baby but she also has to deliver it ..which often takes as long as 18 - 24 hours

Or she could have the labour without the trauma.

 

[CptStern]

Or she could have the labour without the trauma.

no such thing

 

[ríomhaire]

no such thing

I mean without the "trauma of aborting an unhealthy baby"

 

[CptStern]

ok now I'm confused

 

[short recoil]

no such thing

http://www.kerekesequip.com/bimages/fd98.jpg

 

[CptStern]

that's not funny

 

[ríomhaire]

that's not funny

Not in the least.

 

[Yuri]

I don't even get it, but baking cakes sure is fun!

 

[Direwolf]

I wasn't correcting you Erestheux, I was talking to riomhaire who talked about it "passing."

 

[Flyingdebris]

i don't mind abortion so much when its not so much a baby as it is a wad of tissues. But partial birth is where my proverbial line gets drawn. In partial birth, its not considered a child only by technicality, and many times in late partial birth abortions, the baby would have been mature enough to survive birth. If its mature enough to survive and its going to have to be delivered anyway either through partial birth abortion or full term, you might as well just give birth to it and put it up for adoption if its unwanted.

I can see exeptions being made for the odd medical catastrophe but these situations are a lot less common than simple cases of pregnant women simply waiting too long.

 

[gick]

i don't mind abortion so much when its not so much a baby as it is a wad of tissues. But partial birth is where my proverbial line gets drawn. In partial birth, its not considered a child only by technicality, and many times in late partial birth abortions, the baby would have been mature enough to survive birth. If its mature enough to survive and its going to have to be delivered anyway either through partial birth abortion or full term, you might as well just give birth to it and put it up for adoption if its unwanted.

I can see exeptions being made for the odd medical catastrophe but these situations are a lot less common than simple cases of pregnant women simply waiting too long.

I completely agree. When a foetus is simply a lump of tissue, it is part of a woman's body, and I am strongly pro-choice. However, when the foetus reaches an age where it can survive outside the mother, then it is undeniably its own life, and should not be killed.

 

[CptStern]

I completely agree. When a foetus is simply a lump of tissue, it is part of a woman's body, and I am strongly pro-choice. However, when the foetus reaches an age where it can survive outside the mother, then it is undeniably its own life, and should not be killed.

so at about the age of 4 years

a baby cannot survive outside of the mother untill 40 weeks

 

[gick]

so at about the age of 4 years

a baby cannot survive outside of the mother untill 40 weeks

I didnt mean that, and you know I didnt. I meant physically breathe, take in food/water etc.

 

[CptStern]

ya I know that's why I put the 40 weeks there

i don't mind abortion so much when its not so much a baby as it is a wad of tissues. But partial birth is where my proverbial line gets drawn. In partial birth, its not considered a child only by technicality, and many times in late partial birth abortions, the baby would have been mature enough to survive birth. If its mature enough to survive and its going to have to be delivered anyway either through partial birth abortion or full term, you might as well just give birth to it and put it up for adoption if its unwanted.

I can see exeptions being made for the odd medical catastrophe but these situations are a lot less common than simple cases of pregnant women simply waiting too long.

I dont know how it is in the rest of the world but in canada it's almost impossible to get a third trimester abortion (and even a late second trimester abortion) unless the mother's health is at risk or there are serious genetic defects. 90% of abortions are conducted in the first 16 weeks which is only 2 weeks into the second trimester ..after that it drops down to 2%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Canada

late term abortions are extremely rare and in almost every case it's due to health issues. Right wing and religious groups scream bloody murder about partial birth etc but it is extremely rare

and again I cant stress this enough ..a baby will die outside of the womb (barring medical intervention) up until the 40th week which is full term ..I know this because my son was born 3 months premature and remained in hospital till 2 weeks before reaching full term

 

[SAJ]

You wont find doctors using the term "partial birth abortion" because its a nonsense term that has no scientific usage. Its a term designed to inflame opinion and judging by peoples reactions here, it works pretty well.

 

[Apos]

Often, it's performed on babies that are born without the back of their skull or most of their higher brain functions. These always die within a week or so after birth of terrible infections, and even if they didn't, they're missing most of their brain.