Abortion

Definitions:

A) Abortion; the termination of a pregnancy before the fetus is capable of surviving on its own (i.e. before the fetus is “viable”). For practical purposes this means during the first ˝ (20 weeks) of pregnancy.

B) Late termination of pregnancy; termination of pregnancy after the fetus is capable of surviving on its own (i.e. after the fetus is “viable”).

C) Partial birth abortion; a lay term used to describe a method of performing a late termination of pregnancy. The procedure involves partially delivering the infant into the birth canal and then killing the infant.

My Position

I support the legal right to have an “abortion” as described in the above definition of abortion.

I am against permitting late termination of pregnancy that involves deliberately killing the fetus. I therefore support laws to make procedures such as partial birth abortion illegal. Arguments that these procedures are necessary are blatantly untrue. Prominent physicians, men and women in the field of obstetrics and maternal health, have commented that “partial birth abortion is never medically indicated to protect a woman’s health or fertility. The exact opposite is true, the procedure can pose a significant and immediate threat to both the pregnant woman and her fertility.”

I do not support government funding of abortion. Currently Medicaid pays a $170 provider fee for performing an early abortion. To this is added a fee for instruments and a fee for the use of the facility where the abortion is performed. The procedure takes 15-20 minutes. By performing 20 procedures a day I estimate that the abortion provider can generate $1.7-2.5 million per year. Thus, government funding has created and is maintaining a large and lucrative abortion industry. In my view the controversy over abortion funding is based as much on maintaining abortion industry income as it is on community need. I suggest that requiring the father to pay for the procedure would reduce teenage pregnancy and lead to more responsible sexual behavior. In addition, private charitable organizations that chose to fund these procedures for those they believe to be in need could negotiate lower rates and thereby reduce costs and unreasonable profits.

Last modified on Tuesday, October 15, 1996