by Martina Billings-McAtee, RN

Created on: December 04, 2009   Last Updated: December 05, 2009

Abortion is never an easy topic to discuss no matter what the circumstance. However, partial birth abortion, sometimes referred to as a D & X, causes a particularly visceral reaction in people both pro-life and pro-choice. First, there is the definition of the procedure which is performed in the second trimester. The cervix of the patient is dilated, with the fetus partially delivered feet first, then an incision is made at the base of the infants skull and a vacuum is inserted to remove the brains, collapsing the head and making it easier for delivery. While this sounds like a barbaric practice, it is often times performed on fetuses that have already suffered a demise. Secondly, the fact that the procedure is done only late in the second trimester when a fetus is often viable, makes the procedure seem nothing short of murder.

Even pro-life advocates find it hard to stomach a woman waiting until the fourth or fifth month in her pregnancy to decide to terminate. Some women did not know they were pregnant until this time. Others decide to terminate their pregnancy after finding that they are carrying a child with a disease such as Down syndrome. This is an unnecessary and brutal practice. Many people are willing to adopt newborn infants, even ones with health problems. The practice of eliminating a viable fetus simply because it is not completely healthy is similar to animals killing off the weak or lame to strengthen their position in their species.We have risen above the need for such practices.

In the event the mother is suffering from a disorder that is life threatening and the option is her life or the potential life she is carrying, it is easier to see why the option must be considered. However, if the child can be partially delivered alive and babies have been born and lived as young as 24 weeks gestation, it begs the question, why not deliver the fetus and attempt to keep it alive? While there is always the chance that the child, once born, will suffer from the complications of such a premature delivery, it seems far less horrifying then driving a sharp object through the base of an infants skull and sucking out its brain. No matter how technical the description of the procedure, there is no way to make it seem less nauseating.

It is a brutal, barbaric and outdated practice. While the statistics are overinflated for shock value, the truth of the matter is it is a practice which is not all that common and is very rarely necessary and is in fact illegal. With all the medical strides taken in the last century, hopefully it is a procedure that will soon be completely obsolete.

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